Born Igor Peschkowsky in 1931 Berlin, Mike Nichols was sent along with his younger brother to America on a ship in 1939, enduring a childhood of tremendous difficulty. After later forming a comedy duo with Elaine May, Nichols began his directing career, becoming a Hollywood A-lister on the strength of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Graduate. But who was this sensitive, driven artist? In crafting this biography of Nichols, Mark Harris interviewed Meryl Streep, Stephen Sondheim, Robert Redford, Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Julia Roberts, and Gloria Steinem, among many others.