This is the first comprehensive monograph of the work and life of one of the most important and influential filmmaking teams of our time. Their classic films Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter, and Salesman are masterpieces that set the standards of modern documentary filmmaking. With David on sound and Albert behind he camera, the Maysles were key figures in the direct cinema movement in which a two-person crew using handheld lightweight sound and film equipment functions as a self-contained movie studio capturing life as it happens. With a handful of others, the Maysles are the progenitors of modern documentary cinema.Using the latest digital technology to scan and print from original footage, the core of this book is the translation to the page of the greatest images from the Maysles' major and less known films. The recent discovery of a cache of original film negatives, hours of outtake film, numerous still photographs, production notes, and personal and business letters are the occasion for this retrospective publication and exhibition.In a career spanning a half century, the Maysles filmed the people and events that shaped our times: John Kennedy on the campaign trail, Castro's Cuba in the aftermath of the revolution, the Beatles' arrival in America, Truman Capote and Marlon Brando at the height of their fame, the Rolling Stones at Altamont. They made a series of films documenting the monumental environmental artworks of the Christos (1974 2007), and a series on classical musicians Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Vladimir Horowitz, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Wynton Marsalis. Albert received exclusive access to the Dalai Lama and filmed his visit to New York in the summer of 2003. He recently worked with Martin Scorsese to film the Rolling Stones' concert in New York performed for Bill Clinton's 60th birthday. Significant writings by Albert and others are collected in this book, many published for the first time. There will be contributions from Albert's peers, admirers and collaborators including Elliot Erwitt, Bruce Davidson, D.A. Pennebaker and Richard Leacock.