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Norman Mailer -- novelist, essayist, actor, filmmaker, would-be politician, social activist, and public figure extraordinaire -- belonged to an unusual generation of writers and Renaissance men, whose formidable intellects and wealth of experience earned them the ear of the nation. By taking an active role in culture at every level, from grass-roots protests to literary experimentation, Mailer -- former engineering student and army serviceman -- came to be one of the most respected voices in American life during the 1960s and '70s. For this compelling biography, Volume 3 in the Profile of a Writer series, director Hans-Jorg Weyhmuller has gathered interviews with Mailer's friends and family, excerpts from his films and film adaptations, and lively commentary from the man himself -- on a typically wide range of subjects including drugs, war, the structures of power, boxing, and immortality. An exciting in-depth look at the making of a public life, and a glimpse into the mind of a man who both interpreted and transformed his tumultous era.