Michael Mann is a formidable filmmaking personality, but the idea that today's celebrity cult of director immediately correlates with the mysterious sect of auteur is questionable and deserves to be investigated. This book strives to emulate the methodology of Mann by ranging not only over his films--from 1979's The Jericho Mile to 2015's Blackhat--but also over the scope of intellectual interests they exemplify to mine the commonalities, themes, and traits that may suggest the presence of an auteur.