The book by Andy Dugan, a famous film critic and journalist, is an independent biography of one of the most famous and mysterious actors of modern American cinema. “Independence” in this case only means that De Niro himself did not take any personal part in the creation of the book. This gives the author the opportunity to build his own vision of the actor’s biography and creative career, using a wide variety of sources - from personal interviews with De Niro to court materials, from strictly documented creative achievements to rumors circulating in Hollywood. Does not like publicity, mysterious and closed De Niro, a brilliant actor and great mystifier, emerges in Andy Dugan's book as a restless, endlessly complex - and touching personality.