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.