Order of Book Series
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David Thomson Books in Order

David Thomson has written 40 books, published between 1967 and 2026. The first book is Movie Man. (1967) and the newest is A Sudden Flicker of Light (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
40
Published
1967–2026
Pages on record
4,471 in 13 of 40 books
See all 40 books in order Printable David Thomson checklist
Photo of David Thomson, author of the Great Stars series

David Thomson is a British film critic and historian, born on 18 February 1941, who works in the United States and has written more than 40 books. Two Thomson reference works, the 1,000-film guide Have You Seen...? (2008) and The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, now in a sixth edition (2014), are praised for literary quality and eccentricity, though some critics find them self-indulgent. Benjamin Schwarz of The Atlantic Monthly described Thomson as possibly the greatest living film critic and historian. The catalogue starts with Movie Man. (1967) and reaches A Sudden Flicker of Light (2026), including America in the Dark (1977) and Silver Light (1990).

How many David Thomson books are there?

David Thomson has 40 books, released between 1967 and 2026. 4 of them belong to the Great Stars series.

David Thomson Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 40 David Thomson books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Overexposures by David Thomson (1981)
  2. Cover of Visual Magic by David Thomson (1991)
  3. Cover of Rosebud: The Story of Orson Welles by David Thomson (1996)
  4. Cover of The Alien Quartet by David Thomson (1998)
  5. Cover of Hollywood by David Thomson (2001)
  6. Cover of The Whole Equation by David Thomson (2004)
  7. Cover of Try to Tell the Story: A Memoir by David Thomson (2009)
  8. Cover of Moments That Made the Movies by David Thomson (2013)
  9. Cover of Breaking Bad by David Thomson (2015)
  10. Cover of Disaster Mon Amour by David Thomson (2022)
  1. 1
    Movie Man.1967 · confirmed 1/4
    1967–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Political Ideas1969 · confirmed 1/4
    1969–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Hungry as Hunters1972 · 222 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1972222
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The New Biographical Dictionary of Film1975 · confirmed 1/4
    1975–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    America in the Dark1977 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Overexposures1981 · 348 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1981348
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Suspects1985 · confirmed 1/4
    1985–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Warren Beatty and Desert Eyes1987 · confirmed 1/4
    1987–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Silver Light1990 · confirmed 1/4
    1990–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Visual Magic1991 · 57 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199157
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Showman: The Life of David O Selznick1992 · 832 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992832
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Rosebud: The Story of Orson Welles1996 · 463 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1996463
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Big SleepBFI Film Classics #71997 · confirmed 2/4
    1997–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Beneath Mulholland1997 · confirmed 1/4
    1997–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Alien Quartet1998 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Hollywood2001 · 640 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001640
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Whole Equation2004 · 448 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2004448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Nicole Kidman2006 · confirmed 1/4
    2006–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    "Have You Seen . . . ?"2008 · confirmed 1/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Bette DavisGreat Stars #12009 · confirmed 1/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Humphrey BogartGreat Stars #22009 · confirmed 1/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Gary CooperGreat Stars #32009 · confirmed 1/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Ingrid BergmanGreat Stars #42009 · confirmed 1/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    The Moment of Psycho2009 · confirmed 1/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Try to Tell the Story: A Memoir2009 · 214 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2009214
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    The Oscars Revisited2011 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2011224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    The Big Screen2012 · confirmed 1/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Moments That Made the Movies2013 · 303 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2013303
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Why Acting MattersWhy X Matters #92015 · confirmed 1/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Breaking Bad2015 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2015224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  31. 31
    How to Watch a Movie2015 · confirmed 1/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  32. 32
    Television2016 · confirmed 1/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  33. 33
    Warner BrosJewish Lives #312017 · confirmed 1/4
    2017–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  34. 34
    Sleeping with Strangers2019 · confirmed 1/4
    2019–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  35. 35
    Murder and the Movies2020 · confirmed 1/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  36. 36
    A Light in the Dark2021 · confirmed 1/4
    2021–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  37. 37
    Disaster Mon Amour2022 · confirmed 1/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  38. 38
    Acting Naturally2023 · confirmed 1/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  39. 39
    The Fatal Alliance2023 · confirmed 1/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  40. 40
    A Sudden Flicker of Light2026 · confirmed 1/4
    2026–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

David Thomson books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Great Stars in order

4 books
  1. 1. Bette Davis
  2. 2. Humphrey Bogart
  3. 3. Gary Cooper
  4. 4. Ingrid Bergman

BFI Film Classics in order

1 book
  1. 7. The Big Sleep

Why X Matters in order

1 book
  1. 9. Why Acting Matters

Jewish Lives in order

1 book
  1. 31. Warner Bros

Standalone books

33 books

33 David Thomson titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read David Thomson books in order?

You only need to read David Thomson books in order within the Great Stars series, which holds 4 of the 40 David Thomson books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with David Thomson

Start with Movie Man. (1967), the earliest published title.

What is the newest David Thomson book?

A Sudden Flicker of Light (2026) is the newest David Thomson book released so far.

Is there a new David Thomson book coming?

No next David Thomson book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

David Thomson at a glance

Still publishing
David Thomson published a book as recently as 2026.
Release pace
David Thomson books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
4,471 pages across the 13 of 40 books with a recorded length, a median of 288 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most David Thomson books, 10 of 40, were published in the 2000s.

What the David Thomson books are about

12 of the 40 David Thomson books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: biography is tagged on 4 of 12. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.