"Tell me the story so far" were the words Evan Hunter heard each morning as he sat down to work with Alfred Hitchcock on the screenplay of The Birds. The starting point was Daphne du Maurier’s short story, but all that Hitchcock wanted to retain from the original was the title and the idea of birds attacking humans–the rest emerged in the working sessions in which Hitchcock and Hunter grappled with the ideas and notions that eventually coalesced into the final film.

Me and Hitch provides a rare glimpse of Hitchcock’s very particular working methods, as well as insight into his film-making process. In relating how he worked on The Birds and Marnie, Hunter is as frank as he is illuminating, describing his experience in a manner that is vivid and entertaining.

Evan Hunter is the distinguished author of The Blackboard Jungle, Strangers When We Meet, and Candyland, which he wrote with his other self, Ed McBain, author of the world-renowned 87th Precinct mystery novels.