From the set of The Big Bang Theory to the first novel of Ernest Hemingway to the film documentaries of Werner Herzog, the author of Extra Lives explores the creative process in a series of essays. "In Magic Hours, award-winning essayist Tom Bissell plumbs the depths and scales the heights of the creative process. From the set of The Big Bang Theory to one of David Foster Wallace's last works; from the otherworldly universe of Werner Herzog's films to Tommy Wiseau's simply alien cult film The Room; from Iraq war documentaries to video-game character voices, Bissell asks why people choose to make the things they do and he shows us how they do it with startling insight and biting humor."--Publisher description.