The Last Machine is a TV series, introduced by Terry Gilliam, which takes viewers on a tour of the very earliest days of cinema. This official "book of the series" recalls the origins, both obvious and unexpected, of cinema - from the early 19th century to 1913. Chapters which mirror the themes of the television series are interspersed with special "close-ups" on 25 selected key early film-makers, from Lumiere and Edison to Pathe and Melies.