Some Spielberg’s films were based on books:

Duel. This film is based on the short story written by Richard Matheson. It’s about one salesman David Mann who went to a business trip by his car through the California desert. On the highway he tried to go round a huge lorry. But this attempt led to a car skirmish. The mysterious lorry driver begins a psychological game against David and throws down a challenge to him. David has to accept it to survive. It was first Spielberg’s feature film that brought him world fame.                                                         
The Color Purple is based on novel of the same name by Alice Walker, who won the Pulitzer Prize for this novel. The film tells the story of a young African American girl Celie who became pregnant from her stepfather. This film shows the problems which African American women faced during the early 1900s, including poverty, racism, and sexism. Spielberg touches upon the problem of racism in his several works. The film was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as a motion picture with the largest number of nominations and no awards of “The Oscar”.                                                                                       
Empire of the Sun is based on J. G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name about the events in Japan during the Second World War through the eyes of a child. Film tells the story of a young boy who was separated from his parents during the war in Shanghai in 1938. Spielberg vividly showed the tragedy of the rapidly passing childhood ruined by the horrible prison life conditions. The film garnered numerous praises of critics and was nominated for several Oscars, but did not attract the kind of box-office power that Spielberg's films usually get. 

Schindler's List is based on the novel “Schindler's Ark” by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. This is a true story of Oscar Schindler, a man who sacrificed himself to save thousands Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. For "Schindler's List" Spielberg earned his first Academy Award for Best Director and for Best Picture. Spielberg presented the given novel in his usual manner. But besides the special effects and horrible details of cruel war, the famous director won the audience by depth of feeling and emotional experience of the main character. 

Amistad is based on the novel “Black Mutiny” by William Owens which in turn was based on a true story about African slaves who rebelled against their captors. Spielberg touches upon the problem of the abolition of slavery in the U.S which he continues in his film “Lincoln”. The film received lavish praises from the critics, but was noted for its violent massacre scenes.  

War of the Worlds is a science fiction film adaptation of Herbert Wells' novel of the same name. Spielberg moved the plot of the book from England of the early 20 century to America in present days. But in general, the plots of the book and film are fairly close. Spielberg had already made films about space aliens. (“Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”). In these films he portrayed alien visitors as a potentially friendly for humanity creatures willing to connect with them. As for “War of the Worlds”, this film is marked a departure from these optimistic themes. Spielberg shows more violent alien invaders that visit the Earth for the purpose of destruction. 

Munich is based on the book “Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team” by Canadian journalist George Jonas, which in turn was based on the story of Yuval Aviv, who claims to have been a Mossad agent. The film describes historical events about the Israeli government's secret retaliation attacks after the massacre of Israeli athletes by the Black September terrorist group during the 1972 Summer Olympics. It shows how a squad of assassins, led by former Mossad agent Avner, tracked down and killed a list of Black September members thought to be responsible for the eleven Israeli athletes' murders. The film received positive reviews and was nominated for five Academy Awards. 

War Horse is based on the novel of the same name by British author Michael Morpurgo, which was published in Britain in 1982. This is the story about inconceivable friendship between boy Albert and his horse Joey. During the World War I, the horse was sent together with the cavalry regiment on the battlefields of France. But Albert, despite the very young age for the military service, went to the front to find and rescue his friend. Steven Spielberg is a big expert in the family movie. Therefore screen adaptation of Morpurgo’s novel which is accessible to readers of any age, became another successful product from talented director. This film was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture. It was also nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and five BAFTAs.