Customer Reviews

Audrey Hepburn

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I congratulate Barry Paris on a great biography of Audrey Hepburn.This book deserves at least 6 stars!Before I read the book,I had a lot of respect for Audrey Hepburn-but after reading this book,I have the utmost respect for her and admire her greatly.She was a saint and certainly was an attractive lady.You really have to feel sympathetic and empathetic for her with all the disappointments and hardships she had to confront throughout her life.A lot of people think that movie stars come from well-to-do families and lead charmed lives-not Audrey Hepburn.Her life is of horror,loss of love, and tradegy:(at six years of age, her father left the family leaving her forever heartbroken;she would witness the execution of an uncle and cousin during nazi occupied Holland;later in life,suffer 5 miscarraiges and 2 devastating divorces).There were happy moments of her life, too;film stardom, 2 marriages and two sons.These accounts of her life forged the true and genuine heart that she had. All through her life,Audrey Hepburn was a woman of love, and cared very much for the well being of others-she was not a selfish person.All her life, she helped others before helping herself.These acts of kindness, compassion, and caring was certainly genuine,and Audrey certainly was giving from her heart and soul.In her last years of her life ,she would be an ambassador of UNICEF, helping the children of impoverished nations. This book tells never known things about this selfless lady that thought of others more than herself.Mr.Paris certainly has done a great deal of research(looking at all the acknowlegements and bibliographies in the back of the book should tell you this man went through great lengths).This is a great book written about a real lady with a heart of gold.

What is the true test of a biographer's skill? Creating a riviting, insightful book about a subject who had no scandal in her life and who seems to have be beloved by everyone. Material that, in lesser hands, could have been saccherine or written with the usual "movie star bio" template is instead moving, wise, very informative, and beautifully written. Check out Mr. Paris' other biographies of Garbo and especially Louise Brooks for more great writing.

If you love to read those books on stars who looked beautiful and charming on the outside and brutal alcoholics behind closed doors, you will be sorely disappointed by Audrey Hepburn. Barry Paris's book on the Imph is just astonishing. It begins with her troubled childhood, a father who abandoned her and the World War II stories of her and her home country are tear-jerking. Then her sudden rise to success was only off-set by a set of miscarriages and missed-marriages. Yet her charm and elegance shown through it all. The part that really makes an impact is that last chapters of Hepburns life. Paris's coverage of Hepburn's travels with UNICEF. It was riveting to find out how committed she was to her cause, the extents she would go to help the children, even to her dying days. Barry Paris did an excellent job in collecting facts, interviews, and side stories to make this the best Hepburn book yet.

A biographer shouldn't lower your opinion of the person they're writing about (as if you could ever
have a low opinion of Audrey Hepburn!) and Barry Paris certainly does a brilliant job of depicting
Audrey's life from age 15 until her death (age 64). The author blends his words so you don't loose
interest even once. The book has lots of quotes, from and about Audrey, and several pictures of
her throughout her life. There isn't a down side to this book, except for a few subjects where the author
should have elaborated on a bit more than he did. You can clearly see that Audrey was a truly
wonderful person, a real lady. After you read about what a hard childhood she had, in the middle
of WW2 and the miscarriages she suffered and basically being deprived of love from her parents,
it is amazing that she was still such a beautiful person, a beautiful soul. She traveled to countries to
help dying people and did things that few other people would do...she seems to have been an
angel, and certainly was to several people. This is a book that you don't need to read before buying, it's wonderful.

With out a doubt simply the best Audrey book I have read to date.It covers every aspect of her life,and Barry Parish does not leave out a thing.Bravo Barry for such a tremendous book.

This is such a tremendous book. Packed with substantial detail...Barry Paris has done his homework. This is the only biography of Audrey Hepburn I've read that feels complete, that has not trivialized or sanitized her life. I left the book feeling as if I'd known her as a person rather than a movie star.

After all the glowing reviews, I had expected a deeper look into the person and her passion - not only for her artistic work but for her humanitarian work. Unfortunately, I recommended it for my book club before I had started reading it, and hence inflicted the same frustration on a dozen other people. Perhaps we expected too much and should merely be grateful for the research and information. The early chapters about her life during the war were fairly engaging, but the later chapters did not really capture the magic of her presence on screen nor the personality behind it. Paris told us about her charm, but we didn't feel it. The lustre was washed out by the time we got through the repetetive litany of Hollywood names. Nevertheless, we plugged on through the book, afraid that we might miss the one place that the magic had been tucked away.
If you want to see her real legacy, go to her website and the foundation that her sons are running to benefit children around the world.
I must also caution those who buy the kindle version - At least people with the hard copy have the benefit of the pictures. My kindle version did not.

Enough words can never be said about one of the most beautiful actresses of all time, so will not try here. Instead I will say a few words about Barry Paris. Biographer Barry Paris is in class all by himself , he really has a flair for telling a story. If you are looking for a particular biography and Barry Paris wrote it disregard all others for his.

First off, I LOVE AUDREY HEPBURN. If you do to, I can tell you this is such a detailed book I can't believe it. Every detail of her professional life is documented here, along with funny anecdotes and tons of info about her private life. Insightful quotes from almost everyone Audrey ever met are included. Includes detailed accounts of her UNICEF work and a filmography and index. Great photos, too. As a devoted fan, I'm glad to have read this biography

I was really impressed at just how thorough this book delved into Ms. Hepburn's life. I've read one other biography of her before this one, which does not hold a candle. You come away feeling that she was a real, down-to-earth person who had the same wants, feelings, and desires, who was just as human as everyone else. But she took a step further and rose above her frailties to try and right the wrongs in the world in her ever humble and compassionate way. You do not find too many people like her who would give selflessly and not want anything back but only to make sure your happiness came first.

I was also impressed with the thorough bibliography, footnotes and chronological order in the way Mr. Paris wrote, which reminded me of how Ms. Hepburn wanted order in her life also.

All and all, it was a fascinating and riveting read into a life that could not help but touch and grab at your heart strings.