Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn (ISBN 0307237591)

An Affirming Celebrity:
Audry Hepburn was in a league of her own. When was the last time we heard of a star of this magnitude helping a friend in business and firing his/her manager for trying to make a profit from the help? While I was aware of her work with UNICEF, I was unaware of the depth of her commitment. The trip to Sudan was hard enough to read about. I cannot imagine going there as she did. WWII's deep scars were well hidden from public view. For most of the war she and her family had daily fear for their lives and in the end were near death due stavation. A mere 8 years later Audrey is at the pinnacle of glitter and glamor of a film career with an Oscar. The effects of the war, the trials of living with a withholding aristocratic mother, the rigid roles for women in the 50's are mentioned but not discussed. The insecurities these brought on show in her marriages, and the emphathy shows in her above and beyond work for UNICEF as This book covers the life, but not the inner person or the times. Fortunately, she is not a star in this time. Today's even more intrusive paparazzis and career journalists could destroy her for us and for herself. Spoto does a loving and respectful job of presenting her life.

interesting book:
The book arrived when I was convalescing from an illness and thus was was a special treat as it was a biography about Audrey Hepburn. The author is thoughtful and writes clearly and with sensitivity. I am fascinated with detailed protraits of aspect's of Audrey Hepburn's character; portraits of her friendships and loyalty and longevity in friendships. Insights into her family are fascinating as well as insights into her family in Holland. In the book I read new information about her work with UNICEF. Every once in a while there are edifying and instructive vignettes about her character such as the fact that Miss Hepburn offered to do her own ironing for her clothes for The Gardens of the World series. What actress of her stature would make such an offer? I guess because Audrey Hepburn was almost so singularly genuine and vulnerable I had an ambivalent reaction to some gossipy aspects of the book. Though tales of who she might have been romantically vulnerable to at a difficult point in her life are interesting, because of her own over-arching nobility of character it left me feeling sad that the author felt it necessary to include such material. We have all made mistakes in life and all have experienced things we'd like to be able to explain from our perspective. We all have experienced things we'd prefer to remain undiscussed. In one or two instances I felt: "She's not here to defend herself. Does this have to be in the book?" In the main I found the book thoughtful and interesting especially because I always feel there is so much I can learn from Audrey Hepburn about how to be a person.

Couldn't put it down.:
This was the first book by Donald Spoto that I read. It was wonderful. He covers so much ground with just enough detail to make you feel as if you knew Audrey, while at the same time steers clear of run-on sentences that bore one to tears. Interesting, funny, sad and poignant, Mr. Spoto's writing style has led me to purchase his biography on Alfred Hitchcock as well. Can't wait to read it!

A good starter biography, but too speculative:
Here is the latest biography on Audrey Hepburn, who continually fascinates people long after her death, and the main attraction for this book is a "new affair" discovered by Spoto with his friend Mr. Anderson. Let's get it straight now: none of the other biographies have mentioned the affair, and considering how Mr. Anderson described their affair, you would think the crew members, family members, or someone else than Mr. Anderson would have known about this. The fact that he "described" the affair in his book After, and how Spoto eagerly seems to agree with the vague description, is nothing more than a fantasy that Spoto seems to agree with only to sell his books. Since Audrey is not able to defend herself, we will never know the truth. As for the other parts of the biography, Spoto has done his research, and you get a good picture of what her life was, her impact upon her peers and society, and the importance of others to her. However, Spoto is not objective in his analysis of the subject; Barry Paris does a much better job in this aspect. I never like it when the biographer speculates too much and focuses more on gossip and hearsay than actual facts. Spoto seems to want his impress upon his readers that his subjective speculations are the truth, when actually he had no first-hand experience of her life. I recommend to read Alexander Walker's and especially Barry Paris' biographies if you really want to know what the true Audrey was like, not the mental picture that Spoto has got stuck in his head.

'Enchantment' cast me under Audrey Hepburn's spell and nothing can remove it:
I really loved this biography on Audrey Hepburn as well as previous biography I read by Alexander Walker `Audrey Her Real Story'. What grabbed me was the cover of 'Enchantment', which is now in paperback, but I had to review the hardback edition because the photo of Audrey is my absolute favorite shot of her. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to read about her life. I got this book in January 2007. I didn't feel it went into as much detail as `Audrey Her Real Story', but both deserve a space on any fans bookshelf. The book was also an objective take on her life and that took a little getting used to. I love how Donald Spoto incorporated some of Audrey's letters to others, and poems, as well as key lines from films like `The Children's Hour'. It was well researched. `Enchantment' goes into more detail then `Audrey Her Real Story' about Alfred Hitchcock's attempt to cast her in the film `No Bail for the Judge'. Audrey wouldn't have been right in an Alfred Hitchcock picture but I love his work and it would have been intriguing. This film never went ahead. Audrey's favorite film was `The Nun's Story'. It is brilliant. Instead of chapter titles, Donald marks his chapters by the years of Audrey's life. Everything appears to be accounted for. The pictures are wonderful. I have considered reading her son's biography on his mothers life entitled 'Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit A Son Remembers' by Sean Hepburn Ferrer, but haven't done so yet. I'm sure it is excellent. I may do it one day, however right now I feel completely satisfied with my knowledge on Audrey Hepburn's life and films.