Kate Remembered

Rating:
Summary: Friendship with Kate
Review: I just finished the audio version of this book -- it's a gracefully written story, superbly well read by Tony Goldwyn. I've also read the 100+ readers' reviews, all provocative. I can't agree with those who feel that Mr. Berg is self-serving or self-involved in this story, or that he overshadows Kate in any way. Nor does he idolize his subject. Perhaps, in the beginning, he was somewhat star-struck, but who wouldln't be? As the friendship proceeded, it grew steadier and stronger, and to last to the end, as it did, shows that it was based on genuine affection.

No amount of self-interest could have sustained a friendship this long. Beyond access to some private papers, Mr. Berg didn't "need" Kate to further his own career -- he wasn't an actor or director or producer, but a writer, with a reputation already well established when he first called on Kate. And there's no way Kate could have helped him to win his Pulitzer Prize. Only a first-class writer could have done that.



Rating:
Summary: Great Stories About A Great Star
Review: Kate Remembered is not a traditional biography. It is told from the author's point of view about his friendship with the aging star. I personally found Scott Berg's unconventional format very refreshing. So many times I have read a biography only to find them filled with dates and boring details. I enjoyed the way Scott Berg brought Hepburn's biography to life. It was interesting to hear his first hand account of how he watched the last phases of Kate's life unfold, as she told him stories of her early life. Instead of reading just another cold biography, we were treated to glipses of Hepburn as a real person, with a real friend who was able to tell her story.
If you love to read biographies, this is one of the best ones out there. A great story about one of our greatest stars.