Rating: 
Summary: Kate Remembered
Review: For those of us that remember Katharine Hepburn, this book was a walk with her through her life that was more intimate than any interview she ever gave.For those of you that did not know her work, you will most definitely know the woman before the end of the book and will be sad to say good-bye to a true legend.
Rating: 
Summary: Scott Remembered
Review: I found the scarcely two-week pause between Kate's death and Scott's book being released surprisingly disrespectful, but I didn't allow it to affect my judgement of the book. Having read A. Scott Berg's biography of Katharine Hepburn, I now feel that it's hardly surprising that the author got the book out there when Kate was hardly cold in her grave. It's just the kind of guy he is. This is not a book about Katharine Hepburn. This is a book about a man named Scott who happens to be friendly with Katharine Hepburn. Scott seems to be a completely self-absorbed sort of fellow who cannot allow a page to pass without bragging about himself, or name dropping, or simply just forgetting that he's supposed to be writing about Katharine Hepburn - a woman whose life was long enough and full enough to fill a book many times over without resorting to stories about a young man who apparently can't get enough of himself. There are enough interesting bits and pieces about Katharine in this book to warrant a 3 star rating, but I could not be less interested in all the filler about A. Scott Berg that have little or nothing to do with Katharine Hepburn. I also think that, if she ever intended to have him write her biography, then she obviously changed her mind sometime after telling him so in the early 80's - which would explain why she wrote her own autobiography in the late 80's and early 90's.
Rating: 
Summary: Katharine Hepburn remembers and remembered
Review: Berg has created a book complete with his own memoirs of two decades of close friendship with "Kate." Along the way he depicts her memories and early to late years in the film industry. Inclusive are her thoughts and his on Kate's relationship with Spencer Tracy. The reader gets a great perspective in this biography on hearing antidotes from Katharine's later life in which Berg is involved, meanwhile learning about her history on and off the screen. The book is a great read if you are fascinated or even mildly interested in one of the strongest, and certainly the most long-lasting leading lady in film.
Rating: 
Summary: A. Scott Berg Remembered
Review: I purchased this book in the hope of getting some insight into Katharine Hepburn. What I received instead was a self-aggrandizing book that was more about the author than his subject. This book spends much too much time talking about A. Scott Berg, his background, his acquaintances among the monied classes, his life partners, and his previous works. A very disappointing work.
Rating:
Summary: A Loving and Touching Tribute to a Legendary Woman
Review: Every morning I follow the same routine: rise at six, feed the cat, put on coffee, take the dog out, pour a cup, and then sit for a glorious hour with whatever book I am currently reading. I'm disciplined about allotting only one hour --- just enough to truly sink into the story but not long enough to make me late for work. Katharine Hepburn would have approved. She swam everyday, read her newspapers in bed in the morning, had drinks at 6PM and dinner at 7PM. She believed in routine. And so it chagrins me to admit it, but for the three days that I woke to read KATE REMEMBERED, my willpower slipped. Not only did I lose track of time, I was late for work. I suspect Kate Hepburn would not have approved. Scott Berg is a self-confessed diehard fan of Ms. Hepburn's. When he first met her in 1983, assigned to write a piece on the mega-star for Esquire magazine, he was nervous. He held her in great esteem and considered her the greatest actress of all time. He opens his memoir by describing himself standing outside her door, readying himself for his entrance: "I've never felt so intimidated ringing a doorbell." But in just seven short introductory pages --- their first meeting --- Berg overcomes his anxiety, succumbs to her charms, and launches what would grow to be a twenty-year friendship. Star biographies normally fall into the category of guilty pleasure. They give the reader peaks into the glamorous lives of those who are bigger than life, providing tantalizing tidbits (if not downright tell-all facts) and even everyday mundanities. In KATE REMEMBERED, there are fewer of the former and plenty of the latter. Sure, there are celebrity names sprinkled throughout the book and references to seductions and affairs, most notably her relationship with Spencer Tracy. But as Berg would say himself, KATE REMEMBERED is not intended to be a biography; it is a memoir of their time together, the meals they shared, the conversations that transpired, and the reminiscences she offered him. KATE REMEMBERED is about a life "lived large --- and largely according to her own rules." And so while Berg retells Ms. Hepburn's memories of getting sick while filming The African Queen, being pursued by germ-conscious Howard Hughes, rebuffing Michael Jackson's request for publicity shots (yes, the begloved one!) and struggling with Spencer Tracy's alcoholism, the real joy in KATE REMEMBERED, in my opinion, is found in her moments at home at Fenwick, her family stead in Connecticut. It's there --- out of the limelight --- that her bond with Berg grows and cements. It's there --- in her own element --- that she confides in him and learns to rely on him, in the way that only a vital, strong, independent person can: under her own terms. (In other words, Berg is welcome to help in the kitchen, but only if he cuts the grapes her way.) It's there that we see her interact with her family and her companions with trademark sarcasm, wit, intelligence and great care. It's there that Berg becomes a member of her close knit circle, dining on hot dogs and ice cream sundaes, making beds together, and picking Queen Anne's Lace. A black-and-white movie fan myself, I often suspected that her character in The Philadelphia Story, Tracy Lord, revealed a lot about the real Kate Hepburn. And now I'm convinced. Tracy Lord had dignity, grace, spunk, a splash of tomboyishness, more than her share of stubbornness, independence and, ultimately, class. That was Kate Hepburn. Berg's book does a wonderful job of showing off her (often biting) sense of humor. When Hepburn met Warren Beatty and Annette Bening for the first time, she asked Berg, "Who is the girl?" Berg explained that she was his wife. Hepburn replied, "He has a wife?" Berg goes on to tell her that after years of his being the most eligible bachelor, with countless romances, they were married. Her reply, "Poor girl." Berg continues saying that they are very much in love. To which Hepburn replied, "With the same man." Her voice dominates KATE REMEMBERED, and what a pleasure it is to hear that unmistakable voice uttering such funny unscripted lines. Kate filtered little of what she was thinking about others, but in her lifetime held her personal confidences. In Berg, Katharine Hepburn found a venue for her confidences and a good friend. Doubters need only look at the picture on the back of the book --- Hepburn and Berg fixing a screen window --- to see the intimacy of their friendship. Throughout the book, one question kept asking itself over and over again for me: Did Berg fall just a little in love with Hepburn over the course of all those years? The final paragraph of the book answers that question, in my opinion, and so another question comes to mind: Who wouldn't have? --- Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara
Rating:
Summary: A SWEET BOUQUET IN MEMORY OF KATE.
Review: I found this little memorial to Kate Hepburn both poignant and charming. Although she wasn't exactly my favorite actress (her grating Bryn Mawr accent and rather unversatile personality didn't enchant me in the movies as a rule) Hepburn was a gutsy, independent woman - who's real-life personality I actually admired (as I would assume many people did) more than her movie star personna. I have to admit that certain things about Hepburn were very admirable: her loyalty to her family, her Yankee-bred way of living, her self-discipline and sometimes eccentrically delightful behaviour was fun to read about. The segment in which Michael Jackson came to visit was fascinating: funny and strangely thought-provoking. Seems Jackson had a yen for meeting the reclusive Greta Garbo and wanted Kate to set up an appointment. "Absolutely not, Michael" was her firmly polite reply. When author Scott A. Berg caught Kate rummaging thru his overnight bag in his guestroom he amusingly inquired "Find anything interesting"? - red-faced, Kate replied meekly "Not a God-****** thing!" She was "real people" after all!
Rating:
Summary: Enchanting Read!
Review: For anyone who is a movie buff, or a lover of Katharine Hepburn, you have to read this book. Not only does the author show the human side of this remarkable woman, he also gives us insights into other celebrities including Warren Beatty and Michael Jackson. You never think of Katharine as a comic, but this book will change your mind! She had a love of life and she cherished her friendships. This book definately changed my perception of this remarkable woman. Highly Recommended!!!!
Rating:
Summary: An amusing read
Review: Katharine Hepburn was not one of the greatest, she was THE greatest actress that ever was (in my humble opinion, anyway). This is a charming book, perhaps not as informative as a biography, but it makes us feel as if we were there. I must admit that I skipped some pages where Mr. Berg explains his other exploits, impatiently wanting to see what happened with Kate, but this is a page turner nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Book that Needs an Index
Review: I picked up the book one afternoon and started reading; I read until the wee hours of the morning. The book is that captivating. The book reveals that Katharine Hepburn lives up to her image as a strong individual. My one major criticism of the book is that it lacks an index. When I wanted to read a paragraph to a friend, I flipped to the back of the book for the index. There wasn't one. I had to search and search to find the incident in Ms. Hepburn's life. The lack of an index so hurts this book that I would have rated it one star lower than I would have if it had included a good index.
Rating:
Summary: An Insight to a Great Lady
Review: I can't say I always took an interest in Katharine Hepburn. I enjoyed some of her movies: On Golden Pond, Guess Who Is Coming to Dinner, The Lion in Winter and The African Queen to name a few. But I don't believe I saw any of her earlier movies such as Philideplhia Story, Adam's Rib or the many others that made up her lengthy and heralded career. I took an intrest in her during a conversation I had back in the mid-1980's with an old friend, Cynthia McFadden. Yes, THAT Cinthia McFadden of ABC News fame. At that time she had graduated from Bowdoin College with all of the academic honors one could receive, Columbia University Law School and was working for Fred Friendly's Media and Society Seminars as Executive Producer. During that conversation she told me how she had been "essentially adopted" by Katharine Hepburn and how she had become a big part of Ms. Hepburns life. All very heady stuff for a young woman from Auburn, Maine. I hoped that Scott Berg's tribute to his friend Katharine Hepburn would give me an insight into the life she was leading during the time Cindy came to know her and some insight into her past as well. I was not disappointed. This is an emminently readable and lovingly crafted tribute to a dear friend. You are priviy to many conversations between author and subject to the point of where you feel you are evesdropping. You learn about her foibles, her fears, her philophy of life and you do so in a most direct and interesting way. I found the book hard to put down and at the conclusion, felt that I had indeed known Katharine Hepburn. I dare say you will also. She is a most intriguing friend.
| 
