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Summary: A Son's Eloquent Tribute to His Elegant Mother
Review: I've loved Audrey Hepburn for as long as I've been going to the movies. It started with "Breakfast at Tiffany's," and my respect, affection and esteem for this wonderful screen icon hasn't lessened a bit to this day. Since she died, I've accumulated at least four biographies, tributes to her style, and anything else I could find. I've got an Audrey Hepburn shrine in my apartment, and as long as they keep pubishing books about her, I'll continue to collect them.How lovely for Sean Ferrer to present this heart-felt tribute to his mother. It comes with none of the bitterness other children of Hollywood stars. You won't find an ounce of scandal here (just as you won't in any other book published about Audrey). The books comes packed with lots of photos, many which have not been seen in other books. It's clear that Ferrer adored his mother. He has spotted in his mother a quality of sadness that I didn't think about before. And he's absolutely right. For all her gamine beauty, her ability to wear clothes so effortlessly, that radiant presence with her cultivated voice that on anyone else might sound hopelessly affected, Hepburn projected a kind of sadness. You wanted to protect her. Sean Ferrer captures that essence in his book. So run to your bookstore and snap this beautiful book up. It's for a good cause--Sean Ferrer is donating much of the proceeds of the book (or maybe all the proceeds to UN Children's charities in the name of his mother). It's a great stocking-stuffer you'll want to browse through after you've watch one of Audrey's many and unforgettable films.
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Summary: A Son Loves His Mother...Who Happens to Be Audrey Hepburn
Review: If there is a polar opposite to Christina Crawford's scathing poor-me memoir, "Mommie Dearest", it has to be this loving tribute to Audrey Hepburn from her eldest son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer. Rather than being an exhaustive biography on the legendary film star (and enough of those exist anyway), it is more a very attractive coffee table book with remembrances from her colleagues, family friends and most importantly, Ferrer himself. It is a testament to Hepburn that all these books, especially this one, have been nothing less than respectful and at times downright reverential. There is no getting around the fact that she was well loved by those closest around her and certainly by her fans, me included. That she comes across as such a giving person merely validates what we all want to believe about her, and this becomes especially clear in Ferrer's account of her later years making goodwill trips to Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Somalia on behalf of UNICEF. And while as a fan, I was disappointed about her long absences from films from the late sixties until her death in 1993, Ferrer makes it clear how important motherhood was to her and how imperative it was for her to stay at home with her sons during those years. Just from the treasure trove of family photos, this book clearly shows that her dedication to them was and continues to be reciprocated.
The perspective of this book is understandably biased but fresh, and obviously Ferrer's access to his mother's personal belongings - family snapshots, paintings and drawings done by her, even her passports - builds an intimate story. I have to admit I was taken aback by the more familiar photos of Hepburn during her Hollywood glory years (especially the glamorous Cecil Beaton pictures) and amazed at how lovely she continued to look in the professional photos taken a year or so before her death. Not surprisingly, the most moving part is Ferrer's account of her final weeks when she took one last flight from California to what looks to be a most idyllic place, her home La Paisible in Switzerland. This should be the final word about her, but that is unlikely as she continues to fascinate. Somewhere Joan Crawford must be eating her heart out.
Rating: 
Summary: A Photo Album, Not a Biography
Review: If you're looking for an in-depth biography of Audrey Hepburn, this is not the book. It's more of a loving remembrance from her affectionate son illustrated with many great family photographs. In fact there are lots more photographs than text. An entire chapter consists of the speech that Ms Hepburn gave late in her life about her work with UNICEF. I can't help but believe that the purpose of this book is to help continue the actress's UNICEF work. The author and the publisher can be forgiven for this since it is a noble cause. And, the photographs and brief story told of Ms Hepburn's life are lovely and probably would appeal to her fans. While charmed, I felt gypped. I'm sure that there is more to Audrey Hepburn than this book shares.
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Summary: Different from all the other biographies
Review: Only one other person could have written a similar biography to this and that is Audrey Hepburn's other son, Luca. For no one else in the world could have given the accounts of Audrey that are found in this book; that of a mother as opposed to a star. It is true that some of the text in this book is similar to others published on Audrey, but the difference with this book is that it is written by her own flesh and blood, her best friend, and someone who is able to let us know what she thought and felt in times no other biographer has been able to tap into, such as her final days, and family moments offscreen. This is in my opinion the ultimate Audrey Book (comparing only to "Audrey Style" but for different reasons). It may be disjointed as another reviewer has put, but it is sincere and loving, and to me that is much more important.
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Summary: Wonderful book for anyone wants to be beautiful
Review: Sean did a great great job. The book will make one understand where Audrey's elegance comes from... Read it. It'll be a pitty if you miss such a book...
To Audrey & Sean
You are the light,
You are the beautty
You are a camellia blossom
No need of re-touch
There is eternal sadness in your eyes,
There is frost in your years,
There is a yearning for love,
And there is an unfulfilled emptiness
But we still have to love
only Love brings hope
But we still have to love
For we cannot not be otherwise
Otherwise---
Otherwise---
One after another
Life brings forward dissapointments
Dissapointments,
Dissapointments,
Even a perfection like you,
Can not have all the happy ends!
So now I know---
Every kind of sorrow in one's heart
is shared by other humans,
And at the end of every tragedy
There are always comrades to bow together with
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Summary: How to be a citizen of the world...
Review: Sean Hepburn Ferrer was raised by an angel. "Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit" is a loving and fascinating tribute to the humanitarian and actress, written by one of the people who knew her best-her oldest son. Mr. Hepburn Ferrer generously shares stories and images of Audrey's humor, charm, grace, empathetic world outlook and incredibly caring nature. I've read several Audrey biographies, and this book is by far the best, but it functions more as a poem than a traditional bio. We see Audrey's life filtered through the primary modes of 20th century pictorial representation (bureaucratic, celebrity photography, family snapshots), then refracted back through her son's recollections and impressions. Within the book's pages are Audrey's lifetime of passports-these "papers" can be a chilling reminder of the obsession for national identification within the Europe she was born into, but they also optimistically mark her transformation into a citizen of the world. Family photographs reveal a woman consistent with her onscreen persona, and Audrey's elegant, delicate lines cut straight through the intimate and public realms. In pictures of her gorgeous garden in Switzerland and in images of her work for UNICEF, we witness her mission to imagine the world as it could be, and her tireless efforts to make it so.
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Summary: Lovely
Review: The best book on audrey Hepburn I have ever read. I especially love the writing- Sean H-F gives an excellent contructive portrayal of his mother, which is both loving towards her and informative for the reader. It is also filled with great photos, both family and professional. I love reading this book!
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Summary: An Elegant Spirit -that she is...
Review: The different accounts that Sean Hepburn-Ferrer's has shared with us are touching, private and intimate and give a true picture of the amazing person Audrey Hepburn was. I began to read the book one evening before bed, I planned to read a few pages and then go to sleep. I couldn't put the book down. I read until I couldn't stay awake a moment longer, finishing the book when I woke up later that morning. The 300+ photographs complimented the book perfecty. The addition of photographs from the family album only made the book more special. Although I would have dearly loved to have been able to read Audreys autobiography, her premature death prevented that. I am so pleased that her son was able to write this book for her. One point: If you re after a detailed biography, this is not what this book is. However after reading a biography, I would recomment this book. Audrey Hepburn is certainly "An Elegant Spirit".
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Summary: A loving-- and elegant-- tribute
Review: This is a completely beautiful book, lovely to look at and to read. I was, in fact, in tears after the first page. No one could have written this but someone as close as Sean was to his mother. The fact that he did, and did it so well, is a wonder and a gift to all Audrey fans. Yes, it's not a true "bio", but I don't think loving Audrey requires "all the facts please". Hers has always been a spirit that glowed beyond the silver screen. And it truly radiates from his heartfelt words, gorgeous pictures and presentation. It's the one book I would recommend to anyone who says "Why Audrey?" and the one book those who love her already must have.
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Summary: An Elegant Spirit - indeed
Review: This is a wonderfully and beautiful book. The photos are great. Audrey Hepburn's son writes a beautiful tribute to his mom. A very loving and well put together book .
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