Me: Stories of My Life

by Katharine Hepburn

Book Overview

Admired and beloved by movie audiences for over sixty years, four-time Academy Award-winner Katharine Hepburn is an American classic. Now Miss Hepburn breaks her long-kept silence about her private life in this absorbing and provocative memoir. A NEW YORK TIMES Notable Book of the Year A Book-of-the-Month-Club Main Selection From the Paperback edition.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679400516
• ISBN13: 9780679400516
• Release Date: September 1991
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 420 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.8" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Candid and personal

Ms. Hepburn writes in a casual tone that draws the reader into her unique life and presents herself in the most open way possible. Being an actress, she writes surprisingly well. Her recent death has made her life all the more poignant. Her stinging rhetoric that wons the hearts of America shines through her writing and convinces the reader that he or she is merely sitting in Kate's living room, having tea and a nice chat. Of course, there are some sentimental moments that are truly touching. Her last letter to Spencer Tracy moved me to tears. This books provides deep insight into Ms. Hepburn the person, but she only briefly touches on her historical career. If you're looking for a chronology of her work, choose a different biography. "ME" lets the reader get to know Katharine the Human Being. As distant and unapproachable as Katharine Hepburn may seem, her autobiography gives an aura of almost frailty and dependence. Certainly, Hepburn was one of the most independent role models modern women could hope for, but her life through her own eyes was a hard journey, something she couldn't've accomplished very easily. On the whole, an excellent page-turner that kept me up 'till past 3 in the morning. Highly recommended for anyone fascinated with Hepburn's persona.

Excellent Memoir by an Excellent Lady

I'd had this book sitting on the shelf for several years, and (sadly) had never read it. Then, Kate the Great died, and I was looking for some means of remembering her fondly. Me eyes fell on "Me," and the connectio was perfect.Me is clearly not ghostwritten like so many other autobiographies. Kate is rather jumpy in places and uses a lot of fragments. Sometimes it's hard to follow, especially at the beginning, but after a few chapters, it's like talking with an old friend--the abrupy subjects changes enhance, not detract, from the book.If you're looking for insight on her movies, this isn't the book for you. She gives snippets of several of them, but only goes indepth when it really matters to her overall career (such as A Bill of Divorcement and The Philadelphia Story). She spends a lot of the book on her childhood, college years, and early Broadway stage experiences. She talks a lot about her leading men: Cary Grant, John Wayne, Henry Fonda. She mentions Spencer Tracy throughout the book, but only goes in-depth toward the end when she leaves the house they had shared together for years.While this isn't a juicy exposee of her life, it's really more enjoyable because it isn't tabloid fare. It's high-brow, down-to-earth, and, above all, classy, the exact memoir you would expect from Katharine Hepburn.

I Could Read It Again, and Again, and Again...

In her own words, in her own style, Katharine proves, with this book, that no matter what she is doing, she always remains true to herself.Sometimes the train of thought gets a bit off-track, but it only adds to the charm of the book, and gives me the same feeling as I had when I was a child listening to my grandparents telling me the stories of their lives.I've always loved Hepburn's characters. They are so independent, fiesty, and fun. Now I know why. She makes no excuses, or apologies, for a life that was, at the time, scandalous.It is a must-have for anyone who loves Hepburn, loves old Hollywood, or just appreciates prose with an authentic voice.This book is one of the old friends that I invite to coffee for a leisurely Sunday morning read-a-thon.

Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

This book is just like Katharine Hepburn herself. Uniquely funny, unconventional, different and beautiful. I found the last three chapters to be especially the one simply titled 'Love', about her unique relationship with Spencer Tracy. Any fan of Hepburn, or of Hollywood's golden era must read this book. It was amazing.