Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M., Sam Wasson
Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M., Sam Wasson
1 Rating(s)
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Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.
Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman

Author: Sam Wasson

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Unabridged: 5 hr 40 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 06/26/2012

Synopsis

Audrey Hepburn is an icon like no other, yet the image many of us have of Audrey—dainty, immaculate—is anything but true to life. Here, for the first time, Sam Wasson presents the woman behind the little black dress that rocked the nation in 1961. The first complete account of the making of Breakfast at Tiffany's, Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. reveals little-known facts about the cinema classic: Truman Capote desperately wanted Marilyn Monroe for the leading role; director Blake Edwards filmed multiple endings; Hepburn herself felt very conflicted about balancing the roles of mother and movie star. With a colorful cast of characters including Truman Capote, Edith Head, Givenchy, ""Moon River"" composer Henry Mancini, and, of course, Hepburn herself, Wasson immerses us in the America of the late fifties before Woodstock and birth control, when a not-so-virginal girl by the name of Holly Golightly raised eyebrows across the country, changing fashion, film, and sex for good. Indeed, cultural touchstones like Sex and the City owe a debt of gratitude to Breakfast at Tiffany's. In this meticulously researched gem of a book, Wasson delivers us from the penthouses of the Upper East Side to the pools of Beverly Hills, presenting Breakfast at Tiffany's as we have never seen it before—through the eyes of those who made it. Written with delicious prose and considerable wit, Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. shines new light on a beloved film and its incomparable star.

About Sam Wasson

Sam Wasson is the author of seven books on film, including the New York Times bestsellers Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the Dawn of the Modern American Woman; The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood; and Fosse. With Jeanine Basinger, he is the coauthor of Hollywood: The Oral History. He lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Brian on September 01, 2015

Like countless others my first major adult movie star crush was Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly. The exact memory of the first time viewing Breakfast at Tiffany’s has become completely muddled with all of the times I watched the movie in my early 20s – my only clear recollection now is watching in......more

Goodreads review by Ashley on June 15, 2017

This book was an alternative pick for the non-fiction (Hollywood history-centric) #CannonBookClub, and it was my pick. I saw it and I knew I had to read it ASAP, even if it didn't end up winning the vote (it didn't; that honor, of course, went to Life Moves Pretty Fast, which I haven't read yet as o......more

Goodreads review by Kressel on March 20, 2017

I've recently become a big fan of a Hollywood history podcast called "You Must Remember This," and when I heard the episode on Audrey Hepburn, it cited this book, which I first heard of last year when the "101 Books" group read Breakfast at Tiffany's. I saw the movie years before reading the origina......more

Goodreads review by Marisa on September 04, 2012

This book about the making of the iconic movie Breakfast at Tiffany's is a delicious, delectable read. I liked how the author dishes out wonderful nuggets of information. I don't want to give much away, so as not to ruin your "a-ha" or "oh no" moments. I'll just say this: you'll never guess who the f......more

Goodreads review by Donna on April 17, 2020

I had high expectations for this book, hoping to learn more about Audrey Hepburn, the woman behind the little black dress. The first half of the book was not what I was expecting since it seemed to be written assuming the reader is very familiar with all of the players involved, which I am not. I wa......more

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