Fifth Avenue, 5:00 AM: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and The Dawn of the Modern Woman

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Fifth Avenue, 5:00 AM: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and The Dawn of the Modern Woman

3.57 of 5 stars 3.57 · rating details · 2,388 ratings · 529 reviews

Its about Audrey Hepburn's career, and how her film Breakfast at Tiffany's changed the prevailing 50's norms into the looser 60's about sex in cinema and real life. It makes you want to see the movie and read the Truman Capote short story all over again, with a new understanding that BaT was that era's "Pretty Woman". Who knew? Its fun, detailed, informative, chatty, and a...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Marisa Adair rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 famed writer Truman Capote wanted to play Holly Golightly in the film adaptation of his novel (hint, she was blonde and buxomy - quelle horreur!). Capote had his own choice for leading man (an "oh my g...more
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 famed writer Truman Capote wanted to play Holly Golightly in the film adaptation of his novel (hint, she was blonde and buxomy - quelle horreur!). Capote had his own choice for leading man (an "oh my god you're kidding" moment.)

On a broader scale, the author does a nice job of showing how the cultural shifts that were to come in the 1960's were captured and foreshadowed in the movie. Before "BAT", women in movies were either saints (Doris Day) or - using the authors word - sluts (Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield). Holly Golightly was a movie first, "good girl" Audrey Hepburn playing a prostitute! Hepburn became the embodiment of a new ideal - a sexy, experienced, independent woman who enjoyed her life, and knew how to have fun. Men loved her, and women embraced her. (And suddenly women throughout North America had a "little black dress" in their closets!)

The cast of characters depicted in the book is large and colorful. But just like the movie, it is Audrey herself who is the book's heart and soul. Years after her success in Roman Holiday and Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany's represented a huge challenge for Hepburn. The movie called on her to really prove her abilities as an actor. We see her as insecure, afraid of failure and trapped in a controlling marriage - yet she was always kind and gracious to everyone with whom she worked. She overcame her fears and made Holly Golightly come alive - capturing her kookiness, strength and vulnerability. In doing so she became more than a movie star - she became a screen legend, and deservedly so.

If you're at all intrigued with learning how this movie magic came to be, I highly recommend this entertaining and well-written book.

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Jul 01, 2011 Sonia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Capita nella vita di guardare un film, leggere un libro e incontrare un personaggio che per noi resterà eterno e indimenticabile. Un mito.
Un personaggio da ammirare, da guardare da lontano, sperando che non smetta mai di incantarci come ha fatto la prima volta, e magari desiderando di poter incrociare la sua strada per caso, pur sapendo che sarà impossibile.
Ero piccola e alla tv trasmettevano Vacanze romane, con la splendida coppia Audrey Hepburn - Gregory Peck, che non avrei più dimenticato per...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Christina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. was a treasure to delight in.

Sam Wasson unerringly detailed the movie and the moment in life when women everywhere began to take control of their destinies.

I loved the movie, I read the book Breakfast at Tiffany's, and I love the elegance and style of the bright star that was Audrey Hepburn while she was here.

Audrey Hepburn is a 3 in numerology, a Taurus, a Snake in the Chinese Horoscope, and a Classic style type.

As a student of these kinds of arts, I figured out why Audrey...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Reid rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This story is full of intriguing (and often hilarious) anecdotes about the rise of Audrey Hepburn and the making of Blake Edwards' Breakfast at Tiffany's. Among those that I remember off the top of my head:

* at one point, during negotiations, Truman Capote -- a middle-aged, pot-bellied gay writer who vaguely resembled a Buddha in a Hawaiian shirt -- told a producer with a straight face that he wanted to play the leading man in the film and would only sell it on that condition;

* Audrey Hepburn'...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Debbe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wrote this for the LFPL Reader's Corner Blog last year "...I was too young to read Capote’s novel Breakfast at Tiffany’s when it was first published and it wasn’t until about 10 years ago I saw the movie. The focus of Wasson’s book is on Capote’s writing of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and its adaption to the big screen. The author followed the entire process from the formation by Capote of the idea that spawned the novel until moviegoers saw the finished product.

Personalities involved in the movie...more

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Feb 20, 2012 Joan Hanna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. looks at everything from the history of fashion, fashion in film, Capote’s writing of the book, Audrey Hepburn’s film career, and how Givenchy came to epitomize style and class all wrapped up in a little black dress. Wasson explores all of the subtle and not so subtle forces that came together to even make this film possible. There is enough name-dropping in this book to make your head spin, from Marilyn Monroe to Chanel; from Edith head to Givenchy, and everyone in between....more

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Jan 08, 2012 Medlibrarian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

To really get this one, I'd suggest rereading Breakfast at Tiffany's and watching the movie again.

It's readable, but as someone who is a huge film buff and who has read extensively on the history of filmmaking, I took issue with some of Wasson's pronouncements. Wasson contends that stars are creations of the studios. While certainly stars were shaped and polished by the studios (and today by their various handlers), to imply that anyone could just create an Audrey Hepburn or a Marilyn Monroe is...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Karlene rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you know me, even just a little , you know how much I love Audrey Hepburn and that my favorite movie of all time is "Breakfast at Tiffany's." It being the 50th anniversary I was thrilled to hear there was a book about to be released about the making of that movie. But this book was so much more than just a telling of how this movie came to be, it was about the American culture that surrounded this movie and what challenges that brought for the makers of this film. For instance, the LBD. In 19...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Timothy Hallinan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is an interesting book but it's a cautionary example of what can go wrong when a writer sets out to do too much.

Wasson takes a great cast -- Audrey Hepburn, Blake Edwards, Truman Capote, screenwriter George Axelrod, studio design empress Edith Head, Paris couturier Hubert de Givenchy, and many more, plus the making of an iconic film -- and tries to demonstrate that somehow this enterprise was a benchmark in the liberation of women, that it changed fashion forever, that it did so many things...more

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Oct 11, 2011 Jenny McPhee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Holly Golighty Needs a New Dress

Sam Wasson’s Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman is a little black dress of a book: sleek, suggestive, and elegantly subversive. A delightful read full of gratifying anecdotes and provocative cameos of movie people and the glitterati -- Colette, Anita Loos, Gloria Vanderbilt and, of course, Truman Capote and his swans -- the book’s greatest strength lies in Wasson’s multi-stranded account of how a movie ge...more

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Oct 05, 2011 Pam rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

http://iwriteinbooks.wordpress.com/20...

For two reasons, I thought that this might be a little bit far fetched as a book I’d enjoy. The first being that I’m not really a Hepburn fan. You know, that bit about Tiffany’s and the height of femeninity and all. The other is that, well, quite frankly, it is an account of women’s studies but is written by, ahem, a dude.

Now, I can safely report that I was happily mistaken on both accounts. Well, on the second, it is in fact written by a “dude” but that t...more

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Sep 19, 2011 Alison rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Who can forget Audrey's little black dress?

Back in the 1950s, Hollywood had its good girls - Doris Day - and its bad girls - Marilyn Monroe. Once an actress was assigned to a persona, she was not to cross to the other side, or, heaven-forbid, skirt along the line between.

Breakfast at Tiffany's changed all of that. America's sweetheart, Audrey Hepburn, was about to shatter her mould and make her mark on American cinema history.

I watched all the old movies with my parents - Breakfast at Tiffany...more
Who can forget Audrey's little black dress?

Back in the 1950s, Hollywood had its good girls - Doris Day - and its bad girls - Marilyn Monroe. Once an actress was assigned to a persona, she was not to cross to the other side, or, heaven-forbid, skirt along the line between.

Breakfast at Tiffany's changed all of that. America's sweetheart, Audrey Hepburn, was about to shatter her mould and make her mark on American cinema history.

I watched all the old movies with my parents - Breakfast at Tiffany's, Funny Face, Pillow Talk, West Side Story, Cleopatra. I'm sure my dad wanted me to see as much of of Doris Day as I did Madonna growing up, hoping it would balance my image of women. There is something safe about watching a movie from the 1950s with your kids - the "fade to black" certainly helps. Funny, what seemed racy in 1961 was downright tame by 1980s standards. Breakfast at Tiffany's was at the start the silver screen revolution.

Sam Wasson's FIFTH AVENUE 5 A.M. gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how Breakfast at Tiffany's came to fruition, skirting around the censors, the drama involved in the casting, the questionable ending, and (in my eyes) the most significant fashion trend of all time.

There were parts of the book that were a bit slow, and the author was sometimes overly casual with the names of the players, I often had to refer to the "opening credits" at the front of the book to be sure to whom he was referring. It also helps if the reader has a basic knowledge of Audrey's biography to fully appreciate some of the references made.

As a girl that grew up watching Audrey Hepburn movies, I was glued to this book. Actresses like Audrey Hepburn, Liz Taylor, and Katherine Hepburn made me fall in love with the movies and the glamour that surrounds them. To get an inside look into one of the most iconic movies of all time was a treat.

The only thing I wish I could do was add more pictures...that makes me sound like a child, I know. There were some pictures in the book, but I had to go and watch the movie again instead. Still magical...but even more so this time!

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Aug 30, 2011 Kathleen (Kat) Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, film-history

Audrey Hepburn is an icon like no other, yet the image many of us have of Hepburn - 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.

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 early sixties before Woodstock and birth control, when a...more
Audrey Hepburn is an icon like no other, yet the image many of us have of Hepburn - 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.

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 early sixties 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. (excerpt back cover)

In the novel, Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M., by Sam Wasson, the reader gets to see behind the scenes of perhaps one of the most well-known actresses of all, Audrey Hepburn whose movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's would change how the movies would forever change what was acceptable at that time.

The reader journeys back in Hepburns past and gets the rare opportunity to be an early witness to what became the rise to fame for Audrey. Not being much to look at by the definition of Wasson, she wasn't one of the most beautiful woman, but she had a rare look about her, wide eyes, too long of legs, too skinny of arms and the most unappealing crooked smile. Hardly things one would consider when looking at the history of the movies Hepburn starred in.

During the early 50's the censors, still controlled what we seen and what would be removed before anything made it to movies or television and for woman to be seen having affair or even the idea of having sex was only allowed in the minds of the writers. We see how much in the novel, that Hepburn wanted a married life complete with children and that she valued it so much, not even her movies or rise to stardom would be allowed to interfere.

I received this book compliments of TLC Book Tours for my honest review and LOVED how Audrey Hepburn was written about, what she cared about and how she eventually became the lady who captivated us all with sophistication and elegance and a bit of class. We get an opportunity to look at some rare moments in Old Hollywood and how movies made it from books to the big screen! I award this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars and gave me a better appreciation for what really goes on behind the scenes in the life of Audrey Hepburn and other celebrities.(less)

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May 11, 2011 Gabrielle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. is a short, easily read book about the production of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The book begins with Paramount recommending that Truman Capote’s novella, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, should not be turned into a movie. For its time, the novella was controversial. It dealt with adult themes of homosexuality and the lead character, Holly Golightly, was a call girl who had abandoned her family. Throughout the Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M., Sam Wasson incorporates short anecdotes and explains how...more

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Apr 15, 2011 Carolann rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-her-literary-salon

As Holly would say: Bon chers amis,

Good morning! Good afternoon! Good day! And welcome to the true story behind ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ and the domino effect the movie had on the modern woman by introducing a good girl yet still a prostitute to the big screen — or so the book jacket boasts.

“… There was always sex in Hollywood, but before ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’, only the bad girls were having it.”

I must admit, I always have had ‘un peu petit’ love affair with Audrey Hepburn. I must have read h...more

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Sep 07, 2010 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am not sure why the author felt he had to legitimize this film study by connecting the movie to a sociological study, because the book succeeds best as a consideration of the difficulties in modifying a complicated novel into a seminal film. While the author's conclusions are mildly amusing, it is clear that his real love is in tracing the making of this movie by delineating the characters and lives of the major players and intertwining them with the actual real time making of the movie.

The re...more

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Aug 15, 2010 Redseamom rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The backstory of how first the novel and then the film Breakfast at Tiffany's came to be was an interesting read, and for those of us not in the know, the extensive dealmaking and ego-soothing that goes into making a film is entertaining and interesting as well.

This book wasn't what I was hoping, however. I was hoping for more "Dawn of the Modern Woman," but that aspect of the book was limited to the author's rather thin speculations, with little analysis or real historical context. Expecting so...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Al rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

From the title “Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the Dawn of the Modern Woman” the reader might expect a sociology dissertation, but Sam Wasson’s work is mainly a “making of a famous movie” book with a little social commentary thrown in to justify his choice. Not that he has to; “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” remains a beloved movie to many, fifty years after its release. The universal theme of a young woman moving from small town Oklahoma to the big city to reinvent he...more From the title “Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the Dawn of the Modern Woman” the reader might expect a sociology dissertation, but Sam Wasson’s work is mainly a “making of a famous movie” book with a little social commentary thrown in to justify his choice. Not that he has to; “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” remains a beloved movie to many, fifty years after its release. The universal theme of a young woman moving from small town Oklahoma to the big city to reinvent herself and find love remains appealing to modern audiences, even if the movie itself is an odd hybrid with one foot in the repressed fifties and one in the swinging sixties. That contradiction, as Wasson explains, is partly the result of the filmmakers finding workarounds from the Hollywood censors of the day and partly the filmmakers changing Truman Capote’s original story to fit popular tastes. Wasson is at his best here, showing a nervous studio trying to assure audiences that Holly Golightly is less of a call girl and more of a “kookie” character. His retelling of the movie’s making is full of interesting revelations: Capote wanted to play the male lead; a producer wanted to scuttle “Moon River;” Marilyn Monroe was first approached to play Holly. The book is short and readable, though it comes across as an extended magazine piece at times. The author doesn’t shy away from criticizing the movie, either; he notes how the Mickey Rooney “Japanese” scenes still mar the movie for many viewers. Director Blake Edwards felt that the scenes added some needed humor, but he later apologized for their inclusion. Chatty and casual, “Fifth Avenue” seems well researched with Wasson interviewing the few remaining cast and crew, including Patricia Neal before her passing. By the end Wasson may not have convincingly made his case for the movie’s importance in reflecting the evolution of the modern woman, but he has shown how Hollywood with luck and pluck sometimes makes a film classic. Recommended.(less)

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Aug 03, 2011 Darla rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I ran across this title on the shelf at the local Borders and immediately picked it up because it looked to be an interesting book on the making of "Breakfast at Tiffany's", one of my favorite films. The author paints a great picture of the preparations leading up to the making of the film, the making of the film itself, and the reception of the film, along with its repercussions for all the people involved and society as a whole. I had heard a lot of the trivia already from TCM's host Robert Os...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Kristiana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, kindle, non-fiction

I love breakfast at Tiffany's. Audrey Hepburn movies fill my heart with joy and Tiffany's is no exception. This book didn't have to be spectacular for me to enjoy it, but when it started it seemed too fussy. There's a table of contents and a 'cast of characters' that made my eyes roll. The first chapter was filled with so many French phrases thrown in I may have audibly groaned. Thankfully the pretentious beginnings faded away as the book progressed.

The author works hard to weave in all the pie...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: summer-chicken, the-chicken-coop

Oh!, oh, my, that Little Black Dress! While some would enjoy this book because they like movie-making, or Audrey Hepburn, or the book Breakfast at Tiffany's, for me, the best part of this book was the accident of the delectable, the sensuous, the dress me up, make me beautiful, nothing else matters but my Little Black Dress.

While the hyperbolic title (insinuating that the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's had something to do with the acceptance of modern woman's return to the workforce/sexual freedom...more Oh!, oh, my, that Little Black Dress! While some would enjoy this book because they like movie-making, or Audrey Hepburn, or the book Breakfast at Tiffany's, for me, the best part of this book was the accident of the delectable, the sensuous, the dress me up, make me beautiful, nothing else matters but my Little Black Dress.

While the hyperbolic title (insinuating that the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's had something to do with the acceptance of modern woman's return to the workforce/sexual freedom/have it all/what exactly is this book defining as a modern woman?) is over the top, and the story of the making of the movie is cutely broken into chapters with movie-making names (from "Coming Attraction" to "End Credits"), the star of the show for me was the story of my beloved Givenchy LBD.

(view spoiler)

Yes, yes, there is a God! God Himself put that fabulous black dress on her, accenting her bony collarbone, celebrating her splendid wide shoulders, pulling in her tiny waist, blooming out into a ballerina skirt. God himself gave us the symbol of woman's burgeoning rebellion, our restless and soundless creeping crawl out of our kitchens; God Himself gave us our symbol of our tentative steps toward freedom to acknowledge sex; He gave us our first step and gently pushed us on our way toward feminine strength in beauty that also depicts independence.

Ok, I know I'm waxing poetic, but what else can I do when I'm looking at that beautiful dress, that fabulous 'do, those gorgeous jewels, with dreamy, floaty Moon River playing in the background?

"The dress must follow the body of a woman, not the body following the shape of the dress." Quote by Givenchy

And, also, since the book tantalized me with the story of how the poster was made, but didn't give us a picture of it, here it is. Enjoy!

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Jan 19, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 50-book-2012, actors, favorites, non-fiction, pop-culture

I'd make an excellent Mid-Century woman. I enjoy making meatloaf and deviled eggs and jell-o molds. I passionately watch The Dick Van Dyke Show, Ozzie and Harriett and Mad Men, longing for the times when women made cakes from scratch, cigarettes were smoked in front of children, people drank at every occasion (I love a good mixed drink in a perfectly shaped glass poured over perfectly shaped ice) and couples slept in separate beds, sometimes separate rooms. I understand that even Mad Men is a st...more I'd make an excellent Mid-Century woman. I enjoy making meatloaf and deviled eggs and jell-o molds. I passionately watch The Dick Van Dyke Show, Ozzie and Harriett and Mad Men, longing for the times when women made cakes from scratch, cigarettes were smoked in front of children, people drank at every occasion (I love a good mixed drink in a perfectly shaped glass poured over perfectly shaped ice) and couples slept in separate beds, sometimes separate rooms. I understand that even Mad Men is a stylized version of this era, but I can't help it, I love the dresses, the food, the struggles and the imperfections of this time in American history.

Fifth Avenue, 5 AM by Sam Wasson encompasses that era with equal parts nostalgia and grit. It is the story of Audrey Hepburn and her reluctance to be the poster girl for Modern American women, her desire to be a mother, her failed relationships and, in the end, her willingness to accept herself in her imperfections. Audrey Hepburn is the reason why women wear little black dresses, but Holly Golightly (the heroine of Breakfast and Tiffany's) is the prototype of the modern female. Holly is the perfect combination of sex and femininity and, Wasson will tell you, she was the perfect bridge between June Cleaver and Marilyn Monroe.

Wasson deftly weaves touch tones of America into this tale. He describes how Hepburn helped revolutionize the fashion industry, making designer clothing appeal to the average working class woman. He talks about class, a smidgelette about race, fashion, the film industry, the music industry (where would the movie be without Mancini's "Moon River"?), gender, sexuality and Truman Capote (yes, Mr. Capote belongs in a class all his very own) and gives us enough information to know that he's in love with all of it and, yet, wants us to love it for ourselves not because he says so.

Everytime I picked up the book and began reading I was propelled back to a time of dualities; on one hand America's need to look and be picture perfect and, on the other hand, a nation who wanted to show it's true, unglossy, promicious self. I gotta tell you I love both sides. I also love that Wasson makes sure that his readers understand that it is Breakfast's at Tiffany's (the film more than the movie) that signifies our break from trying to be the perfect Land of Liberty.

I didn't realize I would identify with Audrey Hepburn so much. Her struggle to balance her personal desires to be a good wife and mother, with those of her husband and those of one of the first modern career women kept me reading just to see how she was going to succeed through /in-spite of it all.

Read this book. Be prepared to laugh and cry (OK, I didn't cry, but I did gasp a few times at the glorious story). Be prepared to hum "Moon River" in the shower. Be prepared to yearn for cigarettes and martinis and a time when everything was new and American was a blushing debutante.

Sidenote: Wasson interrupts my flow of reading a little too much with all of his topic headings for this to be a full 5 stars. Oh, and I also didn't like that he didn't have nice things to say about George Pippard. Who doesn't like Hannibal?(less)

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May 12, 2011 Spencer Schankel rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't need to go into details of the book here as there are plenty already posted. It's an account of the making of a movie and is titled "Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman." I would have added this to that title: "Modern Woman in the Movies." My reasoning is thus: the modern woman clearly dawned in the 1920s in real life. A few years after Tiffany's there was a movie that explained it all to us: "Thoroughly Modern Millie" wherein Mil...more

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Jan 13, 2011 westernway rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: film, biography-autobiography, owned

This is one of the fastest reads I have done in a long time and I found it very interesting. I was glad to see that having read the novel I was not wrong in my assumptions of about the real activities of the central characters. ( I find it amusing that people still do not realise the true nature of Holly Golightlys profession as it is quite clear if you read the book. ) As a fan of the film I found the story of how it came to be made interesting and cannot honestly think that the original castin...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Joyce rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Great book! I picked this up at the LA airport and couldn't put it down. In fact, I finished it on the train ride from MUC airport to GAP. It was an easy read and interesting topic. The author did a great job of research to collect all the information and stories to put this book together. It will make me appreciate Audrey Hepburn's movies a whole lot more; I might even go on a binge and watch them again, as it has been a long time since I've seen them.

One take away that I received from this boo...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Amber rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was interesting on so many levels. I was not very familar with Breakfast At Tiffanys other than to know it was a film starring Audrey Hepburn. What I learned about popular culture at the time the movie was made, and the movie/book itself was intriguing. I am absolutely going to watch the movie now (which I've never seen before) and I kind of want a copy of the poster described in the book!!! I love the way Sam Wasson used the movie and Audrey herself as a bigger picture of the changes...more

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May 23, 2012 Christine Stevens rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I took this review from another reader but it's spot on. I totally enjoyed reading this book!

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. looks at everything from the history of fashion, fashion in film, Capote’s writing of the book, Audrey Hepburn’s film career, and how Givenchy came to epitomize style and class all wrapped up in a little black dress. Wasson explores all of the subtle and not so subtle forces that came together to even make this film possible. There is enough name-dropping in this book to make your he...more

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Sep 13, 2010 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 31, 2011 Annika rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first and only thing that drew me to this book is the beautiful picture of Audrey Hepburn on the cover standing outside the famous department store in her classic black dress, ala Holly Golightly.

I am not a *big* Hepburn fan, but I could be. I want to be. I have limited knowledge of her and her films. I have enough Hepburn-potential-fandom to know "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Curiousity, shall we say, drew me to this book.

Curiousity so killed this Cat, and tossed it in the rain.

First of all, if...more

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Oct 20, 2011 Rose Yanez rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fifth Avenue, 5:00 AM was a fabulous book. Sam Wasson illustrated Audrey Hepburn's interesting acting career, from the very beginning, attracting Collete with her unique features, landing her a role in "Gigi," to "Breakfast at Tiffany's," a huge stretch from Hepburn's comfort zone. I found it fascinating, learning how this young star had caused such a commotion from movie-makers all because she was "different." Hepburn became an inspiration to women everywhere. She became a sophisticated fashion...more

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About Sam Wasson

SAM WASSON is the author of the New York Times bestseller Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M .: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman and two works of film criticism. He is a visiting professor of film at Wesleyan University.

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A Splurch in the Kisser: The Movies of Blake Edwards

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“The baby boom produced a fresh batch of American youngsters -- teenagers they were called -- and they were suddenly coming of age. But until Roman Holiday, it was hard for them to see themselves in the movies. What Audrey offered -- namely to the girls -- was a glimpse of someone who lived by her own code of interests, not her mother's, and who did so with a wholesome independence of spirit.” — 6 people liked it

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title link	preview: Fifth Avenue, 5:00 AM: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and The Dawn of the Modern Woman
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8341731-fifth-avenue-5?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328328161l/8341731.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8341731-fifth-avenue-5?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Fifth Avenue, 5:00 AM: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and The Dawn of the Modern Woman by Sam Wasson[/url]

Fifth Avenue, 5:00 AM: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and The Dawn of the Modern Woman

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