Product Description
Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get--only with what you are expecting to give--which is everything-- Katherine Hepburn

An Intimate Portrait of Films Legendary Lovers--On Screen and Off

During their twenty-six years together, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy mesmerized movie audiences worldwide with their famous on-screen chemistry like no other couple. Yet their private love affair--which ended only with Tracys death in 1967--remained shrouded in secrecy.

Now, international best-selling author Christopher Andersen draws on his own extensive conversations with the immortal Hepburn as well as others who knew the legendary duo intimately to tell the poignant yet often heartbreaking love story of these beloved American icons and the life they shared . Revealing the strength, wit and dignity that characterized this historic partnership, Andersen offers a captivating portrait of a great American romance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Great Book!
I am really happy to have this book!It's great that I was able to find it on Amazon.Although it did take a few weeks before it arrived, I was just glad to get it! I am looking forward to reading it!

A Good Read !!
If you like/love Tracy and Hepburn in movies, you'll love this book.It's a true account of their lives and how their affair came about, how it was hidden to the world (insiders in Hollywood knew all about it).In fact, it was so well hidden (Kate used to always slip in the back way at hotels), that Tracy's wife upon meeting Hepburn told her she was shocked, that she thought the affair was only a rumor.A very good read, you won't be disappointed.

A Great Love Story
I have always thought that Tracy and Hepburn were a Great couple in Movies, but they were amazing in real life too.The book was a very good history of each of their lives and how they became intertwined.I think it is one of the best books that I have ever read.

Good read
I have been looking for years for a Spencer Tracy biography and this is about as close as I could find.I have to say I was very pleasantly surpried by this book.First off, it is a quick and easy read and is especially well written for one of these Hollywood tomes.Secondly, rather than just telling the story of the Tracy/Hepburn love affair, it gives you so much background on both stars that I feel as though I have gotten my long sought after Tracy bio.Finally, the book helps the reader to understand that there really is no understanding a love like Tracy and Hepburn shared.Neither could put it into words and neither seemed interested in doing such.Rather than a lot of psycho babble that you usually get in these types of books, the author realizes that there is no accounting for taste and there is no explaining love.

Spence and Kate: the secret romance
These two screen giants met on the set of Woman of the Year in 1942 and were together until Spencer died of a heart attack, shortly after wrapping up Guess Whose Coming to Dinner in 1967. This book chronicles their remarkable, romantic pairing in an era where a movie star's private life could remain hidden from a prying public. Spencer was married to a devoted Catholic, Louise, and he refused to divorce her. He also felt a tremendous sense of guilty about his deaf son. So marriage was out of the question, but Kate didn't care, she just wanted she be with Spencer, and she was, following him all over the world to sit worshipfully at his feet.

Andersen dutifully chronicles the nine classic Tracy-Hepburn films and gives some intriguing behind-the-scenes glimpses into each movie. There is also much information about Tracy's legendary bouts with the bottle, his brief fling with Gene Tierney in the early 50's and Kate's affair with Howard Hughes in the 1930's. All the bases are covered, but I wish Andersen would have interviewed more people close to the duo. Still, an engrossing read and essential for anyone enamored with either Spencer or Kate. ... Read more

Product Description
This classic Hollywood memoir is again available, now with a new foreword by the author. Spence Tracy and Kate Hepburn were the couple everyone knew of but no one really knew anything about. What kept these two opposites together makes for an interesting read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

'Tracy and Hepburn' is an irreplaceable book that anyone could admire and aspire to be like it's subjects that will be missed
Since I enjoy acting and actors, I was given this book out of my grandfathers vast collection of books. I knew Katharine Hepburn was a popular actress, and Spencer Tracy stared with her in a few films. I had seen 'The Aviator' film about Howard Hughes, from Martin Scorsese. Cate Blanchett is incredible in her role as Katharine Hepburn. I'm so thrilled she won the Academy Award for her portrayal of someone who really didn't thankfully act like a star. She was just an ordinary person, and that is a great aspect of these fine actors.While this book only touches a little on that aspect of Katharine's life with Howard Hughes, it is the witty comments from Spencer Tracy and really a great friendship and love between this special pair of actors that is examined and admired here. Before reading 'Tracy and Hepburn' I read 'Audrey: Her Real Story', by Alexander Walker. The two Hepburn's are quite different and really don't have anything really in common. That isn't a bad thing at all. Except for the same last names, and acting in the Golden Age of Hollywood. 'Tracy and Hepburn' is a rare book. It is luckily authored by Garson Kanin, who has worked with and been wonderful friends with the acting duo, and neighbour to Katharine Hepburn for many years. Katharine certainly seems like an admireable woman and understandable risk taker. She, like her family isn't really content to just do nothing. She makes things happen. She also likes to skateboard and has even attempted surfing. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn loved to have a meal with friends at home and chat. 'Tracy and Hepburn' shows us a simplier life in those days. I didn't live through the Golden Age of Hollywood with all of these seemingly wonderfully talented people, but we should all aspire to be like them. I really haven't seen many Katharine Hepburn or Spencer Tracy films. I've seen most of the great 'Guess Who's Coming To Dinner', with the two of them. I've seen 'Boy's Town' with Spencer Tracy. I've seen Katharine in 'The Philadelphia Story', and 'Little Women'. That's really all I've seen of these two great actors. I am a fan of Humprey Bogart and Lauren Bacall and both love Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, so I was very glad to read about 'The African Queen'. Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy keep it real. There isn't anything fake about them. I understand their appeal to others in the movie business, and those out of it. So I'm now a fan. I remembering prefering 'High Society' with Grace Kelly over 'The Philadelphia Story', but I'm certain to enjoy both films equally now. I'm not sure if I'd read another book on Katharine Hepburn or Spencer Tracy, but I'll never say never to it. I'm really not sure what would be the best aside from this book. I'm sure there are many that expand from this book, because Katharine is still alive at the end of this book. If there are any favorite books Katharine Hepburn fans enjoy please contact me and let me know. I'm very interested. I'm not sure if there is any truth about Katharine not enjoying the lack of privacy about her life in this book, but I'm sure nothing hurtful was meant by Garson Kanin writing it. He has captured these two real-life characters beautifully. Katharine also hated doing interviews but loved to travel and make plans. Keeping her life in order, and staying fit and healthy. She also loved to give gifts, but her birthday seems unknown. My Mum was born on the 12th May like Katharine so there's something special I can take from reading about Katharine Hepburn. I'm glad I share both Katharine Hepburn's and Spencer Tracy's love for acting. These two special people from the Golden Age of Hollywood are irreplaceable, but how fortunate and enjoyable for all of us that we can still watch them shine on screen. I love the immortality of cinema. Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy really must be the best in the business. I'm so glad I've shared the earth with some extraordinary people. Thank you both for such happy productive lives and thank you Garson for recounting it for others to enjoy.

Yummy, but...
I enjoy this book immensely, but I wish Mr. Kanin hadn't constantly been upstaging himself throughout.One review I read of this book said (aptly, I thought) that the title of the book should have been called We Three.I'm sure that he and his wife Ruth Gordon were good friends of Tracy and Hepburn's; I'm also sure that Tracy and Hepburn had other friends they were close to as well.I do know that the invasion of privacy made Katherine Hepburn furious when this book came out - she refused to speak to Mr. Kanin for several years as a result.I don't know - the stories are good, but it puts a bad taste in my mouth all the same.

Wonderful Anecdotes
This is a delightful book filled with anecdotes about Kanin, his wife Ruth Gordon, and their relationship with Tracy and Hepburn.But, of course, no mention is made of the fact that Spencer and Katherine were having an affair and no hint of the "A" word (adultery).This is a cleaned up version of reality, but nonetheless ceaselessly entertaining.Tracy, however, comes off as he usually does:melancholy, dark, and troubled.Only Kanin's affection for him redeems Tracy in the reader's eyes.The parts about Hepburn are the real treat here; she must have been a riot to have as a friend.

I've had this book for 15 years
And I've probably read it 12 times. Spencer Tracy's abrupt nature is described in great detail, but with real affection by Garson Kanin. By the end of the book, we understand why Bonaventure was more than just Tracy's middle name. Hepburn's unwavering love and willingness to put Spen-SAH first often seems hard to reconcile with her solid will and staunch intellect. Through Garson Kanin's eyes, we see why the couple's differences made for a fascinating life together, on and off screen. No slouch in the talent department himself, Kanin's asides on his and Ruth Gordon's antics with the formidable Tracy and Hepburn could make for an exquisite book, in and of themselves.

Wonderful
Garson does a great job showing off Tracy and Hepburn in this delightful book. You get to take a look inside Kate's life from a good friend of hers. Garson passed away in March of this year and he left many wonderful thingsbehind. This book just being one. He also wrote several of the screenplaysthat Tracy and Hepburn stared in. This book is a must for all. ... Read more

Product Description
Spencer Tracy was many men - a haughty Irish kid and impatient student; an ambitious rising Broadway actor, a bad boy of Hollywood and an incorrigible drinker; a guilt-ridden father; a practicing Catholic who refused to divorce his wife, yet whose relationships with Loretta Young and then Katharine Hepburn were open secrets. But above all, Spencer Tracy was a film giant few have ever rivaled. Probing, detailed, and definitive, this is the fascinating story of the public and private life of a Hollywood superstar and his glittering and legendary era. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A very poor book
Davidson clearly embellished many of the interviews he claimed to have had with various people including Tracy himself.This book is extremely inaccurate and unnecessarily lurid.For more balanced books on Tracy read Tracy and Hepburn by Garson Kanin,the Tracy biography by Larry Swindell and the really good Spencer Tracy Bio-bibliography by James Fisher.

A great book about a great star
The book Spencer Tracy: Tragic Idol is a great book. It is extremely informative as well. Bill Davidson spent years of interviewing to put together what is probably the best Spencer Tracy biography. This book givesdetailed information on each and every film that Tracy ever made. Anotherreason that this is a great book are the parts about the strange yettouching romance Spencer Tracy had with Katherine Hepburn. Unlike someother bigraphies of Tracy, this one is extremely well balanced. It tellsnot only of Spencer Tracy's great acting skills, but also of the bad thingsin his private life. This book is a must read for all Spencer Tracy fans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Tracy Fans Will Love This Book! I am glad I bought it.
I am a lifelong Spencer Tracy fan. I thought I had seen all of his movies until I discovered this book. What a find! I did not know anything about Tracy's early career at Fox. This book is a treasure trove of rare information about the pre-Code era and Tracy's little-known but numerous movie roles during the early 1930s.This book is fun to read! I couldn't put it down. The essays are entertaining. Some are short and some are long. I especially love all the photos of young Spencer Tracy. Hard to believe! I had never seen photos of him like these before. This book is a wonderful documentary. I think Tracy would like it. I am sure Katharine Hepburn would!

Testimonial from ex-MA Senate President William H Bulger, also former President, U of Mass
Your book is a fascinating story of much more than Tracy and film. I read the chapter:The Power and the Glory and a bit about gangster movies of the bootleg era etc. It is a rich history of the better part of the 20th century in America. You deserve congratulations. Some very good summaries of film as well as "racial stereotyping" the "friendship" of the two sailors, and various other analyses make your little volume most interesting. -- ex-MA Senate President William H Bulger, also former President, U of Mass.

Informative but often dull
Film aficionados will know that Spencer Tracy established himself in films with a 5 year contract at Fox studios from 1930 to 1935. The Fox product at the time was notoriously mediocre and lugubrious and Tracy was a difficult rebellious contract player. However, he was able to hone his craft and his acting reputation, the result being that he was subsequently picked up by MGM, the Rolls Royce of studios, when his Fox contract expired.

This book is a collection of essays focusing primarily on 12 Fox films from this period of his career. It is indicative of the spin that in the forward, they are referred to as "lost" masterpieces. Lost many of them may have been to the general public but I don't think even "The Power and the Glory", probably the best of the films, would be described as a masterpiece, although this particular film's links to "Citizen Kane" have given it a certain kudos! Rather, most of the films have points of interest. For example, "Me and My Gal" co-stars Tracy with Joan Bennett almost 20 years before their pairing in "Father of the Bride" and the film has a funny take off of "Strange Interlude", a pretentious Eugene O'Neill drama of the period. "Looking for Trouble" is an entertaining but routine buddy movie about telephone linesman but has a vivid recreation of an earthquake, 2 years before the more famous "San Francisco". "Now I'll Tell", a conventional gangster movie, has a teenage Alice Faye as Tracy's mistress performing a sizzling pre-code torch song, "Foolin with the Other Woman's Man", straight at the camera. "Marie Galante", a confusing espionage thriller about a plot to blow up American ships in the Panama Canal, has the great Helen Morgan as a nightclub singer. Tracy is excellent in all the films but many of the parts are hardly challenging. He plays gangsters in a couple, notably in the very good "Quick Millions" and it is of interest to compare his work here to the better known performances of Cagney and Robinson at Warner Brothers.

The essays are variable. All of them are informative in some way or other because this is largely an academic read but that does not translate always to stimulating reading. Many of them illustrate how the screenplays reflect the working class issues of the time because Tracy's roles here are not the upmarket heroes of his later work. The best are written by Charles Morrow, a staff member of the Lincoln Centre. Morrow's essays provide a realistic, enlightening critical assessment of the films, sometimes also expanding on the similarities between the characters on screen and Tracy himself e.g. "Dante's Inferno". The worst are a series of plot dissertations by Jeremy Bond - utterly boring and providing little "evaluation" of the film on offer. Some don't even focus on Tracy as a performer. For example, the essays on "Marie Galante" focus on the racial stereotypes and the accents of the players. The evaluation of Stepin Fetchit is indulgent in the extreme given he has, at most, half a dozen lines in the film. Furthermore, there are many films of this period which have the same stereotypes so there is no big deal here and Tracy, himself, barely gets a mention! Surprisingly, there are some errors too in the text: for example,"20,000 Years in Sing Sing" is listed in the Forward as a Fox film but Tracy was loaned to Warner Brothers for that one and it is indicative of the different studio that it is a much more dynamic narrative; "Now I'll Tell" was not Alice Faye's first feature film.

The book, which is nicely produced in hardback, has very few photos, maybe one or 2 per film, and this is a gaping hole. On the assumption that the purpose was to open up this lesser known period of Tracy's career, a selection of photos illustrating the text would have helped enormously. For that matter, the reader might find it useful to track down a copy of "The Films of Spencer Tracy" because the plots of the films are captured much more succinctly and the look of the films much more successfully. Tracking down the films themselves could be much harder!

There is no doubt that the book is a valuable addition to the history of Tracy but the analysis does elevate a lot of mediocrity. Tracy recognised this mediocrity himself. It is ironical that maybe his best film of the period, the lyrical "A Man's Castle", was not a Fox film. If a reader has not seen the films but is spurred to track them down as a result of this book, he/she may be disappointed.

a "Must-Have" for all Spencer Tracy admirers
TCM's Robert Osborne says this book is "wonderfully informative and entertaining, a meticulously researched, in-depth look at a part of Spencer Tracy's spectacular career that nobody knows..." And I agree! What a marvelous expose' of Spencer Tracy's pre-MGM career at Fox, during the Great Depression, in the early 1930's -- Hollywood's racy pre-Code years. I had no idea Tracy performed with Humphrey Bogart, Jean Harlow, Joan Bennett, Bette Davis, George Raft, Dickie Moore and Shirley Temple!!!! Thiswell-written, unique collection of essays, rare photo stills and other studio memorabilia document in great detail so many forgotten or lost Tracy performances in Golden Age movies --most of which I have never even heard of. Spencer Tracy is ranked as the ninth greatest actor on AFI's List of "50 Greatest Screen Legends" and is one of my favorite actors.I am familiar with Tracy's iconicperformances during the 1940's, 50's and 60's but this book totally blew my mind with so much new information. It's a "Must-Have" for all Spencer Tracy admirers, vintage film aficionados and film studies professors and their students. I don't think the Spencer Tracy films discussed in this anthology are available on DVD but they should be. After all, Spencer Tracy is a Hollywood Legend! Maybe Robert Osborne can do something about that?
... Read more

Product Description
Have you ever wondered how egalitarian and complementarian marriages play out differently on a day-to-day level?

In this unique book A?da and William Spencer and Steve and Celestia Tracy, two couples from the differing perspectives of egalitarianism and soft complementarianism, share a constructive dialogue about marriage in practice. They cover a variety of topics like marriage discipleship, headship and submission, roles and decision-making, and intimacy in marriage. Also included are responses from three additional cultural frameworks: North American Hispanic, Korean American and African American.

Whether you're still working out your views on marriage or have found an approach you're comfortable with, this book will help you better understand the two perspectives on the ground level. While the theological starting points are different, you may be surprised to see the degree of convergence on practical issues as the dialogue unfolds. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A breath of fresh air
Christian marriage books tend to contain a number of opinions and assumptions on a variety of complicated topics that most couples may not share. Issues like parenting style, birth control, sexual intimacy, male and female roles, and the expectations that attend to those roles command a lot of attention and a lot of divergent views. Perhaps the most difficult and thorny problem emerges when we consider how couples interact on the basis of their conceptions of how the Bible's teaching on authority and submission come into play.

Marriage at the Crossroads addresses this issue head on, and helpfully puts "couples in conversation about discipleship, gender roles, decision making, and marital intimacy." Published under the academic division of if IVP, the book is authored by two couples: William and Aida Spencer representing the egalitarian view, and Steve and Celestia Tracy the complementarian view. Both couples are educated in the fields of New Testament studies, ethics and psychology.

The book is divided into four sections where the authors dialogue about marriage and being disciples of Jesus, headship and submission, roles and decision making, and marital intimacy. There is a fifth section authored by three other couples who come from different cultural backgrounds-Latino, Korean, and African-American-who offer reflections on the basically white American interpretation of the issues, and offer their own cultural perspective.

With such intersecting topics you might think that there would be some very controversial and confrontational ideas asserting themselves against one another. But the Spencers and the Tracys are so close to each other in attitude and practice that it is almost laughable to consider what differences they have as representing some unbridgeable divide. Both have good marriages. Both respect and honor equality. Both practice mutual submission. Both are zealously faithful in their devotion to biblical authority. Both are considerate decision makers. Both deny rigidly prescribed roles that pertain to house duties, income earning, or parental involvement. Both are tender towards one another and share a high degree of intimacy that is both respectable and enviable.

What separates them? The Tracys reserve the right for the man to make the "deal-breaker" decision if there is ever the occasion (and there are few). The Spencers refuse to make a move if there is not consensus. The Tracys hold to innate gender differences that understand the man as the initiator/protector and the woman as the responder/nurturer, while the Spencers do not. The Tracys see a unique role in marriage following from these differences while the Spencers only see roles following from gifting and opportunity.

The Tracys are fully aware of the problem of spousal abuse and have modified their position over the years. Early in the marriage Steven started out believing he was the "priest of the home" and took a very hard line approach to gender roles seeing his relationship with Celestia differentiated by hierarchy. As he became more convinced that word "head" in Ephesians 5:22-33 did not categorically mean "authority over," and because Jesus' ministry simply displaced any notion of patriarchy, he came to see his responsibility of "head" as possessing "authority to love" rather than "authority to lead."

This explains why there is such a surprising amount of agreement between the two couples. If the Tracys were more in line with a hierarchical version of complementarianism there would be much more to expect in the way of difference. Their modified complementarianism is a breath of fresh air in a debate where such article titles like "After Patriarchy, What?" are published in all seriousness. What the Tracys propose really isn't all that controversial, and even makes the Spencers's method of prooftexting look a little strained. All sides can acknowledge that equality and mutual submission are welcome in the wake of patriarchy.

With stark differences out of the way the reader can absorb the many examples of wisdom each couple displays in their treatment of the other. Marriages typically end or are severely at risk, the Tracy's argue, when a couple does not know how to confess and forgive wrongs. The Spencers agree and have a rule to not go to sleep if angry. The belief that Christ is both the authority and the reconciling force in marriage brings the couples to a joint submission to the task of peacemaking as they both seek to follow and obey Christ as Lord. Each couple tries to focus on the gifts and talents each other has and bring the best out of them, sacrificing and encouraging the other to make progress whether it be educational or vocational. Neither see one's calling as more important than the other. Marital intimacy is protected by not allowing the cares of life to intrude on designated times of togetherness, and the notion that hierarchical roles and true marital intimacy (emotional and sexual) are compatible is rejected.

While taking a class that touched on the Bible and gender roles in my theological education, I remembered the professor making an attempt to calm the heated discussion by stating that the differences between complementarian and egalitarian marriages were basically minute. This book is proof of that. The divide has always been and always will be over how we interpret the Bible. But for any searching couple who wants to see how faithful couples live out their convictions the contents of this book should not be ignored.

... Read more

Product Description
Often referred to as the "actor's actor," Spencer Tracy began his career on the stage. He went on to star in a number of commercially and critically successful films, won back-to-back Academy Awards in 1937 and 1938, and entered into a personal and professional relationship with Katharine Hepburn that was to last through his final film. This book provides detailed information on Tracy's many performances in film, radio, television, and drama, along with a biography. ... Read more

Product Description
1971 - Signet #Q4486 - 1st Edition - Paperback - Spencer Tracy - by Larry Swindell - 32 Pages of Photos - Illustrated with photos from Tracy's life and films - VG Condition - Collectible ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

THE ULTIMATE FILM ACTOR
Spencer Tracy has long been heralded as the cinema's greatest actor and this volume serves him well. Besides a detailed look at each of his films, we're given biographical information and articles/reflections by those who knew him. A fine tribute to a gifted artist.

Spencer Tracy, Film Legend.
The Complete Films of Spencer Tracy by Donald Deschner.

The Complete Films of Spencer Tracy was originally published by Citadel
Press as part of an illustrated "films of" series in 1967. I have the revised edition published in 1993 which has a few more detailed listings including a couple of early appearances in film short subjects.

Briefly, this is a well illustrated look at Spencer Tracy's film career with the empahsis on the well-known pictures of the late 1930s to the end of Mr. Tracy's career.

Unfortunately for me, I was primarily interested in Tracy's earlier, lesser known films, mostly done for Fox studiosfrom 1930 to 1936 or so.
This book gives scant coverage to this part of Mr. Tracy's career and in one article sort of dismisses this era as one of Mr. Tracy playing thugs and hoodlums.

In fact, in the earlier part of his carer, Mr. Tracy played many more or less lawful average Joes, who are up against it in different situations
in whichTracy uses his guile, toughnessand natural magnetism to help work his way out of difficult and dangeroussituations.These films are much different than the later well known hits of Mr. Tracy's career and should have been covered with a bit more detail in The Complete Films of Spencer Tracy.

Throughout the book all of Tracy's films are represented by at least one picture and are given a complete list of credits and cursery synopsis with no contemporary reviews or any description of what the particular moviemeant to Tracy's career or the film culture of that time.A very disappointing approach to one of the legendary careers in American movie history. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Testimonials from ex-MA Senate President William H Bulger, also former President, U of Mass and Robert Osborne, Host, TCM
"Your book is a fascinating story of much more than Tracy and film. I read the chapter :The Power and the Glory and a bit about gangster movies of the bootleg era etc. It is a rich history of the better part of the 20th century in America. You deserve congratulations. Some very good summaries of film as well as 'racial stereotyping' the "friendship" of the two sailors, and various other analyses make your little volume most interesting."

- William H. Bulger, ex-MA Senate President; former President, U of Mass

"Wonderfully informative and entertaining. It's a meticulously researched, in-depth look at a part of Spencer Tracy's spectacular career that nobody knows before the MGM and Hepburn glory days, and before the constraints of the Hollywood Production Code beautifully explaining why Tracy became the one actor who 'defies imitation.'"?

- Robert Osborne, Turner Classic Movies


... Read more

Product Description
In a culture that rarely sees pregnancy as a journey to self-discovery, Body, Soul, and Baby offers a fresh perspective on this transformative life experience by showing women how to tune in to the cues offered by their bodies and souls—as well as by the babies growing within them—for a healthier pregnancy, a more fulfilling birth experience, and a deeper bond with their baby.

Drawing on the best of both complementary and conventional Western medicine, Dr. Gaudet has written a groundbreaking guide that shows you how to become an active participant in your pregnancy. By working with the natural processes of pregnancy, you can discover how to:

• Pick up important signals from within about what you need, what your body needs, and what is right for both you and your baby
• Tune in to cues that can alert you to early signs of problems
• Use the mind-body connection to reduce stress, explore this remarkable life change, and bond with your baby
• Nurture your whole self, including your evolving sexual and sensual needs
• Make informed and conscious choices that reflect both your personal feelings and the latest
medical information
• Collaborate with your doctor or midwife, and build a supportive health-care team

Empowering, inspiring, and respectful of the wisdom of the female body and spirit, this invaluable book also includes advice on eating right and staying active, and natural and alternative approaches to pain relief. Whether you’re already pregnant or preparing to be, the time to start listening to your inner wisdom is now, and the guide to doing it is here.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Outstanding emotional advice; some medical disagreements
As a health care writer and a future mother, this is currently my favorite book on pregnancy.There are a few excellent books from years ago that address the emotional journey of pregnancy and give the reader psychological exercises to try, such as "Pregnant Feelings" by Rahima Baldwin Dancy and "An Easier Childbirth" by Gayle Peterson, but this is one of the only recent books on the topic that I'm aware of.I love this approach -- and we need this book in a climate that neglects the central importance of emotions in pregnancy.

Mothers who use midwives and doulas are often drawn to the extra psychological support offered by their caregivers, and will probably respond well to this book.Also, mothers who see obstetricians would also find this book an important complement to their care, since doctors typically spend significantly less time on prenatal emotional support.Those who are familiar with the book "Birthing From Within" may appreciate "Body, Soul, and Baby" for its similar approach to pregnancy (the former is more solely focused on birth).

My complaints are few, but I was disappointed in the following recommendations made by author and physician Tracy Gaudet.When she writes about midwives, she ignores Certified Professional Midwives, the most common type of home birth midwife in the U.S.She speaks only of "lay" midwives who are uncertified, and she is not supportive -- but she doesn't base her comments on scientific evidence or have experience working in a home setting (research amply demonstrates that CPMs and home birth, which can be attended by doctors as well as midwives, are as safe or safer than hospital birth).Home birth families may be especially drawn to a personalized, emotionally-based approach to pregnancy, so it is unfortunate that Gaudet might alienate these readers.

She also writes that in cases of stillbirth, she supports the option of elective cesarean section (as an alternative to expecting the mother to birth vaginally).She means to spare the mother the sadness of laboring with a stillborn.However, I find the recommendation troubling and lacking in evidence, as it adds the potential risks of major surgery, such as depression, hemorrage or infection, and possible future infertility, to an already very painful situation.

Overall, as a childbirth professional I love this book for filling a great need among pregnancy books -- and hope to meet the author someday, since we share a publisher.

Different Perspective for Baby Books
This is a great book because it's written more to give the reader a different perspective of the entire pregnancy process than a typical Mayo Clinic type pregnancy book.It makes you look a little deeper at things like how the you feel, etc. versus just the medical facts.

BEST PREGNANCY BOOK AROUND
I agree with the other three reviews wholeheartedly. When I became pregnant for the first time I was VERY surprised by the lack of spiritual material out there.Most books only focus on the physical aspects of pregnancy, which to me is only half of the picture.

This book not only focuses on every stage of pregnancy but it does so in an unbiased way.Most books are either written from a strong medical reference (in support of hospital birth and intervention) or a midwifery model (in support of homebirth and the "natural" experience).This book is neutral and draws the answers from within you.It also was the only source that I read about the link between the flu or it's vaccine and development of schizophrenia.Thank goodness because that research made me decide NOT to have the flu vaccination while pregnant.

I plan to buy this book for all of my friends when they become pregnant.Shame it's not more well known but I have a feeling it will be : )

Amazing Insight
During my pregnancy I wanted a book that would allow me to explore my emotions and spirtuality along with the growth of my body & baby. This book provides that hands down. I feel so much more connected to my baby and aware of every moment of my pregnancy which is exactly what I had hoped for. I am grateful to have been able to use this book as a guide.

EXCELLENT!!
This is the best book I read (and I read a lot of book in this pregnancy :)
It covers anything you can think of...the before pregnancy, during, after... also it goes over what happens in your body, what happens for your baby and what happens in your soul! Very detailed and gives advice too! The author is also an ob/gyn and speaks from experience. She is great and also writes a column in Whole Body & Soul magazine! I highly recommend this book!!! ... Read more

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Chapters: Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, Spencer Tracy, Cecil B. Demille, Jennifer Jones, Ruth Gordon, Hank Azaria, Elizabeth Montgomery, Anne Hathaway, Lauren Bacall, Laura Branigan, Kim Cattrall, Anne Bancroft, Kate Jackson, Adrien Brody, Rosalind Russell, William Powell, Armand Assante, Barton Maclane, Florence Henderson, Frances Bavier, Judd Hirsch, Peter Weller, Katherine Moennig, Robert Walker, Pat O'brien, Nina Foch, Helen Twelvetrees, Carrie-Anne Moss, Brooke Smith, Leisha Hailey, Cara Duff-Maccormick, Milton Selzer, James Luisi, Caroline Lagerfelt, Ruth Mcdevitt, Jim Backus, Diana Barrymore, Christine Ebersole, Randolph Mantooth, Brenda Bakke, Samuel Bernstein, Eion Bailey, Walter Abel, Mary Nash, Gil Bellows, Sally Gifford, Deborra-Lee Furness, Currie Graham, Mark Sadan, Martin Davidson. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 327. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 September 14, 1982) was an American Academy Award-winning actress and Princess consort of Monaco. In April 1956, Kelly married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and became styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and was commonly referred to as Princess Grace. After embarking on an acting career in 1948, at the age of 18, Grace Kelly appeared in New York City theatrical productions as well as in more than forty episodes of live drama productions broadcast during the early 1950s Golden Age of Television. In October 1953, with the release of Mogambo, she became a movie star, a status confirmed in 1954 with a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nomination as well as leading roles in five films, including The Country Girl, in which she gave a deglamorized, Academy Award-winning performance as Best Actress. Retiring from acting at 26 and entering upon her duties in Monaco, she...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=42620 ... Read more