The Way They Were

For many years reading Alan Ramsey's vitriolic, confronting but always engaging and insightful pieces in the Sydney Morning Herald was a standard feature of Saturday mornings for many Australians. He may have disappeared from our Saturday papers but he certainly hasn't been forgotten- by those who applauded his opinions, those he enraged, and by the politicians he wrote about. From mid-1987 to the end of 2008, no one had greater access to our national parliament and politicians than Alan Ramsey. From the granite quarry of national politics in Canberra, Ramsey wrote 2273 columns for the Sydney.

Coinciding with its 50th anniversary, this intriguing and impeccably researched book is the first ever exploration of the movie that has earned an annual spot in the AFI’s Top 10 movie romances and a place in the hearts of millions of moviegoers, revealing the full story behind the controversies, challenges, rivalries and romance surrounding The Way We Were. It’s one of the greatest movie romances of all time. Fifty years on, the chemistry between Barbra Streisand as Jewish working-class firebrand Katie Morosky and Robert Redford as all-American golden boy Hubbell Gardiner remains potent. Yet ­the friction and controversy surrounding The Way We Were were so enormous, the movie was nearly never made at all. Impeccably researched and eye-opening, The Way They Were reveals the full story behind the challenges, rivalries and real-life romance surrounding the movie. Even the iconic casting was fraught. Screenwriter Arthur Laurents wrote the role of Katie with Streisand in mind, but finding Hubbell was another matter. Redford was reluctant to play what he perceived as the “Ken doll” to Streisand’s lead, and demanded his role be beefed up, with ten writers—among them Francis Ford Coppola—called in to rework the script. The first preview was disastrous. Several scenes were cut, angering Streisand and Laurents, yet the edits worked. The new version was a resounding success, and its appeal endures, earning it a regular spot in the AFI’s annual Top 10 movie romances. The Way They Were also explores the deep, surprising love story that inspired the screenplay—the relationship between Laurents, a Jewish Brooklyn-born college leftist, and his longtime partner, Tom Hatcher. Drawing on a vast trove of Laurents’s unpublished writings, as well as interviews with Streisand, Redford, and other key players, this is the definitive account of a film that changed the rules of moviemaking and has defined romance ever since. Robert Hofler is the lead theater critic for TheWrap, and in 2020, he received the award for Best Theater Reviews from the Los Angeles Press Club. Previously, he has been an editor at several magazines and newspapers, including Life and Variety. He lives in New York City.

This novel was written years ago. It was found "Like a treasure in a grandma's attic" and reviewed by close literary friends who advised publication. It is an absorbing story of a day when the United States was embattled among Communism, Fascism, Peace, War, Strikes, Depression, hopeful and hopeless love. It was a time when many in the population were immigrants and their children, strangers. Television had not erupted; radio was dominant. Every city had several newspapers usually for less than a nickel. Gangster Dillingers were thought to be Robin Hoods, (which they were not) and often achieved their nebulous glory before they were thirty. It was a time of Billie Holiday, Paul Robeson, The Scottsboro Boys, America First, Father Coughlin, Franklin Roosevelt, Hemingway, and Steinbeck. The urbanite relaxed by going to a crowded beach along a waterfront. Young love sometimes had a dollar to splurge on a date. Young love made do and was often oblivious to the whirling crises of the times. Much of this is in The Way They Were written fifty-odd years ago. An enthralling view.

The purpose of this book is to help the millions of people who visit old forts along the coast, rivers, on the plains and in the mountains each year. Also, if you are looking for a way to interest your children in a new hobby that will help their school grades, improve their understanding of our great land or an interesting thing for the family. I wish to provide enough information to prepare and hopefully, it will interest each visitor. Many parents do not know the value of patiently pointing out as a teacher to their children. It is easy and an experience that will come only once in a lifetime, long remembered. Interest promotes better grades and it is more fun to do it first hand. Exploring old forts can be rewarding, adventurous, exciting and a fun hobby for all ages. It will also build vocabularies, too. You must know something of the forts origin, if you are to enjoy exploring it. The ingredients of the building, the reasons for the location and the famous people who fought and died there are important to understand. In many cases our heritage depended on the outcome of yesterday.

The Way We Were is a book about the theological dimensions of the controversy that shook the foundations of the Southern Baptist Convention during the decades of the 80s and 90s. That controversy began at the national level, far from most Baptist laypeople, trickled down to the state Baptist conventions, where it included a much broader audience, and now has moved into local churches. --from forward

The Way We Were: a nostalgia drenched, bittersweet romance starring superstars Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford at the peaks of their careers, and a story for everyone who was ever loved with passion, if not wisely. A smash hit around the world whose power echoes to this day—yet a film whose success was so far from assured that one studio executive was heard to exclaim: “Barbra Streisand doesn’t sing and she plays a communist—are you trying to kill me?!” But succeed the film did, propelled by a smash-hit title song and career defining performances from Streisand and Redford. Now, just in time for the 50th anniversary of the film's release, this behind-the-scenes account from best-selling author Tom Santopietro features new insights from Barbra Streisand, James Woods, Lois Chiles, and Alan Bergman, providing the definitive inside story behind the challenges, disputes, and creative passions of those who fought to make this landmark film." Charting the path from screenwriter Arthur Laurents’s initial inspiration to the fervent talk of a possible sequel, Santopietro mingles reverence and wry humor to decode the mysterious chemistry between Streisand and Redford that created a romance for the ages. Filled with humorous location anecdotes and fascinating first-hand accounts by actors, film historians, and members of the creative team, The Way We Were: The Making of a Romantic Classic is a witty, thoughtful, and loving book for everyone who cherishes this American classic.

Drawing on the story of her own monastic community, a best-selling author shoes how to redfine the essentials of faith in a time when old ways and formulas no longer serve.

The stories are original and mostly set in Asia. They often involve a supernatural theme.