From Publishers Weekly
Lovebirds and starstruck voyeurs may be interested in Count the Ways: The Great Love Stories of Our Time. Journalist Paul Aron (Unsolved Mysteries of American History) writes about celebrated (or reviled) couples like Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, and Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. The couples mostly straight, white and extremely well known are divided into categories like "Actors and Actresses" and "Royals and Rulers." Aron briefly summarizes each relationship, outlining how the couple met and following the trajectory whether tragic, sordid or heartwarming of each romance. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

FROM OUR EDITORS

In this enrapturing book, award-winning journalist Paul Aron presents 25 famous and should-be-famous love stories of our times. They are all here, it seems: Edward VII and Mrs. Simpson; John Lennon and Yoko; Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe; Charles and Anne Lindbergh; Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner; F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda. This is a Valentine's Day gift for all seasons.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In the fascinating Count the Ways,award-winning journalist Paul Aron tells the true stories of 25 of the greatest loves of our times. Here are Woodrow and Edith Wilson,for whom love was her path to power . . . and Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson,for whom love meant giving up his throne. Here are Christopher and Dana Reeve,whose love inspired him to live . . . and Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow,whose love meant certain death . . .

Illustrated with striking photographs of each couple,this collection will make an ideal Valentine's Day or anniversary gift,or serve as a touchingly eloquent way to simply say,"I love you. "

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. " So wrote Elizabeth Barrett Browning to Robert Browning,the man whose love let her escape her tyrannical father,saved her from life as an invalid,and ultimately inspired her to become one of the world's greatest poets. But even she could not count the many ways in which people love.

From royalty to rock stars,Count the Ways delves into some of the most captivating love affairs of our times,including the obstacles,dramas,joys,and not-always-happy endings.

Learn how love conquered the British monarchy when Edward VIII abdicated his throne in favor of the American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Wonder why the love of Lee Krasner kept painter Jackson Pollock sane,yet the devotion of F. Scott Fitzgerald drove his wife,Zelda,mad. Witness the courage of love with Christopher and Dana Reeve,as their marriage overcame a tragic accident to give new meaning to the vows "in sickness and in health. " Observe how Ronald and Nancy Reagan proved that love and politics can mix and how Bonnie Parker and ClydeBarrow showed how love and crime do not. And don't forget Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz,the tumultuously enamored couple for whom fighting was itself a kind of lovemaking.

Remarkably,many of these love affairs remained hidden despite the high-profile lives involved. While fans were quick to blame Yoko Ono for breaking up the Beatles,few attempted to understand the love she and John Lennon shared. And while the world focused on the disastrous marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer,few paid attention to his enduring relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles.

These stories and many others are here,each accompanied by a striking black-and-white photo of the couple. Love stories are too often reduced to either storybook romance or scandal,but—as this collection proves—the truth behind them often turns out to be more interesting . . . and more romantic.

A CENTURY IN LOVE

There are more kinds of love than anyone,even the romantic poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning,could count. And our fascination with the emotion—and the couples themselves—is endless. Gathered here are the inside stories of great love affairs from across the spectrum—some married,some not; some lasting,some not—but all of which have fully captured our attention over the last century. From royals and rulers to barnstormers and bandits,these are the most fascinating relationships of our times. Gracie Allen and George Burns Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy Dale Evans and Roy Rogers Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor Christopher and Dana Reeve Edith and Woodrow Wilson Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson Nancy and Ronald Reagan Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier Camilla Parker-Bowles and Prince Charles Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock Johnny and June Carter Cash John Lennon and Yoko Ono Anne Morrow Lindbergh and Charles Lindbergh Amelia Earhart and G. P. Putnam Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe

SYNOPSIS

From royalty to rock stars, Count the Ways delves into some of the most captivating love affairs of our times, including the obstacles, dramas, joys, and not-always-happy endings

Learn how love conquered the British monarchy when Edward VIII abdicated his throne in favor of the American divorceee Wallis Simpson. Wonder why the love of Lee Krasner kept painter Jackson Pollock sane, yet the devotion of F. Scott Fitzgerald drove his wife, Zelda, mad. Witness the courage of love with Christopher and Dana Reeve, as their marriage overcame a tragic accident to give new meaning to the vows "in sickness and in health." Observe how Ronald and Nancy Reagan proved that love and politics can mix and how Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow showed how love and crime do not. And don't forget Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the tumultuously enamored couple for whom fighting was itself a kind of lovemaking.

These stories and many others are here, each accompanied by a striking black-and-white photo of the couple. Love stories are too often reduced to either storybook romance or scandal, but—as Count the Ways proves—the truth behind them often turns out to be more interesting . . . and more romantic.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly