In the beginning -- Enter Sydney Pollack -- Robert Redford-or maybe not -- The script -- Casting the film -- Designing The way we were -- On the set and ready to roll -- How to direct superstars? Carefully -- In the heat of battle -- Editing the film -- What about a title song? -- Forget the critics- what did Arthur Laurents think? -- Sneak previews -- Love letters, brickbats, and an adoring public -- The Academy Awards -- The good, the great, and the what-were-they-thinking : scene by scene with Katie and Hubbell -- Katie and Hubbell/Barbra and Bob -- And on into the future -- Life after The way we were -- The sequel

"With mingled reverence and wry humor, best-selling author Tom Santopietro embarks on an investigation to decode the enduring power of a landmark movie"--