Book Description

Frank Sinatra forever altered American art and culture. His life and work is mythified in countless books and essays. This book offers a much-needed fresh approach to The Chairman of the Board. Artists from all varieties of media have used Sinatra to create their own works and, in many cases, their own Sinatras--his shadow, his aura, and his mere existence helped to inform the lives and works of generations. Gigliotti's study is an unusual and fascinating look at the influence of a major American figure. ... Read more

Book Description

Synopsis

Frank Sinatra was the king of showbiz and the voice of his century. The new Rough Guide covers his life, his music, his influences and those influenced by him. Features include: Anecdotes behind 50 essential Sinatra performances; The movies: the hits and the misses; Frank facts: the trivia and the jokes; Album-by-album coverage and the stories behind his greatest songs. The guide is an essential fan's companion of the singing waiter from New Jersey who became the most famous entertainer of all time. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Quirk and Schoell's rehashing of the biographical details of Frank Sinatra and the rest of his crew is only intermittently able to disguise its contempt for their personal and professional lives. If there's an opportunity for a pot shot, rest assured this book will take it, from the admittedly deserved (Cannonball Run II, anyone?)to the probably uncalled for (a charity performance for a halfway house for ex-convicts is dismissed with snide comments about Sinatra the wannabe gangster). Much of the source material is drawn from Quirk's footwork as an entertainment reporter in the 1960s; interviews that he conducted with Peter Lawford over the years also provide some juicy tales of sex and drugs, as well as the inside scoop on his ouster from "the Clan" after brother-in-law President Kennedy backed out of his planned Palm Springs vacation at Frank Sinatra's home. (The same stories, with much less venom and some more pizazz, can be found in Shawn Levy's Rat Pack Confidential.) ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Save your dough
The only reason I give this book one star is because zero stars wasn't an option. It took two guys to write this tripe? One monkey could have done a better job. This book is lazy and poorly written and I am ticked off that I wasted my money on it. The definitive book on the Rat Pack has got to be Shawn Levy's. After reading the first two pages of Levy's book I was hooked. The difference between a real writer and a couple of hacks.

CLIFF "RAT" NOTES
Here is the deal. If you are just starting to get into the Rat Pack or any of the players individually. Then this book is a good start. I would call it the Cliff notes of the individuals and their movies. If you have seen all the movies including the Matt Helm movies or if you have already read books on Dean, Frank, Sammy's biography then you are way ahead of this book and pass it by.

But if you have not seen the movies and want to learn the basics of each man and then from there search into each one of them seperatly then this is a good starter. There are some great books on all the guys but you will finded Sammy's Biography to be the most fun. Remember to check out deanmartinfancenter.com for more info on the Rat Pack. For the guys who wrote this you could have given us some fun facts or answered some questions, instead they read everyone else book and put together their own version.

Ratty
The blurb on the cover of THE RAT PACK says "They had fun" but there's precious little fun to be found here. This book is a tedious listing of (mostly negative) events. It lacks any sparkle and vigor, and if I believed half of it, I'd have to wonder just what the appeal of this group of overgrown adolescents could be. There had to be more.

The Chairman of The Board is the centerpiece as an egomaniacal bully who uses his star power to make the world feel indebted to him. His reported temper tantrums seem utterly absurd. Anyone who used his fists or threats of mob violence as much as the authors claim Sinatra did, should have and would have been locked up, "different era" or no. The Frank Sinatra in these pages wouldn't be a "King of Cool". He wouldn't be anything much.

The rest of the boys orbit around Frank like some kind of an inebriated solar system. The boozing and skirt-chasing is leaden, so where's the thrill? Where are the laughs? If this book is at all accurate (and it isn't, listing Dean Martin's date of death incorrectly), it means that this group of supremely talented entertainers valued nothing, not even themselves.

The bulk of the book is made up of mostly scathing summaries of the Rat Pack movies. Nary a word is said about either Frank or Dean's musical careers. Sammy Davis Jr. is dismissed as little more than the Rat Pack houseboy. Peter Lawford is depicted as a sexually confused drug addict craving the attention of the others. Joey Bishop is virtually forgotten. The Rat Pack Mascots (Shirley MacLaine and Angie Dickinson) get barely honorable mentions (MacLaine far more than Dickinson). One has to wonder why Shirley MacLaine would continue to associate with The Rat Pack after being assaulted by mobster Sam Giancana twice in their company. The book begs an answer. MacLaine is no slouch, so obviously more and better was happening with the "Clan" than this sordid book deigns to tell us. (...)

Save your money
This book is a waste of money. It is a collection of movie reviews starring Rat Packers strung together and pretending to be a book. Only the very most die hard movie fans should consider checking this out of the library but save your money.

What about the music?
I've always heard about the rat pack and wanted to know more about them. The only thing I learned is that this is not the book to find out anything about the "kings of cool." The aspect of the book that I found most disturbing (perhaps the most telling) is that the authors mention the music of the three main men only in passing. You'd think that the music that three of the great popular singers of the last half century would merit some discussion. Instead the authors concentrate almost entirely on the movies, and then they only seem to care about Frank and Dean bedding so many women during the filming of the movies. A typical chapter mentions that Frank decides to make a movie, all the guys are more interested in partying than in making the movie, the movie is finished and stinks despite an occasional funny moment or glimpse of talent from one of the rat pack or the supporting cast. And by the way, Frank and Dean and Sammy sure had a lot of women during the filming. This is not a good book, and I don't know why I even read the whole thing. I'm ashamed of myself. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Ed O'Brien is a work of art.
Ed O'Brien (as always) has done a magnificiant job on another Sinatra book ... Read more

Book Description

Frank Sinatra's work has crossed decades and generations. From the early song hits right up to his recent death, the Chairman of the Board reinterpreted classics to make them his own. His acting career was equally successful, Jewell looks at the fascination of Sinatra, including his four marriages, his close association with the fabled Rat Pack, and his political allegiances from Jack and Bobby up to Ron and Nancy. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Come up for AIR
Derek Jewell's style of writing may be appealing to some, but to me he leaves much to be desired.
Pros:
-Almost no detail was overlooked
-1/4 of the book is an index
-useful for book reports
-well arranged
Cons:
-Written in a breathy style where there is no good place to stop
-hard to concentrate on, hard to keep reading
-facts were boring
-could have used more opinions or quotes
-hard to pick out information for projects
-small print

AMERICA'S SINGER OF THE CENTURY
FRANK SINATRA was one of the greatest entertainer of the previous century.While he made many movies, it's the singer that will be remembered best.The skinny guy who caused riots at the PARAMOUNT theater had a legendary career spanning more than fifty years.The story of his ascension is well documented;it's interesting to hear of the way his three arrangers each worked with him in a different way in his great CAPITOL days ,who with the new compact editions will remain big sellers for many years to come.While DEREK JEWELL talks about the controversy always associated with FRANK, he manages to keep in perspective the important facts and let aside the gossip which can get unpleasant ,since we all know FRANK was not an angel.It might not be the best book about him (there are so many available now),but it does the job accurately.Anyway,the legacy of THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD are the records.We are now fortunate us music lovers to choose in the collection what we like best about him ,and there are many treasures. ... Read more

Book Description

Frank Sinatra's influence on American popular culture has been wide-reaching and long-lasting. In this one volume, essays written by major scholars, historians, music critics, and popular culture personalities offer a myriad of perspectives and commentary on this multifaceted musical legend. The essays attest to the interest in Sinatra that has spanned across 60 years. Sinatra affected American popular culture on and off of the musical stage as evidenced by a reprint of Frank Sinatra's essay on civil rights and the evils of racial and religious prejudice that introduces this collection of scholarly writings. From singer to actor, from mass media personality to humanitarian and cultural trendsetter, the many contributions of Frank Sinatra are here examined and brought to life. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Sinatra The pfotoral Biography
Perfect title for this book. The pitures were marvelous and as his life progressed, it was all shown in pictures. The authur gets an ''A', he was outstanding. I enjo-y ed reading and looking at pictures for the bad and good times of his life. It's worth reading. It was the first time I read a biography with so many pictures. Dee ... Read more