All the Way: A Biography of Frank Sinatra [Hardcover]

Michael Freedland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1998

The first objective biogrphy of Frank Sinatra since Kitty Kelley's opus - an entirely new assessment of the most important figure in 20th century entertainment. This book discusses Sinatra the performer, the singer and the actor and the life which has made him the most enduring and successful of the Hollywood artists.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Frank Sinatra has been a legend in many people's lifetimes. His long career saw success, followed by failure, followed by even greater triumph--and the longest sequence of post-retirement comebacks in twentieth-century show-business history. He is simply one of the most enduring performers of our era.

Michael Freedland's new biography gives a full portrait of the unorthodox singer's life, starting with his rough beginnings in the Italian quarter of Hoboken, New Jersey. Supported by his indomitable mother, Dolly, he battled toward a singing career despite any great evidence of talent.

Nevertheless, by the 1930s, a remarkable new popular singer had burst upon the ears of a generation of bobby-sox-wearing teenagers and created a new style of hero-worship. A unique voice and a unique style of phrasing gave Sinatra qualities to rival his idol and competitor, Bing Crosby. But unlike Crosby, Sinatra had an unerring eye for a good song, making his list of hits far longer, culminating, decades later, in the trademark, "My Way."

Sinatra's life was also studded with scandal and romance. He married four times and had many liaisons, too. And alongside the romantic history was the more boisterous one--drinking with members of the Rat Pack, brawls with journalists, and the association with the Mafia, often alleged but never proven.

This biography is a fitting tribute to a singer, actor, and hell-raiser, one of the legendary figures of entertainment, a man who, in every aspect of his personal and professional life, took it "All the Way."

About the Author

Michael Freedland is the author of thirty-one books, mostly biographies of leading personalities and figures in the wold of music. He also writes for several newspapers and magazines in Great Britain and the United States.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 438 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1 Us ed edition (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312191081
• ISBN-13: 978-0312191085
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,210,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #99 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( S ) > Sinatra, Frank

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Awful, August 9, 2002

By 

Derek Leaberry (Queenstown, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All the Way a Biography of Frank Sinatra (Hardcover)

Though this book highlights some enlightening details about Frank Sinatra's life, much of it is shoddy hackwork. The reader learns the true story of how Sinatra freed himself from the talons of Tommy Dorsey. The reader learns of the strong influence of Sinatra's mother, Dolly, on his life. Dolly's own life as a Hoboken ward leader and her barely mentioned extraciricular activity as town abortionist fascinates. The friendship of Dolly and Ava Gardner, both foul-mouthed and proud of it, also fascinates. Ditto, the true story of how Sinatra resurrected his failing career by landing his role in "From Here to Eternity". Yet much is left out in this biography. The author seems to have gathered as much material as he could be bothered with and just slapped it together at breakneck speed in a book. It seems to be a specialty of Mr. Freedland's. More time is spent on Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio's "raid" on an apartment Marilyn Monroe was allegedly staying than Sinatra's relationships with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.. The Rat Pack is glossed over; more time is spent on detailing Lauren Bacall's role in the original Bogart Rat Pack than in Martin and Davis's roles in the Rat Pack that most Americans are familiar with today. Much time is wasted on Sinatra's philosophical views on life, some of which seem to probably have been press releases written by his publicist. The author often doesn't put two and two together. Though Sinatra had great talent as an actor and played some fine roles, his career fizzled by the mid-sixties. Mr. Freedland mentions that Sinatra refused to do second takes but fails to understand that few directors would go out of their way to hire actors who refused to do second takes. Sinatra undercut his own film career. The bio is also very flighty. For instance, the author mentions a benefit concert Sinatra gave in New York which was attended by Jackie Kennedy Onassis at which she wore some sort of head band. Mr. Freedland informs us that the sort of head band used by Mrs. Onassis at the concert was sold out of New York stores within 24 hours as if that was pertinant information. The Jackie Onassis tidbit is indicative of Mr. Freedland's writing style. All in all, All the Way is useful in its way yet disappointing and borderline awful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What a Bore., March 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: All the Way: A Biography of Frank Sinatra, 1915-1998 (Audio Cassette)

I've read many Sinatra biographies and this is by far the least interesting and most pretentious. Michael Freedland's self-imporatnce oozes from within the lines; his claim that some of the stories are told here for the first time have no interesting payoff whatsoever for Sinatra fans. This is more like reading a book by Robin Leach and the "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous." I think we need to ask the Brits to stick to their side of the Atlantic if they can't do any better than this.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING SINATRA, November 24, 2008

By 

Michael W. Hambright - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All the Way: A Biography of Frank Sinatra (Hardcover)

I LOVE THIS BOOK ABOUT SINATRA. HE WAS A MARVELOUS HUMAN BEING,MAYBE THE MANIC DEPRESSIVE PART, TRUE, BUT ALOT OF THE NEGATIVE THINGS HE DID, I THINK SOME OF THEM WAS WHEN HE WAS DRINKING. THEY WERE NOT THE TRUE FRANK SINATRA. THE TRUE FRANK WAS A KIND HEARTED, LOVING, GIVING PERSON. MAY YOU REST IN PEACE FRANK UNTIL WE HEAR YOU SING IN PERSON, IN HEAVEN, AGAIN.