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29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A frustrating and irritating read, March 30, 1999
By A Customer
I approached The Hollow Man with the knowledge that it would be a less than glowing review of the life of Bing Crosby. In that respect, I got what I expected. What I didn't expect however, and what drove me to distraction, was the constant substantiating by the authors of every statement that they made that they felt might suffer some criticism. I became annoyed with the lengthy explanations of the logic they used to come to their conclusions. And the way they used quotes from obscure players to back up their assertions reminded me of the tabloids. Another major drawback is that while they review Bing's early performing days quite extensively, they then skip through huge chunks of his life with hardly a mention. A thoroughly dissatisfying read.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Humor, Success, and Sadness, January 23, 2010
I thought this was a great book! I chose to pick it up after finally seeing 'Holiday Inn' this winter. I was interested to learn more about Bing Crosby and I certainly did. This isn't even close to a total Bing-bashing book, as the title/cover art of it may begin to suggest. More accurately, I found it to be a well-researched and objective account of his life and the lives of those around him. The tale was really fascinating-complete with humor (I especially liked the funny story when he and his friends were playing hooky from school as children), success (Bing's rise to fame was interesting to watch unfold and it happened so quickly. His business decisions off stage were really something as well!), and sadness (Particularly, Bing's inability to form a truly warm connection with anyone and his tendency to neglect or "disappear" those friends and loved ones who aided him the most in life. The most disheartening parts for me involved his interactions with first wife Dixie Lee and his first four kids, as well as his break from Al Rinker and Harry Barris of the Rhythm Boys). This book takes nothing away from Bing's talent or outward charm, but rather tries to form a complete picture of his personality and all aspects of his life.
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20 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Honest,and well deserved criticism of a hollow-man, September 13, 2000
By A Customer
I found this book to be a very sincere and well researched look at one of the world's most famous crooner's. Crosby's well documented selfishness and mistreatment of his own sons and first wife was documented by Dixie (Crosby's first wife, who died of cancer), all 4 of his sons by Dixie. Only one son remains living, and the other 3 all committed suicide by gunshot. Crosby was an ill tempered and mean drunkard, which was substantiated not only by the authors, but by co-workers and studio heads. The authors seemed to have gone to great lengths to establish facts of Crosby's early years with his beginnings with the Rhythmn Boys Trio back in the late 1920's. Crosby's early years near Spokane, Washington, where he grew up are very well documented. I found this to be a very insightful read. The authors intentions to me did not seem to be that of trying to be vindictive or hateful, just factual.Authors show that just because Bing was an alchoholic, didn't mean he wasn't likeable.An enjoyeable read!
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