Customer Reviews

His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

One would not expect a Kitty Kelley book about Frank Sinatra to have any great profundity, but *His Way* stands as a major cultural and social document of our times. Sinatra is one of the most-worshipped gods of our age. His life story shows all over again how much misery goes into "lifestyles of the rich and famous," and how much corruption comes out. Sinatra's origins were unromantic. His mother was a neighborhood abortionist. This was an albatross around young Frank's neck. Symbolic of our age, he grew up to personify the "good life" -- the suave, wealthy, hyper-romantic, carefree, yet blues-ridden one -- in his art, while his life embodied many kinds of evil. His mafia connections are well known and, like other unpleasant details of his legend, the book removes all doubt as to their authenticity. The most remarkable thing about *His Way* is in fact the superb job Kelley does of writing and documenting it. She researches and writes like a seasoned college professor. Like most muckrakers Kelley's truthfulness has been called into question, but the book seems entirely trustworthy, especially at a time so many entertainment deities are revealing themselves as tragically flawed or worse. Sinatra, the king of musical romance, bullied, used, and abused women, including his gentle wife Mia Farrow. The worlds of entertainment, crime and politics came together when Frank and company helped get JFK elected President. Frank was supposedly king of the heap himself, but displayed a pitifully boyish awe toward his fellow rake Kennedy, even after he himself helped to "create" Kennedy as president. *His Way* is a chronicle of an egomaniac who knew no restraints. He cause endless harm to others, then wrote them a check to cover their suffering. The moral of the story (every good book still has one) is that we ought to be more careful in whom we elevate as our heroes and "role models." Even those not fond of Sinatra or his swank big-band genre of music will find the book hard to put down. People of discernment will learn much from it as to why life is the way it is in 1999.

This is a lengthy look at the shadows in Sinatra's personality, and is not the one to read if you are interested in how he developed his approach to singing so well. Frank appears to have been a victim of what we now call bipolar disorder, back in the days when no effective medications existed for it except alcohol and nicotine. He sank into scary depressions, and soared into wild bouts of manic activity, exhibited both grandiosity and generosity in excess, supported violence against his enemies and often uncritical acceptance of his friends. He grew up with a passive dad and a forceful but not likable mom, was a spoiled child who sometimes was a victim of discrimination due to his Italian heritage, and developed such an intense drive to be successful that he frequently drove away the people who might have been best for him. Upon finishing this gossipy yet apparently truthful biography, I didn't want Frank as a friend, but I didn't give away any of my dozen CD's, either. Sometimes one has to divorce the artist from the person in order to remain a fan.

Die-hard fans of the singer will naturally raise skepticism of this read. In addition, Kelly discredits herself in one section of the book that deals with Peter Lawford. She quotes him on a certain date, and it was past the date he bought the farm.

However, most of the book is cited with references. And for those in doubt, the inexcusable incident with the employee at the casino in Atlantic City was shown on the CBS Evening News. If you're still in doubt, then you probably still believe that there was no police violence towards Rodney King.

If Sinatra's music moves you, as it does myself, then by all means enjoy it. But don't make the mistake of thinking that because someone's talents elicit feel-good emotions, you would love him personally. Entertainers (much like politicians) are supposed to make us feel good.

I do take issue with Kelly's not acknowledging him as a great artist, arguably the greatest entertainer of the century. He got to the top not because of connections, but because he was obsessed with his craft, studied the great singers and musicians of the day and perfected a style he invented. If this were not true, there wouldnt be a mass of stars who emulate him, sometimes without even realizing it.

In conclusion, for his artistry, read Will Friedwald's book. And on a personal level, beware of those who put up a good front. Who among us have never been mislead by someone who seems angelic on the outside, and then, down the road, we learn the true character. Watch that video of Atlantic City. Giving $$$$ to charities and making sure it gets in the papers is self-serving, serves as a tax write-off, and many of the stars are not connected in the least.

Yes, the book is full of well documented dirt on Sinatra, but Kelley also liberally includes the goods on Sinatra, such as his frequent generosity. Full of facts, but no agenda there unless you arrive with one yourself.

Kitty Kelley did her research for "His Way", but as she very clearly states, it's an unauthorized biography. For fans of Frank Sinatra, the entertainer, this will be a disappointing book. It isn't about Frank the entertainer. It's about Frank the guy from Hoboken.

It's a long book, and she very thoroughly researched it. Some of the research might not be perfect, but she does have extensive notes in the back. It also has plenty of interesting pictures. It's really not overly harsh. It seems to be honest. Once in a while, I got the feeling that Ms. Kelley had a bit of an axe to grind, but not throughout the book. I think that was more due to interviews with other people who had an axe to grind. Frank Sinatra was a complicated man. He had great traits and traits that were not so great. Like many people, he was flawed. He was also "The Voice".

This is a good study of what fame does and how it affects some people. It's not the greatest book ever, but it's an interesting read. Ms. Kelley is a good writer and she put the story together pretty well. It's just not a book for a member of the Frank Sinatra fan club.

This book is very readable. Pick it up at any page and go. A lot of Sinatras wild exploits are written about. Many are of a negative nature (as many interesting wild exploits are), but there are many references supporting them.

The long length of this book, combined with its interesting items, and its ease of reading, make this book great.

Truth or not? Who knows to what degree. Certainly there have been enough well documented incidents with Sinatra that the content of this book is not unreasonable to believe.

It does focus on his behavior, and life, more than his actual music activities. If that makes this book "tabloid" then fine, it also makes it interesting and readable.

For in depth Sinatra music related biographical information, there must be a better book than this.

This book is great if you are intersted in the wild exploits of his life. And oh they were wild.

The book keeps moving. Its fast (though long). Nothing in the book is uninteresting.

No doubt a lot of what Kelley says is true, but I found myself not caring about much of it. When I want perfect morality and ethics, I usually don't look to the entertainment industry, and by the end of the book I think I learned more about Kelley than about Sinatra.

Not recommended. Check out Donald Clarke's less biased All or Nothing at All, or, for more music, Will Friedwald's book. I borrowed Kelley's book from the library out of respect to Mr. Sinatra -- I didn't want to spend five bucks on this kind of garbage.

Kelley is a great gossip,and there are parts of this that one wants to relish,she is the only writer ive ever read that hauls out the thug in sinatra , and oh boy what a "thug" he could be, having said that she is no deep thinker, and this is the downfall of this book. In my opinion sinatra was a strange combination,the angel,and oh boy what an "angel" he could be, and the thug,that is a very rare combition indeed,and he had both,in that skinny little frame of his.She never gets deeper on what made or motivated him except to describe events.Am i alone in thinking that a book on moma sinatra would have been more fun!

Kitty Kelley is famous for her tell-all unauthorized biographies of celebrities. This is the one that put her on the map. The target of a "prior restraint" suit by Sinatra that tried to block its publication (fortunately for the First Amendment he failed), the resulting uproar made this book an instant best-seller.

Almost any reader will be titillated by the "Unauthorized" in the title, and HIS WAY does have some merit in the Guilty Pleasures department; but Kelley is so unrelentingly negative about Frank Sinatra that this two-and-a-half star effort becomes too easy to put down.

A reader coming here for a glimpse of Ol' Blue Eyes meets a skinny, histrionic bully who was fascinated by gangsters, lived by threats alone, was alternately the most generous and the most vituperative of men, and who never dropped his torch for Ava Gardner, for whom he had turned his life upside-down.

Kelley, however, chirps past most of his actual career in favor of juicy bedroom gossip, and never acknowledges that the twenty-five year old Sinatra was not the fifty year old Sinatra. Instead, The Chairman of The Board seems to have sprung fully grown and unflatteringly from Hoboken, New Jersey, much as Athena did from the head of Zeus.

Kelley moves from sordid story to sordid story with glee and with barely a breath, clearly not understanding (or wishing to understand) the inner motivations of her incredibly complex subject. HIS WAY is catty, enjoyable tabloid trash. But it's not "biography."

Sinatra had a lifelong feud with the Media (even though he lived and died in its eye). Kelley, a yellow journalist, clearly takes sides with her fellow journalists.

I have to admit to being attracted by any biography with the word "unauthorized" in the title. There is always the possibility that buried somewhere within is a single sentence that sheds more light on a personality than a thousand volumes of authorized accounts. What was Sinatra really like? What did he, above anything, not want you to know about him?

Unfortunately Kelley attacks Sinatra with about as much grace as would result from you trying to take out the pit of a cherry using a pneumatic drill. Jumping from one disparaging story to another with barely an adjoining passage, she pours acid on every facet of Sinatra's life, challenging almost every aspect of his personality and career. Much of what she writes about could be part true, but it would be stretching the bounds of imagination to believe that it has not been significantly doctored or worded to make him sound truly like a Sinat-rat almost every moment he was awake.

I found myself growing tired of the incessant, disjointed jumps from one ludicrous act to another with barely a breath. By the end, I felt that rather than knowing a little more about Sinatra than I did before, I just had a series of acts of indiscretion taped together unevenly, without ever feeling like the author was trying to understand who her subject was or what drove him to continue as an upper echelon performer for so long. It's an entertaining read, don't get me wrong, but is about as structured and insightful as a house of cards.

She doesn't quit throwing darts but unfortunately not many of them hit the target.