Sinatra: The Life [Hardcover]

Anthony Summers (Author), Robbyn Swan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 17, 2005

From the best-selling author of Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe, the first fully documented, comprehensively researched, birth-to-death biography—the definitive life—of Frank Sinatra.

Sinatra is the story of an American icon who held the imagination of millions for more than fifty years and whose influence in popular music was unsurpassed in the twentieth century. As a child, he said, he had heard “symphonies from the universe” in his head. No one could have imagined where those sounds would lead him. Tracing the arc of this incredible life, from the humble beginnings in Hoboken to the twilight years as a living legend in Malibu, Sinatra follows a career built on raw talent, sheer willpower—and criminal connections.

Drawing on a treasure trove of documents and interviews, Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan reveal stunning new information about Sinatra’s links to such Mafia figures as Sam Giancana and Lucky Luciano. And we see for the first time where the Mafia connection began, how and why it lasted, and how it impinged on others, not least President John F. Kennedy.

Here, too, is the core of the private Sinatra—alternately caustic and sympathetic—that the singer so long concealed. The heartbreaking truth about his passion for Ava Gardner emerges from never-before-published conversations with Gardner herself. In exclusive, intimate interviews, the women who loved Sinatra—some of them unknown to the public until now—share memories of the joy and pain of their relationships with him. And we learn what it was like to be the friend of a man who was generous and loyal to a fault, yet—as some of his fellow Rat Packers discovered—who could turn abruptly into a vindictive brute.

Dramatic, eye-opening, and unfailingly fair-minded, Sinatra is masterful biography: the revelatory story of a brilliant artist and an infinitely complex man.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The second collaboration for the husband-and-wife team (after their Nixon bio, The Arrogance of Power) is hardly the first book about Frank Sinatra, and despite their claim to be the only objective biographers to address the crooner's final years, the book's later chapters feel rushed compared with the lengthy passages covering Sinatra's well-trod glory days. Furthermore, since Sinatra's musical genius and acting skills have been thoroughly analyzed by previous writers, Summers and Swan put in minimal effort there. Where their work does stand out is in firming up the evidence of organized crime's "continuing interest" in Sinatra, from affirming that the famous scene in The Godfather only slightly exaggerates how he got his breakthrough role in From Here to Eternity to exploring his possible role as a go-between for the mob and John F. Kennedy. The pair also break new ground in depicting what they describe as Sinatra's alcoholism, pointing out that he frequently drank all night long, and his abusive treatment of women, for which they cite cases. Yet even when the authors say Sinatra raped a woman or fathered another woman's child out of wedlock—and they make good cases for both—their delivery is a lot closer to objective biography than tabloid sensationalism. A&E's airing of a linked documentary, timed to coincide with the book's publication, as well as a first serial in Vanity Fair, will create significant interest in this latest Sinatra saga. 32 pages of photos. (May 17)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Veteran show-biz and political biographer (of Richard Nixon, J. Edgar Hoover, and Marilyn Monroe, among others) Summers teams up with his sometime collaborator Swan, shining an illuminating spotlight on Old Blue Eyes in this irresistible chronicle of the late, great crooner. Emphasizing the extreme manifestations that defined Sinatra's essential character--his ambition, his volatility, and his fervor--the authors paint a portrait of an astonishingly gifted singer who beat the odds by surviving and thriving over the course of several generations and a number of profound shifts in musical tastes and audience expectations. Aside from his natural abilities, Sinatra the man defied easy classification. Undeniably promiscuous, violent, and self-serving, he could also be tremendously compassionate, loyal, and generous. Beset by insecurities and inner demons and worried by the apparent death of his career in the late 1940s, he made several nods toward suicide but bounced back both emotionally and professionally. His host of love affairs, irrefutable Mob ties, singing and acting careers, political forays, and slow decline are all recorded in fascinating detail. This well-researched version--the authors have included more than 100 pages of notes--of Sinatra's life packs a powerful punch but is more balanced in tone and approach than Kitty Kelley's juicy, unauthorized expose. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 577 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; First Edition edition (May 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375414002
• ISBN-13: 978-0375414008
• Product Dimensions: 14.8 x 1.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,089,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #65 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( S ) > Sinatra, Frank

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great biographer meets great star, July 15, 2005

By 

Richard E. Hourula (Berkeley, CA. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sinatra: The Life (Hardcover)

Imagine my delight upon discovering that my favorite pop biographer had produced a book about my favorite singer. Anthony Summers has previously penned in-depth biographies of Marilyn Monore, Richard Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover (as well as the definitive book on the JFK assassination). Now with co-author Robbyn Swan comes this excellent look at the life of one of America's most important cultural icons, Frank Sinatra.

Summers does not disappoint. Inevitably much of the Sinatra story has been told before (notably in Taraborrell's "Behind the Legend") but Summers adds much about Sinatra's mob connections and fills out a lot about Frank's relationship with various lovers, friends and family.

A New York Times reviewer called "Sinatra" "tacky" but I found it typical Summers: well researched, thorough and engaging. This is by no means a hatchet job, Summers is balanced and moreover respectful of his subject.

To true Sinatraphiles such as myself this latest (it certainly won't be the last) Sinatra biography is a wonderful opportunity to relive an amazing life. The Sinatra revealed here is a complex man of many moods (many of them dark and stormy) with a voracious appetite for women and a ceaseless dedication to producing beautiful music.

Summers starts with a look at Sinatra's Sicilian roots then adds much to the story of his childhood and his rise to super stardom via the big band years. There is a particular emphasis on the early 1950's when Sinatra's star dimmed only to eventually shine brighter than before and the possible role the Mafia played in his career upswing.

This book is a must for Sinatra fans or anyone wanting to learn more about one of the 20th centuries most important entertainers.

Summers leans heavily on "Mr. S" a recent book on Sinatra by his former valet George Jacobs (but always with attribution) and many hours of interviews.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lord of the ringa dinga dings, July 5, 2005

By 

Martin Fiebert (Seal Beach, California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sinatra: The Life (Hardcover)

As in the saga of "Lord of the Rings" the subtext of this splendid biography is that great power can greatly corrupt. This well researched biography is a fascinating read. As a long term Sinatra fan I learned much. While pieces of the Sinatra story are well known, the authors weave together a coherent picture of a complex man providing much detail of Sinatra's relationship to the Mafia, his substance abuse problems, his love life and sexual conquests, and his impact on social, political and cultural events.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Thought Provoking, June 1, 2005

By 

Jeffrey T. Jordan "SledBaron" (Vienna, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sinatra: The Life (Hardcover)

Would the magestic Sinatra we all know and love have had the drive to become famous without his particular family's dynamics? This bio presents the timeless story of man struggling against the familiar trappings of immigrant life to become a legend in his own time. And it does so by delving into the depths of his personality, his family, his daily pressures, and the ghosts of his past. A great read. Well researched!