Customer Reviews

Sinatra: The Life

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

Sinatra: romantic rogue or front man for the mob. Probably both, though which part predominates will likely never be settled. His life and career are presented in some detail in the Summers-Swan book, which I picked up because of Summers' reputation for unflinching jounalism. All in all, I wasn't disappointed. The various phases of Sinatra's long and controversial life are presented with little editorial comment, excepting an outspoken admiration for the vocal artistry. Critics who claim editorial bias or warmed-over news have lttle textual support for the former and a lack of understanding of the latter. And if the facts too often reflect poorly on Sinatra's character, I take that to be the result of having done things " his way", rather than the result of a slanted account. The absence of material on the singer's family life amounts to the book's biggest deficiency, the consequence of Nancy and the children's refusal to be interviewed. Too bad, because that would have provided additional insight.

Whatever the truth behind the tawdry altercations and underworld associations, their frequency and nature add up to an unmistakably abusive pattern. Here the truth lies in the whole. One serious example concerns Sinatra's relations with the carnally-obsessed JFK. It seems that in stoking his ego by setting up "dates" for the president, Sinatra remains unfazed by the fact that he is also opening up the highest office in the land to mob blackmail. In fact, neither man appears much concerned with the possible consequences of their careless actions. And while some may romanticize the culture of organized crime, the mob nevertheless remains one of the single most corruptive forces in our land. And that's the main reason for taking an interest in Sinatra's life, in particular. There are hundreds of abusive, ego-driven celebrities with shady connections in Hollywood-- the nature of show business breeds them. But few have ever wielded the clout or dwelled so centrally at the crucial intersection of pop culture, politics, and organized crime as Sinatra. His life story thus amounts to much more than one more cynical rags-to-riches anecdote from Tinsel Town.

The authors do a fantastic job of 'filling in the blanks' in the life of a man who continues to be an icon of the golden age of American entertainers. It takes the reader through Mr. Sinatra's difficult birth, and challenging relationship with a domineering mother that would ultimately stretch on for several decades. The reader is given insight into the drive of a man who performed and kept a mind-boggling schedule of appearances well into his twilight years.

Summers paints a crystal clear picture of Sinatra's ties to the Italian-American mafia, from his family's roots in Sicily, the Kennedy election, and the building of Las Vegas. After reading the author's carefully presented accounts, no doubt remains that Sinatra was deeply connected to, and clearly controlled, at least on occasion, by organized crime figures.

An intimate portrait of Sinatra's love-life is also provided by the authors; his lifelong infatuation, bordering on obsession, with Ava Gardner (and hers for him), all four of his marriages and the ever-presence of first wife, Nancy.

The book is a must-read for Sinatra fans, those studying the history of the entertainment industry and mafia buffs. Some two hundred pages of incredibly detailed documentation solidly support the 386 pages of the fascinating story of Frank Sinatra.

I loved this book; you get a real sense of who this man was and may be surprised to learn how lonely of a man he really was, from childhood and through out his life. You may get the impression that he was a spoiled sometimes mean guy but let me say, Frank Sinatra had no role model for the amount of success he acquired. Why? Because he was the first to achieve this dizzying height as a pop singer, he was the first AMERICAN IDOL. It's funny to see these rappers and rockers ACT like bad asses, Frank was the real deal. Go get a Sinatra CD, a glass of jack Daniels and give it a good listen, it's easy to see why he earned the name (THE VOICE)

It was the reputation of Anthony Summers that compelled me to read this book. Even when the subject has been written about ad nauseum, Summers gives you more and in a credible manner. This book is no exception. We hear of Sinatra having big fame, big money, big heart-breaking romance and then losing it all by the time he was in his mid 30's. It was interesting to read of his alternating terrific explosive and abusive temper and his anonymous charity. He also alternated between dismissiveness and neediness with women. He loved to exert his need to be in control and yet was totally whipped by Ava Gardner, for example. According to this book, Frank drank excessively and liked to listen to classical and opera music. I read from other books that drinking was not a big issue and he preferred to play his own records when he had guests! Sinatra's links with organized crime are more documented and convincing here than I've read elsewhere. For example, mob figures were used to get Sinatra out of his long contract with Tommy Dorsey. There are many other examples. Judith Campbell's account of her innocent involvement with the mafia is disputed. Sinatra led quite a life. When all the noise and trappings are pared away, you can hear the man who sang the most tender love songs. Recommended.

As a person who has studied communication, appreciates just stating the facts and not making assumptions, this book lives up to those ideals. With so many sources, a lot of them human beings, Anthony and his wife create not only a remarkable tale of a man larger than the world he impacted, but a history lesson on life in the times of mobsters, Rat Packers and more. I truly enjoyed this book for the background and insight it gave me into Frank Sinatra's life and world, for that matter. I am too young to have known Sinatra when he was in his prime, but appreciate his music now and had a genuine interest into the man behind such moving music. Summers' book taught me a lot about Sinatra and the successful but sad life that he led. I think that it was a true glimpse into how complicated people can be. Also, I learned a lot about Kennedy, the mob, the judicial system, Vegas, the 50's, and so on. Accounts like that are things that my 23 year old mind would never have known about had I not picked up this book. I only chose to write this review because of how well I thought this book was written and because it offers so many other historical insights other than the life, sex, drugs and deaths that happened during Frank's years as a pop culture icon. This is a book that will stay on my shelf next to Arthur Miller's biography and Shakespeare's complete works.

Read this book with Sinatra playing in the background.

In Sinatra: The Life, Summers and Swan have written an in-depth, comprehensive chronicle of the iconic celebrity; and in doing so enables the reader to obtain an understanding of Sinatra that goes far behind his long, successful career as a world-renowned singer and actor. In this book, the reader not only gets to learn about all of Sinatra's 'beauty marks' throughout his illustrious career, but about all of his 'warts' as well -- and there were many of them. It is these "warts' that show that Sinatra had a dark side that goes against the grain of what many of Sinatra's long-time fans who wrote reviews of this book want to believe is true -- and, hence, contributes to the many 1 and 2 star ratings given to Sinatra:The Life.

Readers will get to see the side of Sinatra that is well-known to many of his fans; i.e., a man who was extremly loyal and generous to those he viewed as his friends (as long as he didn't feel they crossed him in the slightest way). In addition, they get to see the darker side of Sinatra, a side the authors pull no punches in enabling readers to learn about Sinatra's highly volatile (and often times violent) behavior, his self-serving nature, his sexual promiscuity, his being besot with insecurities, his suicide attempts, his political forays and, of course, his virtually career-long association with the Mob.

Needless to say, Sinatra was a very complex man and Summers and Swan wrote a very informative and interesting book that provides a well-balanced portrait of his life. I enjoyed Sinatra: The Life very much and recommend highly to anyone who wants to get to know the man in a way that they might not have known him before.

All my life I had heard of the name Frank Sinatra, but never knew who he was. I decided to purchase this book to find put who the true Sinatra was. This book gives you all sides of him (good and bad) and addresses all of the "mafia" talk that surrounds him. This is a good read not only because it was so detailed, but it tells the truth. It doesnt water down his mob ties or that he was an immense flirt with women problems. This is a good read for anybody, in any age.