Frank
The Voice
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4.2 • 58 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Frank Sinatra was the best-known entertainer of the twentieth century—infinitely charismatic, lionized and notorious in equal measure. But despite his mammoth fame, Sinatra the man has remained an enigma. Now James Kaplan brings deeper insight than ever before to the complex psyche and turbulent life behind that incomparable voice, from Sinatra’s humble beginning in Hoboken to his fall from grace and Oscar-winning return in From Here to Eternity. Here at last is the biographer who makes the reader feel what it was really like to be Frank Sinatra—as man, as musician, as tortured genius.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this riveting and fast-paced biography, Kaplan, coauthor with Jerry Lewis of Dean and Me, chronicles Sinatra's somewhat unlikely meteoric ascent to success, his failures, and his rebirth as a star of song and screen. With exhaustive, and sometimes exhausting, detail, Kaplan engagingly re-creates the young Sinatra's childhood in Hoboken, N.J., where young Frank was born, in 1915. By the time he was 12, Sinatra was singing for quarters on top of the piano in the bar in his father's tavern. At 21, Frankie joined a group that became known as the Hoboken Four, and everyone soon recognized Sinatra's great vocal gift. Kaplan expertly conducts us on a journey through Sinatra's early years with Tommy Dorsey and his long solo career; Sinatra's first marriage to Nancy Barbato and his more famous marriage to Ava Gardner; and through Sinatra's movie career and his rebirth in the early 1950s. Although Sinatra's career often faltered in the late 1940s, his partnership with Nelson Riddle and the release of the song "Young at Heart" in 1953 began Sinatra's comeback. Kaplan's enthralling tale of an American icon serves as an introduction of "old blue eyes" to a new generation of listeners while winning the hearts of Sinatra's diehard fans.
Customer Reviews
Perfectly Sinatra
I started reading out of curiosity about a voice I loved and knew little about. As a reader that grows bored quickly I worried about the length and even the topic, but I had no reason to worry. Every bit of this book was amazing. I have fallen in love with Sinatra! Though the book will tell you of his short comings, it's impossible not to become completely fascinated with the legend Frank Sinatra. I'm sad it's over, but I can't wait to read The Chairman next.
Not great.
This book has a lot of interesting stories about Sinatra. Unfortunately the writer seems to have a desire to put in the word G.D. In the book as much as humanly possible. NOT NEEDED! He also needs to put in how big Sinatra’s unit is? Seriously? It’s a shame that he had to put all the trashy stuff in, it ruins a could be decent book.
Worst Biography I Have Ever Read
The worst biography I have ever read and perhaps the worst book I have read. Buried under clichés, blatant stereotypes, crude language, and riddled with inane comments, what was Doubleday thinking. Less than zero, iTunes needs to establish negative star ratings for books like this.