Reviews
"Wonderfully vivid.... The story of Frank Sinatra's rise and self-invention and the story of his fall and remarkable comeback had the lineaments of the most essential American myths, and their telling, Pete Hamill once argued, required a novelist, 'some combination of Balzac and Raymond Chandler,' who might 'come closer to the elusive truth than an autobiographer as courtly as Sinatra will ever allow himself to do.' Now, with FRANK: THE VOICE, Sinatra has that chronicler in James Kaplan, who has produced a book that has all the emotional detail and narrative momentum of a novel. Kaplan writes with genuined sympathy for the singer and a deep appreciation of his musicianship, and devotes the better part of his book to an explication of Sinatra's art: the real reason readers care about him in the first place. " -Michiko Kakutani,The New York Times " Monumental... FRANK: THE VOICE is a timely reminder of what all the fuss over Sinatra was about in the first place. Kaplan follows in the footsteps of Peter Guralnick, whose magisterial two-volume biography of Elvis Presley was a landmark excavation of the artist from the dead-celebrity junk pile. Striking a similar, though more stylized, note, Mr. Kaplan offers a retelling of the early life of Francis Albert that illuminates the incredible-but-true origins of a 20th-century phenomenon. " -Wall Street Journal "Fascinating...compelling...marvelously thoughtful [and] readable. Kaplan brings something valuable and new to this account of Sinatra's first four decades, culminating in his cinematic triumph inFrom Here to Eternityand stunning vocal comeback in the early 1950s. First and most valuable, Kaplan gives us an illuminating portrait of a serious artist who helped revolutionize his medium. Kaplan also does a brilliant job of suggesting how the way Sinatra sang the song grew out of the life of an artist every bit as confounding and conflicted as his era - a man by turns generous, attentive and immensely decent, then ugly, violently abusive and self-absorbed to the point of cruelty." -Los Angeles Times "Sinatra lovers will be enthralled by Kaplan's generous approach to the guy who sang about 'how little we know.'" -O, The Oprah Magazine "Fascinating.... For anyone who wants to know what popular culture and celebrity felt like around the middle of the twentieth century, this book is the new bible." -Bill Ott,Booklist, starred review "Riveting... 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." -Publishers Weekly, starred review "This book may be the fullest account of Sinatra's first 40 years... His youth, persistence in pursuing a singing career, relationships with women, work with band leader Tommy Dorsey, the controversial reversal of his draft status during World War II, and relationships with musicians and mafiosi are all presented with panache and clarity." -Library Journal "The answer to 'what is there left to say about Sinatra' is staggeringly answered in James Kaplan's new book. This story has never been told with such incisiveness, care, research and respect. With so many new revelations, you might never really know who Frank Sinatra is until you read this book." -Michael Feinstein "Jim Kaplan's great gift is his own voice, in peak form-stylish, seductive, and richly resonant-that stands up to Sinatra's powerful baritone. This is a perceptive, passionate biography of an immense and immensely flawed musical figure whose life and legend continue to fascinate." -Bob Spitz<
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