Frank Sinatra: An American Legend

Beskrivning:

These three books are due for publication in time for Frank Sinatra's 80th birthday. Two are somewhat similar. Britt's and Nancy Sinatra's efforts are both colorfully and copiously illustrated coffee-table books. Their subtitles reveal the viewpoint of the writers: they come to praise. Britt (The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz, Harmony: Crown, 1986) has organized this book by time periods and concludes each chapter with sections on recordings, movies, and performances. This leads to some unnecessary duplication. Additionally, there are some errors. Montgomery Clift did not receive an Oscar for From Here to Eternity and the Woodstock Festival occurred four years after, not before, Sinatra's Newport Jazz Festival appearance. Overall, the text seems to take a back seat to the illustrations. In her book, daughter Nancy is quite concerned with presenting the facts, making extensive use of eyewitness accounts and many interviews. This book is not a mere revision of her earlier Frank Sinatra, My Father (LJ 12/85), but a great deal is lifted directly from it. Comments and reflections from people who have worked with or been associated with Sinatra, such as Doris Day, Bing Crosby, and Richard Nixon, are liberally strewn. Nancy does a good job in refuting a lot of the charges that have been made about her father over the years. At the same time, she is very careful to quote almost exclusively from positive reviews. A most balanced picture of the man can be found in The Frank Sinatra Reader. Compiled by two professors of American studies, it contains essays and articles spanning the entirety of his career. The writers range from Stephen Holden and John Rockwell of the New York Times to fellow performers like Rosalind Russell and Harry Connick Jr. More material critical of Sinatra appears here than in the other two books put together, but it is still in the minority. The Reader is recommended for popular music collections and public libraries, Sinatra's and Britt's volumes as gifts for Sinatra fans.?Michael Colby, Univ. of California, Davis
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Sinatra