Rat Pack Confidential: Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, Joey and the Last Great Show Biz Party
by Shawn Levy
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Book Summary Information
Author: Shawn LevyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-07-20
ISBN: 0385495765
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Broadway
Book Reviews of Rat Pack Confidential: Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, Joey and the Last Great Show Biz Party
Book Review: A Curiosity
Summary: 4 Stars
The author sets the scene well in the prologue. He paints the conductor of this orchestra of self-absorption, Frank Sinatra, as a revered singer and actor, who somehow decided to set up a situation where people he was curious about would be set up around him, so he could watch them, contrast them and influence them.
The stage thus set is almost like an extended form of performance art. "T am so unique and so invulnerable that I can make this happen, and make people like it." Many "American Idols" have done this, but few did what Frank did: set up a group like the Rat Pack to bounce along with.
Two figures of great significance emerge outside the perimeter in this story: John Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. The former seems most similar to Sinatra himself: glad to have others feel that they are taking advantage of him, while constantly doing just the reverse. The latter is just awfully sad: a directionless icon who loses all sense of life purpose and whose end is almost a relief.
The part I liked the best was how Frank builds an extensive compound, including Secret Service and helicopter support, which Kennedy completely spurns. It was a comeuppance that Frank totally deserved.
You'll enjoy this book. And, as others have observed here, Nick Tosches' book, "Dino," is a natural companion.
More Rat Pack Confidential: Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, Joey and the Last Great Show Biz Party reviews:
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