His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra Audiobook

" This certainly kept my attention. The more I read the more I found out just how much of an ass this guy was. Great stories within. Ava Gardner had him on her little finger. Kind of funny. I love his music and voice, though he was a complete jerk to many people. "

" Marked this a 3 because although it was too long for what I would want to know about Sinatra, I learned about some stories I had heard about the 70's and 80's--new look at good and evil in our society. I like books where I learn. "

" I suppose if you grew up with Sinatra, the way our parents did, a great deal of it would be familiar; as it is, I knew the broad outlines. Oddly, though, a reader unfamiliar with Sinatra could read this doorstop and come away with no idea of why the thug the book chronicles is of any interest at all. Kelly spends more time on the (mostly terrible) movies that Sinatra was in than on any aspect of his music-- and gives as much attention to tripe like "The Naked Runner" or "Von Ryan's Express" as to "High Society" or "Guys and Dolls" or "The Man With The Golden Arm". Even the treatment of "From Here To Eternity" focuses more on the gossip about how he got the part than on what made his performance notable. (She concludes that a important reason that so many Sinatra movies are terrible is that he didn't rehearse, and deliberately gave off-hand performances in order to deflect criticism. Maybe so, but this doesn't account for the poor script selection, or the fantastic performances he was capable of. He is great in "The Manchurian Candidate"-- why is he even doing "Robin and the Seven Hoods"?) I suppose we all know that Sinatra was capable of tremendous cruelty, and his antipathy towards the press and love of crude racist jokes is pretty well established. Kelley tries to balance this by documenting his philanthropy and his acts of generosity towards friends, but what we are left with is a picture of a man full of contradictions, rather than an understanding of why the man was like that. "expediency" seems to satisfy Kelley when it comes to answering why a Stevenson/Kennedy/Humphrey liberal became a fixture in the Reagan circle, (and an Agnew pal) but there must be more to it than that. Ultimately, though, it is the missing music that makes the book feel empty. "

" What an ass he was! "

" How could I give anything else to a book that has a chapter devoted to my Uncle Joey D........I love everything by Frank recorded especially the Nelson Riddle recordings. I just had the pleasure of friending Nelson on Facebook, my all time favorite arranger....JJF "

" also an interesting guy, albeit one of the meanest, selfish people that ever lived. very informative and is THICK, but keeps your attention-- never boring. "

" One of the worst bios I've read. Kelley sensationalizes, fabricates, and does not know her subject's milieu. "

" Although I adore Frank Sinatra's music, I felt physically ill reading about his life. This seems to be a meticulously researched book. "

" It was interesting to read this back to back with Benjamin Franklin's biography: the men couldn't be more opposite. What a nasty man! "

" Fascinating story of the life of the coolest person to ever walk the planet. "

" The best unauthorized tell-all out there. "

" Got the feeling after reading this book that Sinatra had a real dark side. "

" Way too much about Sinatra's mob connections, which I don't know why anyone cares about. Liked it other than that. "

" Interesting information about Sinatra's youth but a lot of this book is written like a scandal sheet. "

" Not sure how reliable the information was, but it was a good read. "

" As a young girl my favorite aunt introduced me to the rat-pack. Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin remain 2 of my favorite singers. I still listen to their music when I'm in the mood for quiet time reading a good book. "

" Well written and eye opening about the man. "

" The book that started it all for me--ever since I have been a devouted Sinatra fan. All the dirt is in here--mafia, dames, and oh yeah, the music. "

" It's about Frank Sinatra - if you like his music you should read this - it's good!! "

" After reading this book my opinion of him changed. I still think he was a brilliant singer but a bully and pain in the a.. To others in his life. If you like frank I say go for it. "

" At least this book made me dig up my Frank Sinatra CDs. "

" Not one of my fave Sinatra books, but it's still fairly engrossing. I don't like the negative slant in the book, but if you like gossip, you will probably like this book. "

" A pretty thorough view of Sinatra's life, but I can't help but be disturbed by some of the content. I'm hoping that it's not all true...if so, then Frank Sinatra, one of my favorite singers, was a not-so-nice guy. "

" Disappointing lack of juice. All the mafia stuff-- too much and too boring. Eh. "

" One of the worst bios I've read. Kelley sensationalizes, fabricates, and does not know her subject's milieu. "

" It was interesting to read this back to back with Benjamin Franklin's biography: the men couldn't be more opposite. What a nasty man! "

" The best unauthorized tell-all out there. "

" Marked this a 3 because although it was too long for what I would want to know about Sinatra, I learned about some stories I had heard about the 70's and 80's--new look at good and evil in our society. I like books where I learn. "

" It's about Frank Sinatra - if you like his music you should read this - it's good!! "

" I enjoy reading this book to my Grandmother. Our sharing of this story makes the quality feel higher than the book alone would support. "

" Not one of my fave Sinatra books, but it's still fairly engrossing. I don't like the negative slant in the book, but if you like gossip, you will probably like this book. "

" This certainly kept my attention. The more I read the more I found out just how much of an ass this guy was. Great stories within. Ava Gardner had him on her little finger. Kind of funny. I love his music and voice, though he was a complete jerk to many people. "

" Disappointing lack of juice. All the mafia stuff-- too much and too boring. Eh. "

" also an interesting guy, albeit one of the meanest, selfish people that ever lived. very informative and is THICK, but keeps your attention-- never boring. "

" A pretty thorough view of Sinatra's life, but I can't help but be disturbed by some of the content. I'm hoping that it's not all true...if so, then Frank Sinatra, one of my favorite singers, was a not-so-nice guy. "