For the first time, the full story of what happened when Frank brought his best pals to party in a land called VegasJanuary 1960. Las Vegas is at its smooth, cool peak. The Strip is a jet-age theme park, and the greatest singer in the history of American popular music summons a group of friends there to make a movie. One is an insouciant singer of Italian songs, ex-partner to the most … ex-partner to the most popular film comedian of the day. One is a short, black, Jewish, one-eyed, singing, dancing wonder. One is an upper-crust British pretty boy turned degenerate B-movie star actor, brother-in-law to an ascendant politician. And one is a stiff-shouldered comic with the quintessential Borscht Belt emcee’s knack for needling one-liners. The architectonically sleek marquee of the Sands Hotel announces their presence simply by listing their names: FRANK SINATRA. DEAN MARTIN. SAMMY DAVIS, JR. PETER LAWFORD. JOEY BISHOP. Around them an entire cast gathers: actors, comics, singers, songwriters, gangsters, politicians, and women, as well as thousands of starstruck everyday folks who fork over pocketfuls of money for the privilege of basking in their presence. They call themselves The Clan. But to an awed world, they are known as The Rat Pack.
They had it all. Fame. Gorgeous women. A fabulouse playground of a city and all the money in the world. The backing of fearsome crime lords and the blessing of the President of the United States. But the dark side–over the thin line between pleasure and debauchery, between swinging self-confidence and brutal arrogance–took its toll. In four years, their great ride was over, and showbiz was never the same.
Acclaimed Jerry Lewis biographer Shawn Levy has written a dazzling portrait of a time when neon brightness cast sordid shadows. It was Frank’s World, and we just lived in it.
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Loved it !! I’m old school. I didn’t want to put it down.
It must have been written by a Sammy fan. The author raved about Sammy, either fawned over Frank or despised him, ignored Joey, made Lawford seem like a drunken lackey and ripped Dean as lazy and stupid.
This is only Rat Pack book I’ve read that made the guys seem self absorbed and talentless.
Save your $ 2. Don’t buy this book.
Couldn’t finish this. The writing style doesn’t appeal but even less appealing are the people in the Rat Pack. Not one of them had any redeeming qualities. All bad.
Guilty pleasure. Voyeur friendly.
Timelines in the book seem to be all over the place. More written about the mob and poetical involvement than the members of the Rat Pack themselves. Parts seem to drag on too long. Not as interesting as I had hoped.
Cheesy but fun.
Answered many questions about the Rat Pack. Separated fiction from fact.
Claptrap
Disgusting group of people!
A beautifully written discourse on the Rat Pack…it’s members, the era, the society they moved in. An expose’ but the author’s turn of phrase is wonderful. If you have any interest in Sinatra, Davis, the Kennedys, Hollywood, the mafia, you will find many interesting tidbits. Thumbs up!
Book was very informative but I was disappointed in some of things I learned about Dean Martin!
not good and somethings in error.
Great stories about the rat pack. So much I did not know.
Interesting
It’s 2017 and the Kennedy Papers about JFK’s assassination have just been released within weeks of my finishing reading this book. The Government papers have authenticated a lot of this book’s author’s claims regarding Kennedy’s election with help of mobster Giancana and the later Govt.’s screwing over of the helpful mob and its Cuba …
Enjoyed both the people and the historical context.
I thought I knew pretty much everything about The Rat Pack. I was wrong.
More than enough information about the rat pack
lots of information here-not only about the main characters, LasVegas, politics and Hollywood. Very interesting and pretty well written
Seemed to concentrate on the negative, of which I’m sure there was a lot, but the book seemed a little too snarky. I read it, but I can’t say I particularly enjoyed it.