Sinatra's Century: One Hundred Notes on the Man and His World - Softcover

Lehman, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061780073 ISBN 13: 9780061780073

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks, 2016

Synopsis

In celebration of his one-hundredth birthday, a charming, irresistibly readable, and handsomely packaged look back at the life and times of the greatest entertainer in American history, Frank Sinatra.

Sinatra’s Century is an irresistible collection of one-hundred short reflections on the man, his music, and his larger-than-life story, by a lifetime fan who also happens to be one of the poetry world’s most prominent voices. David Lehman uses each of these short pieces to look back on a single facet of the entertainer’s story—from his childhood in Hoboken, to his emergence as “The Voice” in the 1940s, to the wild professional (and romantic) fluctuations that followed. Lehman offers new insights and revisits familiar stories—Sinatra’s dramatic love affairs with some of the most beautiful stars in Hollywood, including Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Ava Gardner; his fall from grace in the late 1940s and resurrection during the “Capitol Years” of the 1950s; his bonds with the rest of the Rat Pack; and his long tenure as the Chairman of the Board, viewed as the eminence grise of popular music inspiring generations of artists, from Bobby Darin to Bono to Bob Dylan.

Brimming with Lehman’s own lifelong affection for Sinatra, the book includes lists of unforgettable performances; engaging insight on what made Sinatra the model of American machismo—and the epitome of romance; and clear-eyed assessments of the foibles that impacted his life and work. Warm and enlightening, Sinatra’s Century is full-throated appreciation of Sinatra for every fan.

About this title

About the Author

David Lehman is the founder and longtime editor of the Best American Poetry series and the editor of The Oxford Book of American Poetry. He is the author of several volumes of poetry and cultural criticism, including A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs, which won ASCAP'S Deems Taylor Award; The Last Avant-Garde: The Making of the New York School of Poets; and Signs of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul De Man. A core faculty member of the graduate writing program at the New School, he lives in New York City and Ithaca, New York.

From the Back Cover

Sinatra’s Century is an irresistible collection of one hundred short reflections on the man, his music, and his larger-than-life story by a lifetime fan who also happens to be one of the most prominent voices in contemporary American poetry. David Lehman uses each of these short pieces to look back on a single facet of the entertainer’s story—from his childhood in Hoboken to his emergence as “the Voice” in the 1940s to the wild professional and romantic fluctuations that followed.

Lehman offers new insights and energizes familiar stories—Sinatra’s dramatic love affairs with some of the most beautiful stars in Hollywood, including Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Ava Gardner; his fall from grace in the late 1940s and resurrection during the “Capitol Years” of the 1950s; his bonds with the rest of the Rat Pack; and his long tenure as the Chairman of the Board, the indomitable elder statesman of popular music inspiring generations of artists.

Warm and enlightening, Sinatra’s Century is a full-throated appreciation of Sinatra for the twenty-first-century fan.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0061780073
• ISBN 13: 9780061780073
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288