Overview

One of the Best Books of the Year The Washington Post • Los Angeles Times • Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The story of Frank Sinatra’s second act, Sinatra finds the Chairman on top of the world, riding high after an Oscar victory—and firmly reestablished as the top recording artist of his day. Following Sinatra from the mid-1950s to his death in 1998, Kaplan uncovers the man behind the myth, revealing by turns the peerless singer, the (sometimes) powerful actor, the business mogul, the tireless lover, and—of course—the close associate of the powerful and infamous. It was in these decades that the enduring legacy of Frank Sinatra was forged, and Kaplan vividly captures “Ol’ Blue Eyes” in his later years. The sequel to the New York Times best-selling Frank, here is the concluding volume of the definitive biography of ""The Entertainer of the Century.""

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9780307946935

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Reviews

Praise for Sinatra: The Chairman Fifty pages from the end of Sinatra: The Chairman, the second and concluding volume ofJames Kaplan s magisterial biography ofFrank Sinatra, I guarantee you ll begin to weep. Not because you ve finished a 900-plus-page book (though you will feel relief), or because Kaplan so persistently details the ugly truth about Sinatra... No, you will weep over the death of a massive and unforgettable talent whose style of living helped define post-war America, and you will weep for an America that no longer exists, whether you lived during those years or just yearn for their return. Sibbie O'Sullivan, The Washington Post Kaplan's second volume is a hand-stitched tapestry with many, many recurring motifs...The remarkable thing is that Sinatra s career is such a compelling transit of the 20th century in American entertainment and politics and an early and prophetic blending of the two thatthe endless Kaplan book is endlessly engaging. His Sinatra is a magnificent monster imperious and callow, thuggish and tender, an exquisitely lonely man forever surrounded by a posse of hangers-on. Edward Kosner, Wall Street Journal Do not be deterred by the book s heft. Sinatra: The Chairman is a riveting read a juicy, painstakingly researched, excitingly written examination of a brilliant musician, an uneven and temperamental actor, and a charming, erratic, deeply flawed man. Julia M. Klein, The Boston Globe Definitive, and irresistibly engrossing Kaplan is terrific dissecting Sinatra and the mob. His elucidation of Sinatra s contribution to the shadowy Kennedy presidential campaign is exemplary. He is at his best reporting 'the less than sublime goings-on, ' as he terms them, that always in Frank s life bracketed sublime music. Barry Singer, USA Today The degree to which that brutality is from reality and not just comic mythology in Vegas lounges can be read about in full glorious technicolor detail in one of the huge, and hugely compelling, books of 2015, Sinatra: The Chairman, the second volume of James Kaplan s wildly readable doorstop biography that began with the near-definitive Frank: The Voice. Jeff Simon, The Buffalo News Hugely readable, vastly entertaining, a page-turner. Adam Gopnik, TheNew Yorker I think James Kaplan's two volume set is the definitive word on Frank Sinatra, as definitive as any biography of any public figure can be. It's jammed with something juicy on almost every page. It has been written with integrity and affection. It neither sugar coats or demonizes. It presents what all stars are ordinary mortals with ordinary cares, writ large by fame, and in Sinatra's case, a peerless talent. Sinatra concocted a towering life on the American landscape. Liz Smith Such a book stands or falls on its author's storytelling ability. In that regard, Kaplan does admirably, with a sense of momentum and a fair, balanced tone. James Gavin, Newsday In the first volume of his Sinatra biography James Kaplan provided a gripping, novelistic account of the singer s roots and the development of his craft, deftly mapping his assimilation of early influences and his discovery of his own voice. Sinatra: The Chairman, the concluding volume to that biography, does a similarly nimble job of tracing the singer s continued rise to international fame, and credibly explicates the alchemy behind the singer s collaboration with Nelson Riddle and their amazing achievement during the Capitol Records years with masterpieces like Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely and Songs for Swingin Lovers! Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times Engaging to the point of addiction, The Chairman provides a spirited romp through the prime times of Sinatraland and the September of his years. It also reminds us why Kaplan grew enchanted enough with Sinatra to spend 10 years writing about him But oh, that voice. It made up for so much. It cut through the clutter of everything else. Before Sinatra, there was really no such thing as a standard. Before Sinatra, you d be hard-pressed to associate the Great American Songbook with any particular singer. Such was his impact. So bring on the tributes. And start with The Chairman. Chris Vognar, The Dallas Morning News The book is detailed enough about Sinatra s music, movies and complicated personal life to satisfy completists, but Kaplan always has his eye on the big picture. Lloyd Sachs, Detroit News Kaplan s Frank came out in 2010 do we need 900 more pages on Ol Blue Eyes? This intriguing bio, timed to his 100th birthday, will convince you we do. People Magazine If you ever wanted to know exactly what Frank Sinatra was doing on every single day of his life, Kaplan is your man. The Chairman is rich with fascinating detail, much of which I d never heard . When Kaplan describes Sinatra the singer, The Chairman soars: a flawless legato, perfect diction, and graceful phrasing based on a total mastery of breath control. Allen Barra, TheDaily Beast.com Scrupulous, entertainingly eye-opening You ll dig Kaplan s highbrow down-low of Ol Blue Eyes during his controversial and powerful reign in the 1950s and 60s. Elle Magazine .. .[R]emarkably insightful, gracefully, often eloquently, written history of popular music and celebrity culture in twentieth-century America all viewed through the lens of an iconic singer and undervalued actor whose wildly contradictory personality and tempestuous personal life built the legend but detracted from the man s genius as an artist....As astute in his psychological analysis as in his music criticism, Kaplan makes sense of the singer s insistence on taking way too many encores by noting Sinatra s need forconstant movement: 'He was like a whole body case of restless leg syndrome.' That restlessness finally shook itself out, but, along the way, it drove a skinny kid from Hoboken to live a life that, as Kaplan concludes, 'touched almost every aspect of American culture in the twentieth century.' That s a bigstatement, but this big book makes us believe it. Booklist, starred review The great singer-actor contains multitudes in this vast, engrossing biography of Frank Sinatra s mature years... Kaplan s sympathetic but unflinching narrative revels in the entertainer s scandalous private life while offering rapt, insightful appreciations of his sublime recording and stage performances. It situates him and his Rat Pack at the Vegas headquarters of a postwar American culture that yoked mobsters and prostitutes to Kennedys and other luminaries. His Sinatra is often appalling, sometimes inspiring, and always a fascinating icon of an energetic, resonant, yet doomed style of masculinity. Publishers Weekly, starred review The meatiness of the material justifies the length of the author's second (and concluding) volume of his biography of Frank Sinatra (1915-1998). Just as his subject matured into a far more compelling artist than the one who had elicited squeals from bobby-soxers, the follow-up to Kaplan's Frank: The Voice (2010) is far more substantial than that initial volume.... An appropriately big book for an oversized artistic presence. Kirkus Reviews, starred review From the Hardcover edition.

Riveting . . . a juicy, painstakingly researched, excitingly written examination of a brilliant musician. --The Boston Globe Engaging to the point of addiction. . . . [Kaplan] paints a full portrait of an extremely talented and equally difficult artist. The Sinatra that emerges from these pages is an outsized figure who's never less or more than brutally human. --The Dallas Morning News Hugely readable, vastly entertaining. --Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker Definitive, and irresistibly engrossing. . . . Piercingly perceptive. --USA Today Toward the end of . . . James Kaplan's magisterial biography of Frank Sinatra, I guarantee you'll begin to weep over the death of a massive and unforgettable talent whose style of living helped define postwar America and for an America that no longer exists. --The Washington Post Endlessly engaging. --The Wall Street Journal The Chairman never neglects the fact that beneath the fisticuffs and tabloid scandals Frank Sinatra was first and foremost an artist, as soulful and committed an original as this country will ever produce. --Vanity Fair Scrupulous, entertainingly eye-opening. --Elle Meticulously researched. . . . Kaplan draws from previous biographies and the memoirs of Sinatra's lovers and fellow travellers, but the pithy narrative is his own, as are his persuasive critiques of the music. --The Guardian [Kaplan uses] detail the way a novelist does--and weaves Sinatra in with the era he lived through. --Salon What sets both Kaplan volumes apart from other Sinatra biographies is the author's . . . exhaustive detail of the Chairman's single-minded passion for making the most of his gift. --The Washington Times [Kaplan does a] nimble job of tracing the singer's continued rise to international fame, and credibly explicates the alchemy behind the singer's collaboration with Nelson Riddle and their amazing achievement during the Capitol Records years. --The New York Times Monumental. --Financial Times The great singer-actor contains multitudes in this vast, engrossing biography. --Publishers Weekly (starred) Rich with fascinating detail. --The Daily Beast Hugely compelling. . . . Stunningly researched. . . . No one is ever likely more trustworthy about Sinatra than Kaplan. --The Buffalo News Riveting. . . . An appropriately big book for an oversized artistic presence. --Kirkus Reviews (starred) Kaplan's two volume set is the definitive word on Frank Sinatra, as definitive as any biography of any public figure can be. It's jammed with something juicy on almost every page. It has been written with integrity and affection. --Liz Smith Remarkably insightful, gracefully, often eloquently written. . . . [Kaplan is] as astute in his psychological analysis as in his music criticism. --Booklist (starred)

Author Information

James Kaplan has been writing about people and ideas in business and popular culture, as well as notable fiction (The Best American Short Stories), for more than three decades. His essays and reviews, as well as more than a hundred major profiles, have appeared in many magazines, including The New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Esquire, and New York. His novels include Pearl’s Progress and Two Guys from Verona, a New York Times Notable Book for 1998. His nonfiction works include The Airport, You Cannot Be Serious (coauthored with John McEnroe), Dean & Me: A Love Story (with Jerry Lewis), and the first volume of his definitive biography of Frank Sinatra, Frank: The Voice. He lives in Westchester, New York, with his wife and three sons.

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