Rat Pack Confidential: Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, Joey and the Last Great Show Biz Party

by Shawn Levy

Book Overview

January 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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385495765
• ISBN13: 9780385495769
• Release Date: July 1999
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Rat Pack Confidential Review

Several things to say about this book. It's a great anthology of the Rat Pack during their Vegas years. I'm a big fan of Sinatra et.al, and find this book to be very fascinating reading for anyone who is enamoured with these entertainers and their great era.

It pulls it all together....with some REVELATIONS!

This was a book I almost didn't buy...and I am GLAD I did. I STRONGLY recommend it for anyone interested in the Rat Pack -- the male-bonded mega-and-not-so-mega entertainers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop -- who epitomized Eisenhower/Kennedy era adult "cool" and were atop the show biz heap. If you've read other books on these folks and their era this pulls them all together (with a writing style that is fun, although at times a bit forced and annoying).If you're a younger person and just want to learn about it, or in show biz and want to learn more, this is the perfect starting point. The reason: it's not just about entertainers but the sometimes insidious links between the entertainment, political, and organized crime worlds. A LOT has been written elsewhere about how Frank Sinatra used Peter Lawford for access to the Kennedys, and how he dropped him mercilessly when he was angered and was of no further use. The book also underlines the public images ("cool," talented, pretending to be drunk at times as part of an act that audiences lapped up) and the behind-the-scenes near-sleaziness of excess drink, sex and egotistical acting out. You also get to know the era's colorful cast of characters, including Marilyn Monroe.These segments are gripping enough, but major revelations include: 1)Their reign didn't really last more than four full years. 2)Being in or being forced out of the Rat Pack could make or break a career (Davis and Lawford found this out). 3)While Sinatra and others tried being "cool" and individualistic, they seemingly role played (Sinatra was influenced by Humphrey Bogart; some others by the Bogart-influenced Sinatra) but ONE member TRULY did it HIS WAY...and that was Dean Martin. He stayed himself, not allowing himself to be ordered around by either Sinatra or Mafia-tied figures. In the end, you walk away realizing the underrated Martin was the era's true "cool" hero --and Lawford and Monroe its true victims. A WONDERFUL READ!

A Great Book to Swing By

The Rat Pack Confidential truly takes the reader into the wild world of Las Vegas and Hollywood. After seeing the movie on Home Box Office; I had to read the book to see if it was all true. The book is not just about the wild times. It tells the story of how five men from five different worlds to become vital forces into the entertainment field. Plus, you get a true inside of how JFK lost control of his private life and a true in Frank Sinatra.

An excellent biography- a real soap opera based on truth!

I bought this book as more of a fill in the gaps type of curiosity I had after watching HBO's "The Rat Pack" (see it if you can). After watching the two hour movie, I was intrigued about how the Rat Pack was formed, how it lived, how it disbanded and all the great stories that went with it...This book delivers all that and much more. It is a friendly read, neither critical or praising; straight down the line as accurate and level headed as can be.What I really enjoyed was the origins of each of the members. Then there was the mafia and multiple dames tie-ins. The Kennedy's are portrayed in this book and it lends to a great history lesson in back door politics.Then the book closes with the eventual downfall of their swinging empire. What exactly happened to each cast member and the people that surrounded them. Its all answered.This book gives great insight to each of the players. By the end of each chapter I was sure whether I loved them, or hated them.A definite must read!!!

Gracefully Written, Wonderful Job

I've read a buncha stuff on this subject, and I really admire Levy's book. He's an excellent writer, and has done a great job of distilling a mountain of material into a meaningful and enjoyable read. His portraits of the individual Rat Packers are insightful and empathic, and I think he hits a perfect happy medium -- he neither tries to inflate the importance material nor turn the book into a sordid exercise in scandal-mongering. He also makes a wise choice on the level of detail -- enough, but not too much.Anything that reads this easily must have been a bear and a half to write. "Rat Pack Confidential" also paints a useful broad picture of various aspects of the history of popular entertainment, politics and organized crime in mid-Century America.Nice job, Mr. Levy, and best o' luck in the future!