Rating: 
Summary: A little bit of a lot...and it swings!
Review: "Rat Pack Confidential" is an impressive mix of moods, ideas, styles and topics, a history of American pop culture and the souls of some spectacular entertainers. In following Sinatra, Dean Martin,Sammy Davis and Peter Lawford over a number of years, the author gives us a peek into the worlds of show business, organized crime and backroom politics. The style is brassy and lively and witty. There's a big dose of gossip and a lot of insight into the Rat Pack's music and movies. It's not groundbreaking, but it's very breezy. And it makes you believe that a bunch of grown-up baby-men in Las Vegas actually stood for something important in American history. I dug it.
Rating: 
Summary: Well-researched for the most part
Review: Having lived in Las Vegas during themid 60s and early 70s, I was impressed with Levy's knowledge and obviously thorough research of the community. Levy bounced around a bit with time periods; the book could have been better edited. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable book to read and I would recommend it to anyone who is as fascinated with Las Vegas and the Rat Pack as I am. One does wonder, however, why Levy thought it was the Freemont Hotel and Freemont Street, rather than "Fremont," which is the correct spelling.
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Summary: A film in development..?
Review: Hollywood may use this for the script..re-issue. Annually, Dino's hometown Steubenville Oh celebrates...& we do a take off on antics of Rat Pack.This is the definitive book.
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Summary: An excellent biography- a real soap opera based on truth!
Review: 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!!!
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Summary: Nobody Will Ever Learn These Things in School
Review: I bought this book because I've been systematically reading biographies of jazz pianists, singers, etc. I had not expected this book to be as eye opening and revelatory as it turned out to be. In addition to providing about as much as I need to know about the music of Sinatra, Martin, and Davis, it provided an alternative interpretation of the Kennedy "Camelot" years that makes a lot more sense to me than the watered down drivel I received from the traditional media. I like this book so much I'm buying a second copy for my Dad to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Much Ado about nothing much
Review: I enjoyed "King of Comedy", Shawn Levy's previous book. During the course of research for that book, Levy read Nick Tosches' "Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams." For those who haven't read it, it is one of those books with an novelish overcooked style. Levy tries his own version here of that style here. Big mistake: he comes across as a self-conscious imitator. Stick to your own style, kid, it's better, and it feels more natural. This kind of thing also dates terribly, as anyone who has read "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" can attest. Levy seems a bit uncomfortable with the subject matter, too; he is sensitive enough to divine its profound triviality. So he tries hard to elevate it: we get a lot of nonsense about Marilyn Monroe, for instance. For anyone who wants a common sense estimation of her career, try Clive James' essay in "At the Pillars of Hercules". The important thing about Frank Sinstra wa! s his music, not his protracted adolescence--so try some of the serious books on that, of which there are many. For Martin, if you feel inclined, the Tosches biography is still better. Davis wrote several books on his own life. Lawford is not worth anybody's attention unless you count the grassy knoll brigade. In other words, nothing here that need capture your attention or hasn't been done better elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: An impulse buy - great read, great history
Review: I picked up 'Rat Pack Confidential' in the airport, looking for a way to kill time on a couple of upcoming flights. This book filled those needs and more. It's a very compelling read...a finely crafted and expertly researched work on the makings - and subsequent unmakings - of the Rat Pack. There are excellent portraits of the main protagonsists - Sinatra, Davis Jr., Martin, Lawford and Bishop - and Shawn Levy draws a vivd portrait of Las Vegas at the beginning of the 60s. Levy's research brings up five distinct personalities...despite the perceptions of 'clanishness' that the public held about the Rat Pack, these were each very unique individuals. Levy weaves together a series of threads to make up the core of the book, and one month after finishing it, there are three that linger in my mind... 1. Sinatra's 'using' of Peter Lawford as an inroad to JFK. [Sinatra derisely referred to Lawford as 'the brother-in-Lawford.'] Once Lawford was of no use to him anymore, Sinatra discarded him & Lawford never really fully recovered. 2. Sinatra's desperate attempts to curry favor with JFK, and the Kennedy Administation's efforts to keep him (and the Rat Pack) at arm's length. 3. Marilyn Monroe - caught in a downward spiral, her eerie presence haunts the latter-half of the book as powerful men use (and abuse) her. I went into this book expecting a breezy show-biz-type read and was very pleasantly surprised about the serious matter of much of the material: the development of Las Vegas; Presidential politics; Mafia intrigue; and lives destroyed by excess. Great stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Rat Pack
Review: I read this book after seeing the HBO movie 'The Rat Pack'. The characters in the movie fascinated me, and, knowing little about Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, or Joey, I decided to read this book. It was a wise decision. Levy's writing style, while not particularly original, was fitting, and reflected the hip, laid back attitude of his subjects. Of course the parts about Sinatra were good, Dean Martin seems to be as big of a mystery to Levy as he was to everyone else, and Sammy Davis Jr. comes off as he probably should have: the most talented entertainer in a group of talented entertainers. As for the minor members, Peter Lawford is just pathetic, and seems to use and get used by everyone, and Joey Bishop, an overlooked character in the movie, is the glue that holds them all together. This is a wonderful book the truly captures the personality of a bygone era.
Rating:
Summary: Rat Pack
Review: I read this book after seeing the HBO movie `The Rat Pack'. The characters in the movie fascinated me, and, knowing little about Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, or Joey, I decided to read this book. It was a wise decision. Levy's writing style, while not particularly original, was fitting, and reflected the hip, laid back attitude of his subjects. Of course the parts about Sinatra were good, Dean Martin seems to be as big of a mystery to Levy as he was to everyone else, and Sammy Davis Jr. comes off as he probably should have: the most talented entertainer in a group of talented entertainers. As for the minor members, Peter Lawford is just [weak], and seems to use and get used by everyone, and Joey Bishop, an overlooked character in the movie, is the glue that holds them all together. This is a wonderful book the truly captures the personality of a bygone era.
Rating:
Summary: Better than I expected
Review: I really enjoyed this book, much more than I anticipated. Mr. Levy admits upfront that it is a compilation of other books brought together in one place. His writing style is smooth and effortless, making for a fast read, but you get inside the group and the time really effectively. I knew quite a bit going into the book, but I learned much more, particularly about Sammy and Joey. I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of any of these dudes, or to those who are only curious.
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