Rating: 
Summary: That's NOT Amore
Review: .
"When a book hits your eye, like a big pizza pie," it may be Nick Toshe's biography of Dino Crocetti, later known as Dean Martin.Say what you will about Dino, but he WAS entertaining. This book is not. It was a chore to try to slog through Tosche's tome (572 pages in the library's hardcover edition - with Notes, Source list, Discography, and Index). His officious, dense, non sequitur syle (which was not Dean's style at all) gets in the way of the story. Like this: "The polyglot sound of it all, the Babel of the mob, merged in the breezes. In a town like Steubenville [Ohio] in 1917, the year Dino Crocetti was born, one could hear it ... It was not the free verse of *The Waste Land* that informed the mythology of the mob. A literature of freer prose already had risen to serve them, beginning with *Photoplay* in 1911. The reign of mediocrity - democracy- was flowering full ... America alone among nations had conceived of her destiny as a dream. The American Dream, she called it. Now dreams as well as steel were her industry. Hard-girdered reality and flickering, lilting fantasy were the inhalation and exhalation of her being. It was her dreamland stars, not her statesmen or poets, through whom she found expression." ( pp.29-32) I did not tough this tome out long enough for Jerry Lewis' entrance - let alone exit. Life is too short - for Dino and me. Too many books. Too little time. Let The Man sing!
Rating: 
Summary: Insincere Balladeer: Tosches' Dino
Review: Ornate, pretentious, entertaining and ultimately depressing, Nick Tosches' souped-up take on anti-legend Dean Martin (born Dino Crocetti) is an essential work on an underrated performer. Make no mistake, however: this is a thesis-bound book, and in no way qualifies as adoration, or even respect. Tosches portrays Dino as a virtually schizoid burn-out waiting to happen, a man so distanced from his own humanity that casual sex, hard drinking, and a laissez-faire work ethic are the inevitable results. A frightening
image - but is it the "real" Dean Martin? Likely we'll never know, as Martin never revealed much of himself to his public (or, apparently, to his loved ones either). It's a forced choice, then: take Tosches' account as the closest thing there is to fact, or dismiss it entirely; in either case, still no Dean. As he'd have liked it, no doubt. I'm a fan of Martin's music, film and television work; as such, it seems to me that Tosches invests so much time attempting to reveal the unknowable that he loses all sight of the performer. Perhaps he's right - that the entirety of Martin's life and career was an increasingly flimsy and facile put-on, that his status as an entertainer was rooted in a sinkhole soul and not in the desire to bring even fleeting joy to his fans. But he did anyway. With all due respect, Mr. Tosches, you can't take that away from me.
Rating: 
Summary: No New Info
Review: As a super hard core fan of Dino's (since the age of 8)I found Mr. Tosche's biography disappointing and disturbing. The language was not necessary. We all know Dean had a passion for foul language. Frankly, after 3 personal encounters with Dino, I found he did "give a damn". The best thing I can say for this book is that it included many good photos of Dean, family and friends. I guess there really isn't anyone who can write a biography of Dino except his own mother, and even when alive she remained very silent. If Dino were still here, I think he would have a good laugh at all of us who tried to figure him out. Good luck to those who try to film his life. It will not give us any more insight than this book. It might give us a good soundtrack we can buy on a CD.
Rating: 
Summary: Stunning
Review: As someone who's read a lot of celebrity biographies, I think that people need to keep in mind that no single volume will ever completely "explain" a person's life. That said, I found DINO to be a stunning read. Having grown up in Ohio where Dean was always regarded as a "hometown-boy-made-good," we watched his movies, listened to his records, and faithfully watched his TV show every week. The lovable drunk persona he cultivated made show business look fun and easy and everyone in my family referred to him as Dino as if they all knew him.
So it was something of a shock to read how aloof and distant he was throughout his life. And I don't mean that in a bad way: it's just odd that someone so easy-going and affable to millions of viewers could keep those closest to him so remote and baffled.
Tosches zeroes in on that and makes it very hip. Dean eases through New York clubs of the 40's, Hollywood in the 50's, Vegas in the 60's--and nothing really impresses him. Frank Sinatra, the Mafia, JFK, Hollywood studios. Eh, whatever. This was the first biography I've read where I felt I knew LESS about a person after reading it.
Stylistically, some parts of DINO are laugh-outloud funny and Dean comes off all the cooler for it. Does this book sum up Dean Martin's life? No. I've skimmed his son Ricci's book (and will read it someday) and I found BACKSTAGE AT 'THE DEAN MARTIN SHOW' also interesting for another side of Dean (written by his musical director). From all of these books, you might get a decent picture of what he was really like.
And they all add up to a very smooth king of cool.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning
Review: As someone who's read a lot of celebrity biographies, I think that people need to keep in mind that no single volume will ever completely "explain" a person's life. That said, I found DINO to be a stunning read. Having grown up in Ohio where Dean was always regarded as a "hometown-boy-made-good," we watched his movies, listened to his records, and faithfully watched his TV show every week. The lovable drunk persona he cultivated made show business look fun and easy and everyone in my family referred to him as Dino as if they all knew him.
So it was something of a shock to read how aloof and distant he was throughout his life. And I don't mean that in a bad way: it's just odd that someone so easy-going and affable to millions of viewers could keep those closest to him so remote and baffled.
Tosches zeroes in on that and makes it very hip. Dean eases through New York clubs of the 40's, Hollywood in the 50's, Vegas in the 60's--and nothing really impresses him. Frank Sinatra, the Mafia, JFK, Hollywood studios. Eh, whatever. This was the first biography I've read where I felt I knew LESS about a person after reading it.
Stylistically, some parts of DINO are laugh-outloud funny and Dean comes off all the cooler for it. Does this book sum up Dean Martin's life? No. I've skimmed his son Ricci's book (and will read it someday) and I found BACKSTAGE AT 'THE DEAN MARTIN SHOW' also interesting for another side of Dean (written by his musical director). From all of these books, you might get a decent picture of what he was really like.
And they all add up to a very smooth king of cool.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Biography
Review: At times I found Nick Tosches' prose practically unreadable and incomprehensible. Every other sentence [used much profanity]. This is hard to believe in spite of Dean Martin's decline during the 1970/1980s. Tosches makes too many assumptions about Martin and the author's reputation as a "stylish" writer is ludicrous. Unless one is a diehard Dean Martin fan, I do not recommend this book unless you want to learn how NOT to write a biography.
Rating:
Summary: Stylish bio. of the great unknowable
Review: Dean Martin was perhaps the ultimate Nick Tosches subject, a man whose private self in death as in life defies penetration. The author thrives on the ultimate unknowability of his subjects, which is why readers in search of straight stories, verdicts of good or bad, a beginning middle and end wrapping up a life or an era in an easily digestible package will retreat from his writing unsatisfied. Tosches is first and foremost a stylist, to my mind a great one, and "Dino" is perhaps, along with his Sidney Korshak piece for Vanity Fair, his most beautifully told work yet. There is a lot of fascinating detail, particularly about his Steubenville upbringing, his relationship with Lewis and their astonishing success and earnings. As for the inner Dean, I learned about as much as I had hoped for, which wasn't a lot - after all, Pallie, what did you expect?
Rating:
Summary: Dino presents a complete image of an illusive personality.
Review: Dean Martin's controlled presentation gave the author a minefield of misinformation that could have been glossed over in a more traditional fashion. But Mr. Tosches gets right down with the subject enveloping us in the forces that made Mr. Martin a complex individual. From his seemingly "don't give a damn" attitude to his deep seated fears, the book illustates in a very real way the world according to Dean. As his end was so anticlimatic, the book ends abruptly. But the scenery in the years before, including the pivotal Lewis-Martin relationship, is more than fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: Why didn't he take "Pajama Game" role....?
Review: Dean's agents made more fees for getting him into "10,000 Bedrooms",which farce-bombed.Annually, Steubenville,Ohio celebrates with ala Dino "Karaoke" Gala--featuring a Vegas-style impersonator,site is online--souvenir postcard is from huge 30' wall mural of Dino
Rating:
Summary: Riveting experience
Review: For anyone with an interest in Dean, Jerry, Frank, the early years, etc., this is the book that makes all others pale in comparison. - Fascinating, packed with just the stuff you always wanted to know about but didn't know who to ask!! beautifully written, literate and then some - what more could you want?
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