On the occasion of the centenary of the most beloved and enduring entertainer of our time, Sinatra's Century is a warmly celebratory collection of one hundred short reflections on the man, his music, and his larger-than-life story-by the widely respected poet, editor, and critic David Lehman, longtime editor of the Best American Poetry series and author of books including A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs.
In charming, witty prose, Lehman uses each of these hundred short pieces as an occasion to look back on one facet of the Sinatra story-from the singer's origins on the streets of Hoboken, to his emergence as "The Voice" in the 1940s, to the wild ebb and flow of his career in the decades that followed. Lehman revisits stories new and familiar-Sinatra's dramatic love affairs with stars including Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, Judith Exner, and (most tempestuously) Ava Gardner; his fall from grace in the late 1940s and resurrection during the "Capitol Years" of the 1950s; his friendships with Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and the other members of the Rat Pack; and his long tenure as the Chairman of the Board, the eminence grise of popular music who inspired figures as diverse as Bobby Darin and Bono.
This is a book for fans: brimming with Lehman's own lifelong affection for Sinatra the singer and the man, it includes lists of unforgettable performances; engaging commentary on what made Sinatra an exemplar of machismo for generations of men, and romance for millions of women who still swoon to his recordings; clear-eyed assessments of the faults and weaknesses that informed his life and work; and a full-throated appreciation of Sinatra, the icon and the man.
