Said it all. Exceptional written. Enjoyed each page Fantastic author.

See above

Learned as much as possible of the Rat Pack.

You will enjoy this book. I for sure did and never attended a life performance.

A great read!

Shawn Levy writes with an insider's knowledge and a cool style. His book is remarkably detailed and the story is beautifully told -- with all its amazing stories, shocking displays of ego and bittersweet tragedy. I really couldn't put it down.

This is a good introduction to the Rat Pack, but a large amount of their collective and individual story is left out.

Also, much of the information given here is contradicted by other sources. I.e He does not state that Ava Gardner got Sinatra his role in From Here to Eternity; He rightly states that Peter Lawford had not done a movie in several years before Frank gave him a part in 'Never so Few', but he doesn't mention that Lawford's previous film, 'It Should Happen to You' was a huge hit; When telling the story of a late tour given by Frank, Dean, and Sammy, and Frank yelling at the other two during an intermission, Levy gives Dean's response as saying he "can't take it anymore", but other sources say, more convincingly, that Dean angrily yelled back, "I don't work for you, Frank." And so on throughout the book.

Point being there are many differences and omissions between this and other histories. This book, and the others and the documentaries, all give an impressive bibliography, so I have no explanation for the discrepancies.

Also, Levy is determined to praise Frank Sinatra like a god of Olympus and denigrate the other Rat Pack members, raising the one partly by lessening the others. This is odd, counter-factual, and unnecessary.

Quite an interesting read in terms of the back story of corruption and organised crime behind showbiz, gambling, politics and the hunger for fame and attention of a group of apparently very successful superstars of their time, but no-one comes out of this as a particularly likeable person. Dean Martin perhaps is less unpleasant than most but even he ends up as a hopeless washed up drunk in the end. The rest of them seem a sad and needy bunch exploiting and casting aside the ones down the chain and in turn being exploited and dumped by others further up the chain all the way to the White House.

Ultimately its a somewhat depressing book - again I end up thinking that its better not to know too much about the real person behind the performer!

What a party. What a time. The book is what it is. Tries not to step on too many toes.

A little too scattered for my preference.

A rollicking read that shines a light on the excessive and often boorish behaviour of the Rat Pack

Four years. That's what this is really the story of: four years where a cadre of chums ruled the entertainment world before rock flushed their entertainment away.

I first read this when it came out and thought it was a little overwritten. Rereading it has made me appreciate the ring-a-ding-ding flavour; it's certainly more entertaining than a Nevada-dry date list approach. True, the book does cover the before and after of the group's time at the Sands - a leading character in its own right - but the work hinges on the power (both held and desired) of the players. The mob, Hollywood, the Kennedys, Castro, the Nevada Gaming Commission - they're all here in a whirlwind around Frank Sinatra, who acted with pure talent and breathtaking stupidity at once.

Sinatra forms the focus of the work and I do wish the others had had a little more focus. The others are discussed but not at Frank level. Sammy Davis Jr is portrayed well - his is the saddest, most needy tale in a collection of bad ends.

This is a fun, quick read that calls for a bourbon. It is worth reading in conjunction with Pileggi's Casino as they share the same spirit - to recall the lawless spunk of wide-open Las Vegas.

Enjoy, pallie.

I love this book. I grew up in the era of The Ratpack (and no, Frank et al didn't like that name), I loathed them, though I thought Dean Martin was OK. They stood for everything I hated. Crass materialism, commercialism, and the worse offense being old-fashioned. I mean, why bother with Frank when you could have Elvis and later the Beatles and the Stones? I've changed my mind since then, though I still think Frank was a prick, but an ever-fascinating one, and a musical genius.I'm not sure when I changed. Maybe after I rediscovered lounge music 15 years ago or so. (I'd grown up with spending a lot of time in bars and resorts, and was once forced to take cha-cha lessons. I ran from all this stuff.)

Ratpack Confidential is not a biography; though it contains the biographies of Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter,and Joey entourage. As author Shawn Levy says, it's an analysis of a place in time. And a short time it was; something that always amazes me as an historian looking back on "movements" or "eras" which had significant cultural impact. Funny how most of them last for only 4-5 years and we still live the fruits today. The Ratpack was just a bunch of guys, a sort of in crowd" getting together for a good time. They had money and style and could pull it off, and at the end of the book I'm not sure if any of them actually realized the impact they had.

Frank Sinatra, as I said, was a prick, but much more. An insecure guy, afraid of his mother, who ended up believing his own publicity with the juice to back up his own myth. Honestly I'm surprised somebody didn't pop him. (I remember Jimmy Fratiano making fun of him in his first memoir, as a wannabe.) Dean just wanted to be left alone--separated from it all. Sammy Davis, Jr. victimized earlier by terrible racism in and out of entertainment; a people pleaser who Frank encouraged, promoted, yet ridiculed with no regret. Sammy caught in two worlds no matter what he did. Joey Bishop, who I remembered as a much bigger name than he really was, sorta kept things in order, a great talent who stood up to Frank. And finally, Peter Lawford, a truly tragic figure. I always liked him (TV shows Dear Phoebe and The Thin Man), a totally screwed up guy with a crazy mother, seriously sexually abused as a child, and a Kennedy adjunct, kicked to the curb when he self-destructed his marriage to Pat Kennedy and kicked further by Sinatra when he lost his Kennedy usefulness. I plan on reading James Spada's bio of Lawford later this year.

My only criticism of the book is that I'd have liked more analysis on Frank's relationship with Mia Farrow (what were both of them thinking?). Barbara Marx is mentioned only in passing.

Back in the 1980's I had a chance to see Frank perform and I turned it down. I really regret it.

Celebrity, Las Vegas, Hollwyood, sex, the mob, the Kennedys, Marilyn Monroe, money. Ratpack Confidential is good entry into the culture history of mid-century America. Like after I recently finished Babbitt, I feel "nostalgic" for the Ratpack days. American has next to nothing now. The Ratpack, was in it's way manufactured, but nothing like mass manufactured contemporary Amerika.

Probably gotta be a fan but if so it’s a fun read.

I just overall wasn't impressed.

Chapter 1 was hard to get into, but stick with it, it was a joy to read. I shared with a few people and everyone liked it.