Frank’s an arsehole, Dean’s an arsehole too, but he’s a bit cooler about it. Sammy’s magic. Peter is a pimp and Joey who? Though at least he seems pretty decent.

Fun read about talented guys who set a bad example for a whole generation.

6.7

The Sinatra Martini. It's vivid blue and composed of I don't know what, but it made me think of this book and how these dudes made everyday vices so electrifyingly cool. Swingers. This book has an unfortunate tendency to focus on Ol' Blue Eyes, which isn't bad as he's The Leader, but it would have been nice to get much more on his cohorts. It's a great intro to folks discovering their style and a Vegas some of us never knew.

I used spirits for medicinal purposes only.
I manufactured it for medicinal purposes only.
And then I started drinking what I manufactured, and I drank myself out of a hell of a business...for medicinal purposes only.
('Mr. Booze' from ROBIN AND THE SEVEN HOODS)

Sammy with his wicked early 1960s suits, Dean-NO with his innate sense of wicked humor, Lawford with his wicked bizarreness, Bishop with his wicked sarcasm, and Frankie with his wicked vocal chops...ice cubes swimming along before assassinations changed the world.

Dean: You'd think they'd put a little heat in this room, I'm freezing.
Frank: Take your hand out of the ice bucket.
Dean: Oh.

Book Season = Summer (fly me to the moon)

I gave up reading this. Sinatra was definitely an entertainment powerhouse , but the author's style was too breezy and shallow for me. Sinatra's talent never came through.

Rat Pack Confidential leads off with a bit of “tone” and I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to be reading; maybe a bit of light Hollywood tittle-tattle. As the book evolves, and we follow the “Las Vegas Summit” that lead to the production of Ocean’s Eleven, this book evolves into something more. It follows the lives of Frank, Dean, Peter, Joey and Sammy, both as they arrived at that place in time, and in the years after. The end result is a portrait of an era, delivering more than promised. The narrative jumps around without ever losing either coherence or the reader’s interest. And it starts with the tittle-tattle, but ends with deeper dive into the lives of prominent men who evoked a fantasia that, in the end, only existed for them. Much credit to writer Shawn Levy, not only for the story but empathy required to look honestly at oft neglected aspects of the darker side. Not just the mobsters, corruption and alcohol abuse, but the casual and relentless misogyny towards women treated as whores or set pieces, and the ferocious racism directed against Sammy Davis Junior. Recommended, with a couple of belts of whiskey at 3 AM.

I think the book drug on too long. A little of these guys went a long way.
Frank seemed to be the most elusive and yet the most influential.
I’m glad I read it but sometimes it seemed like a chore to continue.
I think it was definitely over-priced.

One of the most incredible books I've ever read!

I bought this book on a whim, as I've always been rather curious about Vegas in the 60s and the "Rat Pack" business. The author goes deep behind each member if the group ( they never called themselves the Rat Pack, they called themselves the CLAN, of all things. It confirmed my suspicions about Frank Sinatra being a thug and a bully and a pimp for JFK and worse. If ever there was a man with no redeeming qualities, it's Sinatra.
The author's writing style takes some getting used to, but once you find the rhythm of it, its just amazing.
He digs unto the background of each member, setting up the personalities of each man so its somewhat easier to understand why they do what they do in the mere four years of their run.
No DOUBT JFK would never have win the election without the help of the mob.
If anyone thinks Sinatra was "cool" they'll think twice when they read this book.
Dean Martin was a good guy who kept himself removed from Frank's ties with the mob, and he was one if the few people who could tell Sinatra "no" and there was nothing Frank could do about it.
The book is long but I did not want it to end. If you buy this book, I guarantee you won't regret it.

Research for Season 3. An entertaining breakdown of the Rat Pack, although Sammy Davis, Jr. comes across as far more interesting than Sinatra -- and the other three (even Dino?) get short shrift. I wish this book were better sourced. The last one hundred pages succumbs to gossip. But Levy does write with a great deal of verve, although this is not on the level of Nick Tosche's DINO. It did have me more curious about Sinatra, however.

Very informative. Great place to start if you want to know the facts and gossip of the ratpack.

Never had much respect for any of them. Why my parents generation idolized them I'll never know. No one in this books comes off looking good. Smarmy. From John Kennedy and his ilk, to the Hollywood icons , and of course, The Mob. I've never been a fan of Hoover and his henchmen either, but this book actually makes them look not too bad. Just goes to show you no one is worth the ooos and aaahs we give them. Celebrity...pooh. Over rated schmucks. Yeah, read the book for yuck factor and read it and weep as it's likely hasn't improved over time.

The rise and fall of the desert Rats

The author admits this this could have easily been ten times as long, and i think if it was, it would be just as interesting. Dense, entertaining, and informative, I spent a lot of time going down internet rabbit holes, following the many and various anecdotes a far as I could. It certainly casts a light on the Pack I had not seen them in before, especially considered together as a whole "entity", rather than each member separately. As a very young child, I saw the Vegas casinos mentioned throughout the book, now gone and replaced with bigger and shinier ones. While reading, I was still able to recall the sight of those places that were so bright and colorful and fascinating, and I could almost feel like I was there for only the briefest moment...