Biography of a group of Hollywood headliners an insight to life in Las Vegas. Interesting and lots of gossip.

I was born in 1967 and my parents were of the hippie persuasion. We listened to Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, not Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin. A few years ago I started listening to Sinatra and was blown away by the power of his voice. I knew nothing about his life or the rest of the Rat Pack. I'd never even heard of Joey Bishop, or much more than Peter Lawford's name. I once stayed at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, but really had no idea of its history.

This book is a detailed, engaging look at the lives of Frank Sinatra and the group of friends who made the film Ocean's Eleven with him. The whole cast have passed into history, but for a short time they were just about the hottest stars of the entertainment world and their collective talents were truly amazing. The more I read, the more I kept heading over to YouTube to watch videos of their classic moments. In particular, I've developed a soft spot for Sammy Davis , Jr. who in his own words "worked harder than anyone" yet was under-rated as a performer in spite of his talent, managed to desegregate the casinos in Vegas, and was unfairly ostracized for marrying a white woman.

If you're already a fan, you'll enjoy the details and trivia. If you're just discovering these hip cats and their world, this book will definitely get you even more interested.

Ugh

wow...this book was a waste of my time. It's probably not a bad book, but it seemed like each chapter was just a re-write of the previous one. It's a good story but was just drawn out way too much.

Intruiging insight into egotistical and very ugly men. Book was good but lacking soul.

Very informative with plenty of anecdotes, this is a book about the culture of a group of celebrities who behaved like children. Growing up, I heard their names over and over again , but only as associated with decadence and ego. I was to have read their stories for the blessing of not having ever made the choices they made. Forget talent, these men seemingly lived debauched lives that, in spite of some charity work, they were the lesser for having substituted amoral lives.

This was rather well written. Highly enjoyable. Gave me a taste of life around the times of this glorious group. Still feel rather sorry for Peter Lawford though, poor chap.

An essential story about the “Rat Pack”…their lives and stories. Most we know and some we don’t. But, after you this book. You will know it all. Read it and believe what you want. Either way, these guys were great entertainers, philanthropists, and just good guys warts and all.

If you want the dirt, the skinny, the lowdown on Sam, Frank, Dean, Joey and Peter, this book is full of it. In fact, it might indeed be full of it, because it reads like a tabloid. I'm not questioning whether or not Shawn Levy gives us the facts, as much as I'm wondering if the info he was given was indeed factual.

I'll be honest with you, the first three chapters in, I was ready to give up on "Confidential", because the proverbial crush Levy has on Sinatra made me want to puke. Nevertheless, I read on and I'm glad I did because Levy redeemed himself; by making you feel kind of sorry for these guys. They had four really great years of fun as a "clan" (1960-64). We know Frank and Dean continued to be successful. Dean dropped into depression when his son died in a plane crash. Poor Sammy dealt with a rash of shit from people that didn't like him because he married a white woman, or because he was Black, or because he wasn't black enough. It's so easy to forget the barriers he broke down for future black entertainers, just because he hung out with white guys. Sure Joey did okay for himself, if you consider staying under the radar "doing okay". But man, Peter Lawford! I considered him the weak link of the group, and when that link that was connected to Sinatra and Kennedy broke, so did Peter. Frank was always the big cheese, and he outlasted them all, and the cheese standed alone.

If you like the Rat Pack, give this a read. The stories are great, it's fast-paced, chock full of gossip so juicy you'll wanna use a ShamWow as a bib.

Found this very entertaining and insightful. It was fun to go back to the 50's and 60's and see how Vegas came to be and how this group of entertainers helped form what is now known as "Sin City".
It also enlightened the reader as to how most of this group was used and manipulated by the godfather - Frank Sinatra and how he used them all to his personal advantage.

For those of us from a certain point in time

I'm not sure how much today's millennials will appreciate this book. They never experienced Sinatra, Martin, Davis et al except in some YouTube videos that capture just a few moments here and there of their former glory. That, in fact, is the underlying story that Shawn Levy, with great humor and terrific anecdotes is telling. These great show biz legends were largely that because their act just seemed to meld into postwar America. And when the 50 's gave way to the Beatles and The Sixties, the stars on the Strip suddenly seemed passe. Some tumbled painfully from great heights to becoming lost boys. If you enjoy learning about a time and place when talent really meant artistic capabilities and style ruled, come along for a great tour of a period in American culture that isn't likely to ever occur again.

A must read for any fan on Sinatra