Frank

The Voice

By: James Kaplan

Narrated by: Rob Shapiro

Length: 22 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Bestselling author James Kaplan redefines Frank Sinatra in a triumphant new biography that includes many rarely seen photographs. Frank Sinatra was the best-known entertainer of the twenti­eth century—infinitely charismatic, lionized and notori­ous in equal measure. But despite his mammoth fame, Sinatra the man has remained an enigma. As Bob Spitz did with the Beatles, Tina Brown for Diana, and Peter Guralnick for Elvis, James Kaplan goes behind the legend and hype to bring alive a force that changed popular culture in fundamental ways. Sinatra endowed the songs he sang with the explosive conflict of his own personality. He also made the very act of listening to pop music a more personal experience than it had ever been. In Frank: The Voice, Kaplan reveals how he did it, bringing deeper insight than ever before to the complex psyche and tur­bulent life behind that incomparable vocal instrument. We relive the years 1915 to 1954 in glistening detail, experiencing as if for the first time Sinatra’s journey from the streets of Hoboken, his fall from the apex of celebrity, and his Oscar-winning return in From Here to Eternity. Here at last is the biographer who makes the reader feel what it was really like to be Frank Sinatra—as man, as musician, as tortured genius.

©2010 James Kaplan (P)2010 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“James Kaplan succeeds not just in bringing Frank Sinatra alive in all his complexity, but in revealing in detail how he consciously, deliberately, and painstakingly transformed himself into a triumphantly successful entertainer and a national icon.” (Michael Korda, author of Ike)

“At long last, we have a biography of Sinatra worthy of the man...a pop innovator whose influence remains incalculable, whose art remains undiminished. James Kaplan tells this story with the authority of a writer who inhabits his subject from deep inside. The pages fly by on the wings of song.” (Gary Giddins, author of Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams and Warning)

“Jim Kaplan’s great gift is his own voice, in peak form—stylish, seductive, and richly resonant—that stands up to Sinatra’s powerful baritone. This is a perceptive, passionate biography of an immense and immensely flawed musical figure whose life and legend continue to fascinate.” (Bob Spitz, author of The Beatles)

See ya Frank

What a fabulous book. i loved every word. Frank is really quite a guy and his love affair with Ava Gardner was a real eye opener. i would recommend this book to everyone. i will read more about frank in the future. i want to know everything. A+++++++

Master storytelling! And a great story!

All fabulous! This is a 20 season television series just waiting to happen. Onto the sequel.

Better than EXCELLENT!

This book was phenomenal from beginning to end. Kaplan brings Frank Sinatra alive by delving into the perfect amount of historical minutae and running with it. Amazing amount of detail about Sinatra's life, music, movies. Rob Shapiro's narration was genius, funny, sardonic. One of best narrators I've ever heard. Kaplan's work was so good, I bought The Chairman and am almost finished listening as well. Couldn't put this down!!

so compelling

I could not quit listening to this book- scintillating! Excellent reader!! If you love Frank you will love this book, if he'd only known he'd become immortal..

Nice & easy

A wonderful weaving of story with emotion that let you feel like you we're somehow a part of the events as they were unfolding way back then.

Great book even if you’re not a huge Sinatra fan

This was an excellent piece of writing about a fascinating man in entertainment history (a GIANT of a man in fact). It was very well narrated by Rob Shapiro who really made this story come to life. I’m not a Sinatra fanatic, but I have always been fascinated by his life and this book provided some fascinating insight into the man, his women and his art.

Fantastic!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely! It is the best and most entertaining biography I've ever read.

What other book might you compare Frank: The Voice to and why?

None.

Which character – as performed by Rob Shapiro – was your favorite?

Sinatra.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Interesting, entertaining, and well narrated. It made me laugh in places. It made me feel for Sinatra. Made me sympathetic to Nancy, and angry with Ava.

Any additional comments?

The book left no stone unturned in terms of presenting the early life, struggles, and love of Sinatra.

outstanding 👍👌👏

Better than anything else I've read about Frank. In depth and riveting. Too many great stories to remember. highly recommended.

Just Wow

This book beautifully unpacks the warm yet complexly layered man that Frank Sinatra was as best as 40 chapters could. A MUST READ for any Sinatra fan.

Bewitched

This book was wonderful and I enjoyed listening to this book about Frank Sinatra’s life during his youth and up until he won the Oscar for ‘From Here to Eternity’. This book was very well written and the I really enjoyed the narrator of the story.