I have been sent an advance galley proof and the book is a masterpiece.  Superbly written, the incredibly detailed research is bolstered by access to many personal letters from the war years which have been released by Kathryn Crosby. This book tells us far more about Bing’s tremendous contribution to the war effort than we have ever known before and this was at a time when he was making his most successful films and records. The problems with his marriage and his relationship with Joan Caulfield are considered in depth. It’s a book all of you will want and will find hard to put down. The chapter about Bing's time in France in 1944 in particular is breathtaking!

Last edited by Malcolm Macfarlane (02/7/2018 6:45 am)

Hooray!

Just ordered my pre-release copy fro Amazon.com--what a pleasant surprise to find it available! I remember when "Pocket Full Of Dreams" arrived--I almost couldn't put it down. It's so crammed full of info, I still find myself re-reading it from time to time, or fact-checking some item that comes to mind. Great resource!
And, of course, many thanks to Gary Giddens.

Two weeks earlier - welcome news! :-)

This should be a wonderful book on Bing. With a decline in book sales lately we need to really get behind this so we get to see a volume 3!

I keep checking Mr Giddins site as well as amazon and publisher's weekly but the date remains the same - Nov 13th. I hope the new date of Oct. 30th is correct, two weeks less to wait is fine by me!!!!

Mine is ordered through Amazon! Can't wait.

Greg wrote:

So much negative assumption about the 3rd volume!!!  Why assume that it hasn't already been written?!?
It's entirely possible that Mr. Giddins finished writing the entire book and was asked to split it into a 2nd and 3rd volume by the publisher.  Better to release a 600-page book than a 1,500-page one.  If that's the case, Volume 3 will follow within a year or two.  

Really???? It has taken DECADES for us to get Volume 2. And there were some periods during that time when Bing was in resurgence. Now who knows when/if Vol. 3 will ever see the light of day?

This is only my opinion, but with regard to the possibility - or otherwise - of the eventual appearance of Vol. 3, I think there might actually be MORE of a market for a book about Bing covering his later years.

Although we might find it distasteful, the questions raised by “The Hollow Man”/“Going My Own Way”, etc., etc., do still rear their heads even now, and to have these issues dealt with by Mr Giddins in his characteristically thourough and balanced way might well find a wide enough serious readership to justify publication.

We’ll just have to wait and hope...

From a post in another Forum from one who had read the advance copy of the book.  NOT MY WORDS!!!! 

Just finished reading the book. It is very interesting in that to me Gary made a conscious decision to downplay Sinatra as much as possible. As for Dick Haymes he is barely mentioned. I don't know how Gary can write about the war and not deal in any substantive way with the rise of Sinatra.

Perhaps Gary is off-handedly making the case that the rise of Sinatra had no effect on Crosby's career or his dominance during this period. But if so he should have presented a case for it instead of making it by glaring omission.

He has Bing and Fred Astaire being interviewed on the set of "Blue Skies" and the reporter asks Bing about Sinatra. Of course it is hard to tell from the written word how something is said but Gary has Bing replying "I'm not worried....Como is more formidable competition". The reporter then turns to Astaire and asks him how he feels about Gene Kelly. Before Astaire can respond Bing says sarcastically "Well everyone has to have their Sinatra".

Gary offers no judgments or opinions about Bing in Part 2. I guess we will have to wait for Part 3 for Gary to finally weigh in on where he stands regarding Bing but something tells me I may be disappointed at the end of this trilogy.

Gary presents a Bing Crosby blissfully unconcerned about what was going on home just as he appears to be unconcerned about Sinatra. Yes Bing was patriotic and wanted to entertain the troops. But it appears that WW2 just gave him another opportunity to stay away from home as long as possible. Yes the affair with Joan Caulfield is discussed but when Cardinal Spellman of NY and other Catholic religious leaders point out to him that the world's most famous Roman Catholic cannot even contemplate divorce he ends the affair. There are from letters Dixie's father counseling Bing to have her committed but this is also something he would never do. His mother would never have spoken to him again.

You finish this book somewhat saddened but as Gary offers no guidance you really don't know what to think.

Perhaps this will all be tied up in Part 3. I hope so but I have my doubts. It appears to me that Gary has become enamored of the James Kaplan school of noncommittal biography.

I understand there will be a CD of radio performances from the war years.

Last edited by paulmock (18/8/2018 2:35 am)

Thank you for sharing that review, Paul.
However the writer seems to lack the ability to form his/her own conclusions from facts.
Surely the best biographers should present the facts in a fair and balanced way with possible observations about motivations where justified.
However, to reach certain types of conclusion suggests that they are starting out with their own "agenda" and that in turn implies that facts could be presented in a slanted way to prove a case one way or the other. In turn that reduces the value of the work as it will be seen as biased in whatever direction.

As the to views on Sinatra I agree with Frans - the work is large enough in breadth and depth as it is - it is about Bing, not about his many contemporaries or "rivals". But in any event, during the years in question (up to 1946) was Sinatra really such a "threat". He was vastly popular but arguably with a younger, possibly mainly female following and had not yet developed the more "family" based following that Bing had acquired. I hasten to add that I was a little too young at the time to remember (!) but certainly get that impression from contemporary accounts.



 
 

Nice to see you agree, Paul. I've already seen quite a number of reviews on the biography; many of which are posted on Gary Giddins' Facebook page. It makes me wonder how many review copies have been sent out. Keeping in mind that all these reviews are the opinion of one keeps reading them interesting without annoyance creeping in.

Last edited by frans (18/8/2018 6:52 pm)