Author: Mike Rothmiller, Douglas Thompson
Publisher: Ad Lib Publishers
Release Date: September 15, 2022
Page Count: 259
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Read book blurb here
The book uses the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra, Jr. in 1963 as a framing device to show Sinatra's relationship with the Mafia; whereas publicly Sinatra was willing to let the FBI find his son, in reality he turned to his life-long friends in the Mafia to do whatever they needed to do to find Frank, Jr.
Through extensive research and interviews, the authors have put together a fascinating story. There's an Italian saying la famiglia e tutto meaning "family is everything" and in the case of Sinatra and the Mafia, his found family was everything - support for his singing and acting career, money and status, muscle to handle his disputes and disagreements - and Sinatra reveled in the perceived power it gave him.
Sinatra is revealed to be a petty bully with a massive anger / inferiority problem - there was little about which he didn't explode and used his Mafia "cred" to solve pretty much any dispute or perceived slight. Along the way, we get the inside scoop on the Rat Pack days in Vegas and Hollywood, Marilyn Monroe, Bugsy Siegel and Virginia Hill, Sam Giancana, Judith Exner, Carlos Marcello, Johnny Roselli, Pat and Peter Lawford, and so many more.
The authors' detail how "the boys" weren't too happy with the making of The Godfather and the careful negotiations to never mention "the Mafia" in the film. However, once the movie was made .... "the boys" loved it. Sinatra, on the other hand, deplored the weak, spineless depiction of himself in his alter ego Johnny Fontaine (which for the most part seems pretty much accurate).
Especially noteworthy is the authors' take on the Kennedy family, starting with Joe using the Mob to get JFK elected, and how promises were made and not kept, RFK's mission to take down the Mafia, and the resulting assassination of JFK in Dallas in 1963. The story seems pretty plausible, IMHO.
The content of the book is 4 to 5 stars, but the editing (dear gawd, the horrible editing) and run-on sentences make reading the book a challenge. Also I wearied of the casual sexism, racism, homophobia. One small example - Judith Exner is described as brainless "little Judy" running from JFK's bed to Sam Giancana's.
Rating: 3.5 stars - strong content marred by weak editing.
I received an ARC from the publishers, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.