Frank Sinatra: A Celebration

Library Journal

Unlike other photo essays, which manage to bury their subjects under heaps of praise, these handsomely packaged picture books keep their stars in focus with a mixture of colorful biography, shrewd analysis, and eccentric opinion. Jewell, a British music critic, traces Sinatra's history along with his ownhow the singer affected him over the years. The subjective viewpoint grates a bit, but the strong opinions are always tart and provocative. As a coda, Perry contributes an incisive essay on Sinatra's films, and the filmography and discography are smartly annotated with trivia and critical minutiae. On the minus side, this is the umpteenth Sinatra picture book, and it pales in comparison to John Rockwell's Sinatra (LJ 11/1/84). Not only does Schickel's James Cagney not have the cluttered look of the Sinatra book, but Schickel, unlike Jewell, had the opportunity to interview his subject for the book. Schickel, a film historian, goes well beyond the necessary biographical information and critical evaluation to an all-out meditation on the Cagney image, the gangster genre, and American film archetypes. Recommended. Christopher Schemering, formerly with Arlington Cty . , P.L., Va.