Preview
  • Frank

  • The Voice
  • By: James Kaplan
  • Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
  • Length: 22 hrs and 36 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (397 ratings)

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Frank

By: James Kaplan
Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
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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
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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)

What listeners say about Frank

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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+++++++

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Master storytelling! And a great story!

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

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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.

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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.

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outstanding 👍👌👏

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

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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.

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Must Read/Listen

Loved the book. Must read for Sinatra fans. Found myself listening to the songs mid-read.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Ol'Blue Eyes

I love learning new things about Frankie! I wish I lived in his time! Thanks

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Fantastic Performance and Story

The whole time I'm listening to this book I'm thinking how much work this must have been to locate all this information about somebody who passed years ago. But I'm so glad the author James Kaplan did because I was truly riveted to this biography. The performance by the narrator Rob Shapiro I felt was equalled to the painstaking work done by the author. Both top notch.

Near the end of the book I kept thinking come on Frank snap out of it. Ava is not worth what she's doing to you mentally and physically. I was glad that Frank had friends around him that he might not have deserved at times but to their credit they were there for him when he needed them the most.

I have the second part of Kaplans biography already in my library and I can't wait to hit play and lose myself in the life of Frank Sinatra.

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Amazing

This is a superbly written book with a top notch narration. Frank love him or hate him is a walk through the history of America through a unique perspective.

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