Monday, November 10, 2008

Tom Santopietro

Tom Santopietro is the author of Considering Doris Day, The Importance of Being Barbra, and the newly released Sinatra in Hollywood.

Last week I asked him what he was reading. His reply:
I usually am reading three books at a time: one work of fiction, one of non-fiction, and one for the subway that is usually a collection of essays. My recent choices:

1. Hope Dies Last by Studs Terkel. One of my literary heroes, and as happens with each book of Terkel's that I read, I find myself underlining multiple passages. Terkel's books contain wisdom in abundance. He will be sorely missed.

2. The Lion of Hollywood by Scott Eyman. A terrific biography of Louis B. Mayer that rescues Mayer from the cliched portrait of Hollywood moguls, and delves into his extraordinary drive and Horatio Alger-like life. A terrifically entertaining examination of exactly how much the Hollywood dream factories influenced American culture in the twentieth century.

3. Life Class by Pat Barker. I've been hooked on Barker's writing ever since the (award winning) "Regeneration" trilogy, and this is yet another arresting look at the horrors of World War I and how the foundations of our modern world came into being.
Among the early praise for Tom Santopietro's Sinatra in Hollywood:
"A terrifically lucid and entertaining look at Sinatra's achievement."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Santopietro directs his attention to Sinatra's film career with great success. This work is both highly readable and extensively researched... Santopietro ably fills a long-standing gap in Sinatra biography, and his book is highly recommended."
--Library Journal
Visit Tom Santopietro's website.

--Marshal Zeringue