BOOKS . . . SINATRA! THE SONG IS YOU

"The sweat's on the record, and the century's greatest pop singer at last has a book that fits his personality and takes full measure of his stature," says TIME's Jay Cocks. "Blithe, respectful, snappy and smart, Will Friedwald catches the creative fire of the singer, the implacable perfectionism that made his music seem both effortless and passionate and that ensured it would not just endure but remain definitive." The writer spoke with dozens of Sinatra sidemen, contemporaries (like Jo Stafford and Tony Bennett) and songwriters. "But this book is in no sense an authorized religious journey," Cocks says. "Friedwald has been true to his cantankerous and opinionated style while writing the best book ever written about Sinatra's deepest secret: his craft."