I didn't have much in the way of expectations for this book but in all seriousness I was as surprised as anyone could possibly be at how immensely entertaining and informative it is. Great pictures throughout, humourous anecdotes, backstage shenanigans. I'm a member of the International Sinatra Society and I have just about every note Frank Sinatra ever sang on cd and I take my fandom pretty seriously. I would never intentionally steer a fellow Sinatra fan the wrong way (read my scathing review of Donald Clarke's book) and I give you my word of honour that you will experience not a single moment of disappointment in the purchase of this book.

A must for Sinatra aficionados, this is a riveting, meticulously researched, personal and professional look at a true musical icon. Currently out of print but well worth looking for.

Where ca I find info on Frank Sobey on the net for a school projec

San Francisco Chronicle: "Guberman's affable style and his fund of New York art world reminiscences and gossip make the book fascinating to anyone interested in the hurly-burly of 20th century American art." Kenneth Baker, January 28, 1966

The Atlanta Journal/Constitution: " This book is much more about the making of the art than the making of the life, although the main events of the latter are recounted quite interestingly..... Few artist biographies have told us this much about the process behind what the casual viewer notices--literally behind it.....Guberman captures something of Stella's restless spirit in his telling of the tale." Jerry Cullum, February 11, 1996

New York Times Book Review: "He (Mr. Guberman) is at his best when he addresses the art directly, as in his explanations of the relatively complicated working techniques that Mr. Stella used to make his irregular frames and surfaces or serious sculptural depth." Ted Loos, May 5, 1996

I had thought that Benson was strictly a painter of Victorian era young ladies in seaside settings. This bio (by a descendent) fleshes out his various careers as a painter of oils, a teacher, a water colorist and whatever is the correct term for one who creates etchings. Also provides a good overview of the American art scene (especially "The Ten") during the transition from the 19th to the 20th century.

stimulatin

Frank Wooton is a long way from being the first aviation artist, but he will be remembered as one of the pillars of the first generation to bear the title "aviation artist". This book brings together some of his most popular work in a thoughtful collection. The biographical intro and the pencil sketches are a very nice touch. Frank Wooton's strong landscapes probably had a great deal to do with pushing aviation art over the top and gaining serious recognition as "art" instead of meerly "illustration". This is a very generous collection of his work through the years, with heavy emphasis on his WWII combat art. The book is nicely done. One quibble! The dust jacket displays art (Mosquitos in flight) that is not to be found anywhere inside the book. I find this very annoying. The dust jacket is the first thing to go, and I find myself taking great pains to protect it so that I can continue to enjoy this painting. J. Campbell Martin

Frank Wooton is a long way from being the first aviation artist, but he will be remembered as one of the pillars of the first generation to bear the title "aviation artist". This book brings together some of his most popular work in a thoughtful collection. The biographical intro and the pencil sketches are a very nice touch. Frank Wooton's strong landscapes probably had a great deal to do with pushing aviation art over the top and gaining serious recognition as "art" instead of meerly "illustration". This is a very generous collection of his work through the years, with heavy emphasis on his WWII combat art. The book is nicely done. One quibble! The dust jacket displays art (Mosquitos in flight) that is not to be found anywhere inside the book. I find this very annoying. The dust jacket is the first thing to go, and I find myself taking great pains to protect it so that I can continue to enjoy this painting. J. Campbell Martin

Though some may never have developed a love of the genre in which Frazetta expressed himself he certainly made a deep mark in the world of art. His visions are both subtle and yet powerfully dynamic. In this book those are the two strongest qualities. All the drawings are done in pencil. You can still see where he erased the smudged areas where his hand rested while he exquisitely layed down every lead line. What he can do to set a mood in black in white few can accomplish with every color known. Who cares if the earth took a million years to make a diamond when it is the artist's cut that makes it a treasure.

Walker wrote this biography of an ancestor who is a remarkable figure in American history. Born a slave, Free Frank used his free time on evenings and Sundays to extract saltpeter from guano in Kentucky, as well as surveying land, and made enough money to first buy his wife out of slavery, then, with her income as a freewoman, to buy himself out of slavery. His industry, sterling character, and persistence eventually allowed him to become wealthy as a real estate developer on the Illinois frontier. He bought all of his children out of slavery, and upon his death, all of his grandchildren as well. And he did it all without ever learning to write.

While certainly atypical, he is a reminder that even though the legal system was set up to the detriment of blacks throughout the slave states, it was possible for a slave with a careless or sympathetic master to become free -- and once free, to become wealthy. This is an inspiring story. Just don't read this one book and assume that you know everything you need to know about American slavery. This is the encouraging reminder that even a bigoted legal system wasn't enough to keep a hard worker from moving ahead in the relatively free market of the American frontier.