Bing: Biography of Bing Crosby

by Charles Thompson

Bing!

Genres: Biography

Paperback

First published September 22, 1976

Reviews

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're a fan of classic movies and Bing Crosby, you will enjoy this book. It was obvious that Thompson spent a lot of time interviewing Bing Crosby and several family members, coworkers and friends to get some great information. The book was finished shortly before Crosby passed away, and there are many quotes from Crosby in the book. Crosby would not be pleased with the low standards many of today's movies have from a Catholic morally-correct background, but many fans today would be dismayed by his strict disciplinarian tactics with his children. Having grown up with Crosby music in my home and having watched the Christmas specials on tv every year, and currently being a fan of Crosby movies, I enjoyed learning more about Bing Crosby. The writing style wasn't the best, but it was an enjoyable book.

[Bill Dennison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seeing as this book was full of direct quotes, I had to give it five stars. The book gave a sense of Bing as the individual he was and not just a historical documentation of all his work. It was published in 1975, so it's a bit dated, but I highly recommend the recently aired "American Masters" documentary as a companion piece to the book.