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Frank Sinatra Has a Cold and Other Essays
Gay Talese is the father of American New Journalism, who transformed traditional reportage with his vivid scene-setting, sharp observation and rich storytelling. His 1966 piece for "Esquire", one of the most celebrated magazine articles ever published, describes a morose Frank Sinatra silently nursing a glass of bourbon, struck down with a cold and unable to sing, like 'Picasso without paint, Ferrari without fuel - only worse'. The other writings in this selection include a description of a meeting between two legends, Fidel Castro and Muhammad Ali; a brilliantly witty dissection of the offices of Vogue magazine; an account of travelling to Ireland with hellraiser Peter O'Toole; and, a profile of fading baseball star Joe DiMaggio, which turns into a moving, immaculately-crafted meditation on celebrity.
196 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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About the author
Gay Talese
65 books566 followersGay Talese is an American author. He wrote for The New York Times in the early 1960s and helped to define literary journalism or "new nonfiction reportage", also known as New Journalism. His most famous articles are about Joe DiMaggio, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
July 9, 2022
"It's in defeat that a man reveals himself..."
- Floyd Patterson
This book contains a fine collection of stylish essays. Focused primarily on stories of men who have reached the the peak of their careers, and are now viewing life from the valley of the mountain.
Joe Louis, Peter "Hellraiser" O'Toole & Floyd Patterson ponder about their lives, where they are, after they've had their moment in the sun. As Peter O'Toole wittily reminisced about his childhood "In our house, it was always either a wake...or a wedding."
We enter the unusual world of an obituary writer for the Times, who enjoys going to work each day. We join Mohammed Ali to his meeting with Fidel Castro in Havana, and cringe as a very important mafioso's Easter suit is accidentally destroyed by a young tailor's apprentice. And we learn of Guy Talese's journey to becoming a writer (and how wonderful that he did).
My favourite (of course) is the essay dedicated to the Chairman of the Board, and the title of this book, Mr Frank Sinatra*. I turned to this story and read it first, then read it a second time when I read the book in order. SIGH. Now this is writing.
"Frank Sinatra, holding a glass of bourbon in one hand and a cigarette in the other, stood in a dark corner of the bar between two attractive but fading blondes who sat waiting for him to say something. But he said nothing; he had been silent during much of the evening..."
I have to admit to having been drawn to this book based purely on the cover & title. Happily the writing matches the cover and then some. Pure class. This book will always remind me of the rainy Sunday morning when I bought it. And I'm so glad that I did. My reading world has been enriched from reading Gay Talese's writing.
So sit back, switch off your phone and other electronic distractions, and read something amazing. You won't regret it.
* Frank Sinatra's "In The Wee Small Hours" would have to be my desert island pick.
"The most distinguishing thing about Sinatra's face are his eyes, clear blue and alert, eyes that within seconds can go cold with anger, or glow with affection, or, as now, reflect a vague detachment that keeps his friends silent and distant."
- Floyd Patterson
This book contains a fine collection of stylish essays. Focused primarily on stories of men who have reached the the peak of their careers, and are now viewing life from the valley of the mountain.
Joe Louis, Peter "Hellraiser" O'Toole & Floyd Patterson ponder about their lives, where they are, after they've had their moment in the sun. As Peter O'Toole wittily reminisced about his childhood "In our house, it was always either a wake...or a wedding."
We enter the unusual world of an obituary writer for the Times, who enjoys going to work each day. We join Mohammed Ali to his meeting with Fidel Castro in Havana, and cringe as a very important mafioso's Easter suit is accidentally destroyed by a young tailor's apprentice. And we learn of Guy Talese's journey to becoming a writer (and how wonderful that he did).
My favourite (of course) is the essay dedicated to the Chairman of the Board, and the title of this book, Mr Frank Sinatra*. I turned to this story and read it first, then read it a second time when I read the book in order. SIGH. Now this is writing.
"Frank Sinatra, holding a glass of bourbon in one hand and a cigarette in the other, stood in a dark corner of the bar between two attractive but fading blondes who sat waiting for him to say something. But he said nothing; he had been silent during much of the evening..."
I have to admit to having been drawn to this book based purely on the cover & title. Happily the writing matches the cover and then some. Pure class. This book will always remind me of the rainy Sunday morning when I bought it. And I'm so glad that I did. My reading world has been enriched from reading Gay Talese's writing.
So sit back, switch off your phone and other electronic distractions, and read something amazing. You won't regret it.
* Frank Sinatra's "In The Wee Small Hours" would have to be my desert island pick.
"The most distinguishing thing about Sinatra's face are his eyes, clear blue and alert, eyes that within seconds can go cold with anger, or glow with affection, or, as now, reflect a vague detachment that keeps his friends silent and distant."
June 17, 2019
A big thank you to my GR Friend Nat K, whose review brought this book to my attention. Nat’s review is at the top of the community reviews and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
It took me a little while to settle into this collection. I didn’t like the first essay, which I thought was a rather mocking study of the staff of Vogue magazine in 1961. It was followed by “Joe Louis; The King as a Middle-Aged Man”, which I thought was decent but not exceptional. It was the next three essays though, that really won me over. “Peter O’Toole on the Ould Sod” gave us a superb portrait of the actor on a return to his native Ireland, and how his upbringing imprinted itself on his personality. It’s followed by “The Loser”, featuring the boxer Floyd Patterson as he tries to recover from two defeats against Sonny Liston. Both were first round knockouts, and Talese finds Patterson introspective and troubled. It’s a fascinating portrait of a champion assailed by self-doubt.
The title essay is the longest in the collection, and fully justifies its reputation. A compelling portrait of Sinatra as a man with an unpredictable and complicated personality, and as someone whose charisma allows him to dominate everyone around him.
“Mr Bad News” is an unexpectedly absorbing piece from 1966, about the lead obituary writer for the New York Times, absorbing because of the insight to the subject’s very unusual job. “The Brave Tailors of Maida” is a tale from the author’s father, taken from his childhood in Calabria. “Ali in Havana” was written in 1996 when the Parkinson’s Disease that Ali suffered from was already advanced. It’s perhaps less a portrait of Ali than of Fidel Castro and of the Cuban boxer Teófilo Stevenson. At a reception, Castro seems to great trouble remembering who everybody is (apart from Ali and Stevenson). The last essay in the collection is an autobiographical piece by the author.
My personal rating for each essay would be:
VOGUEland – two stars
Joe Louis: The King as a Middle-Aged Man - three stars
Peter O’Toole on the Ould Sod – five stars
The Loser – five stars
Frank Sinatra Has a Cold – five stars
Mr Bad News – four stars
The Brave Tailors of Maida – three stars
Ali in Havana – three stars
Origins of a Non-fiction Writer – four stars.
Overall, an excellent collection and I think I will check out more of the author's work.
It took me a little while to settle into this collection. I didn’t like the first essay, which I thought was a rather mocking study of the staff of Vogue magazine in 1961. It was followed by “Joe Louis; The King as a Middle-Aged Man”, which I thought was decent but not exceptional. It was the next three essays though, that really won me over. “Peter O’Toole on the Ould Sod” gave us a superb portrait of the actor on a return to his native Ireland, and how his upbringing imprinted itself on his personality. It’s followed by “The Loser”, featuring the boxer Floyd Patterson as he tries to recover from two defeats against Sonny Liston. Both were first round knockouts, and Talese finds Patterson introspective and troubled. It’s a fascinating portrait of a champion assailed by self-doubt.
The title essay is the longest in the collection, and fully justifies its reputation. A compelling portrait of Sinatra as a man with an unpredictable and complicated personality, and as someone whose charisma allows him to dominate everyone around him.
“Mr Bad News” is an unexpectedly absorbing piece from 1966, about the lead obituary writer for the New York Times, absorbing because of the insight to the subject’s very unusual job. “The Brave Tailors of Maida” is a tale from the author’s father, taken from his childhood in Calabria. “Ali in Havana” was written in 1996 when the Parkinson’s Disease that Ali suffered from was already advanced. It’s perhaps less a portrait of Ali than of Fidel Castro and of the Cuban boxer Teófilo Stevenson. At a reception, Castro seems to great trouble remembering who everybody is (apart from Ali and Stevenson). The last essay in the collection is an autobiographical piece by the author.
My personal rating for each essay would be:
VOGUEland – two stars
Joe Louis: The King as a Middle-Aged Man - three stars
Peter O’Toole on the Ould Sod – five stars
The Loser – five stars
Frank Sinatra Has a Cold – five stars
Mr Bad News – four stars
The Brave Tailors of Maida – three stars
Ali in Havana – three stars
Origins of a Non-fiction Writer – four stars.
Overall, an excellent collection and I think I will check out more of the author's work.
March 6, 2016
If you want a literary treat, then you've found it right here. It's a magazine article published in the 1966 April issue of Esquire Magazine, written by Gay Talese. Frank Sinatra Has a Cold is a snapshot of the singers life around age 50. If you are a Sinatra fan then this is a must read, and even if you are not, I think you will enjoy this wonderful piece of writing. It is considered one of the most famous pieces of magazine journalism ever written. Esquire called it "The best story Esquire ever published", and Vanity Fair praised it as "The greatest literary non-fiction story of the 20th century. High praise indeed, but it lives up to it's billing.
5 stars and well worth the hour or two it takes to read. You can find a free PDF download on the Internet.
5 stars and well worth the hour or two it takes to read. You can find a free PDF download on the Internet.
May 10, 2017
A wonderful introduction to some of the essays written by Gay Talese. He along with Hunter S Thompson, Tom Wolfe, Joan Didion, and Norman Mailer started new journalism, where the writer observes the life of the subject and describes it all, he goes into the details and life events and what's going on and present the whole thing in a sort of a narrative that reads like a piece of fiction but it is non fiction.
Each and every essay in this short book is amazing, smooth and fluid. It shows the author's eye for detail and how he can incorporate the present with the past.
My favourite essay is the title essay. Frank Sinatra and his cold, and how this common illness could just bring the worst things in a musician and reverberate through a whole nation.
Each and every essay in this short book is amazing, smooth and fluid. It shows the author's eye for detail and how he can incorporate the present with the past.
My favourite essay is the title essay. Frank Sinatra and his cold, and how this common illness could just bring the worst things in a musician and reverberate through a whole nation.
June 27, 2023
واحد من أهم اللقاءات الصحفية التي -لم تحدث- ولكن القارئ لن يشعر بأي من ذلك ، نتيجة براعة الكاتب الصحفي في تغطية كافة الجوانب المتعلقة بحياة فرانك سيناترا أثناء كتابة هذا المقال/ التحقيق الصحفي.
June 16, 2025
The best thing about getting free books by mistake is that there is no pressure to feel bad if you disliked the book because you didn't spend any money to get it, so it would really just waste your time. On the other hand, if you enjoy the book, then this is just a nice little bonus.
This book falls into the second category. A good collection of stories from his time writing for various publications. The way Mr. Talese crafts his writing, from his words, to describing the scene, to crafting something spectacular from the mundane, he really brings to life the world in which he observes. A good read for while I was on a pleasant vacation. Would highly recommend.
This book falls into the second category. A good collection of stories from his time writing for various publications. The way Mr. Talese crafts his writing, from his words, to describing the scene, to crafting something spectacular from the mundane, he really brings to life the world in which he observes. A good read for while I was on a pleasant vacation. Would highly recommend.
April 18, 2025
Had to get out of the worst reading slump so far this year and this was definitely the move.
December 29, 2011
‘Hi, sweetheart!’ Joe Louis called to his wife, spotting her waiting for him at the Los Angeles airport.
She smiled, walked toward him, and was about to stretch up on her toes and kiss him, but suddenly stopped. ‘Joe,’ she said, ‘where’s your tie?’
‘Aw, sweetie,’ he said, shrugging, ‘I stayed out all night in New York and didn’t have time.’
‘All night!’ she cut in. ‘When you’re out here all you do is sleep, sleep, sleep.’
‘Sweetie,’ Joe Louis said, with a tired grin, ‘I’m an ole man.’
‘Yes,’ she agreed, ‘but when you go to New York you try to be young again.’
- from Joe Louis: The King as a Middle-Aged Man
That was how Gay Talese began his profile on Joe Louis in 1962, by then a former heavyweight champion reduced to refereeing matches to make a living. It was reported that when author Tom Wolfe first read it he suspected that Gay made all, or some of it, up. His style of reporting was so fresh and different then that it was difficult to accept that it was all true. It felt different because Gay Talese employed devices most commonly found in fiction like reported speech, interior monologue and scene setting in his decidedly nonfiction articles and profiles. It was his unique style of writing that prompted Wolfe to dub him the father of ‘New Journalism’ or to use its more pedestrian label, creative nonfiction.
In this Penguin Classics collection which includes nine of his superbly crafted articles spanning over 30 years, the reader gets a tongue in cheek tour of the offices of Vogue magazine, follow Gay Talese as he joins newly anointed movie star Peter O’Toole on his journey back to his hometown in Ireland, astonish to discover that boxer Floyd Patterson used to keep a fake beard and mustache so he could disguise himself and flee the crowd in the event of a humiliating loss and chuckle at the ingenuity of an old tailor in Italy who saved his and his employees’ lives (including the man who would eventually father Gay) from the wrath of a local mafioso.
But the gem is the story that gets star billing on the book’s cover. ‘Frank Sinatra Has A Cold’ was published in Esquire magazine in 1966 and in 2003 was declared by the magazine as its best story ever published. The profile is magnificent not just for its pacing and structure but also for the fact that Sinatra refused to cooperate for it. Gay Talese stubbornly followed Sinatra and interviewed his cronies and family members and anyone who would speak to him about the singer and the result is a brilliant observation of a contradictory man who could be gentle and cruel, the fear he instills and the loyalty he commands from those around him. By the time the article ends, Sinatra feels as familiar to the reader as never before.
Now that’s good writing.
She smiled, walked toward him, and was about to stretch up on her toes and kiss him, but suddenly stopped. ‘Joe,’ she said, ‘where’s your tie?’
‘Aw, sweetie,’ he said, shrugging, ‘I stayed out all night in New York and didn’t have time.’
‘All night!’ she cut in. ‘When you’re out here all you do is sleep, sleep, sleep.’
‘Sweetie,’ Joe Louis said, with a tired grin, ‘I’m an ole man.’
‘Yes,’ she agreed, ‘but when you go to New York you try to be young again.’
- from Joe Louis: The King as a Middle-Aged Man
That was how Gay Talese began his profile on Joe Louis in 1962, by then a former heavyweight champion reduced to refereeing matches to make a living. It was reported that when author Tom Wolfe first read it he suspected that Gay made all, or some of it, up. His style of reporting was so fresh and different then that it was difficult to accept that it was all true. It felt different because Gay Talese employed devices most commonly found in fiction like reported speech, interior monologue and scene setting in his decidedly nonfiction articles and profiles. It was his unique style of writing that prompted Wolfe to dub him the father of ‘New Journalism’ or to use its more pedestrian label, creative nonfiction.
In this Penguin Classics collection which includes nine of his superbly crafted articles spanning over 30 years, the reader gets a tongue in cheek tour of the offices of Vogue magazine, follow Gay Talese as he joins newly anointed movie star Peter O’Toole on his journey back to his hometown in Ireland, astonish to discover that boxer Floyd Patterson used to keep a fake beard and mustache so he could disguise himself and flee the crowd in the event of a humiliating loss and chuckle at the ingenuity of an old tailor in Italy who saved his and his employees’ lives (including the man who would eventually father Gay) from the wrath of a local mafioso.
But the gem is the story that gets star billing on the book’s cover. ‘Frank Sinatra Has A Cold’ was published in Esquire magazine in 1966 and in 2003 was declared by the magazine as its best story ever published. The profile is magnificent not just for its pacing and structure but also for the fact that Sinatra refused to cooperate for it. Gay Talese stubbornly followed Sinatra and interviewed his cronies and family members and anyone who would speak to him about the singer and the result is a brilliant observation of a contradictory man who could be gentle and cruel, the fear he instills and the loyalty he commands from those around him. By the time the article ends, Sinatra feels as familiar to the reader as never before.
Now that’s good writing.
Read
November 17, 2016The title piece is deservedly famous; a portrait of a giant foregrounding the chink in his armour, rendering him flawed and human without ever denying his talent and mystique. But it's preceded by pieces which feel like dry runs, variations on the same theme hunting that killer combination of reverence and truth-telling, all of them taking men who fit that same early Loaded template of male iconography (boxers, Peter O'Toole) and looking at them through a flaw (being past their best, making bad bets). And in each case it comes across more like a petty attempt at one-upmanship than the magisterial sweep of 'Sinatra'. Though even in the latter there is one passage which history has rendered faintly ridiculous, detailing a fractious encounter between Sinatra and Harlan Ellison, Ellison here being painted as strictly a supporting character, someone who will never loom as large as Sinatra. Well...he's not far off, is he now? Still, after that itch has finally been scratched, it seems as if Talese can move on. There's a wry account of the newspaper obituarist's lot, and an entertaining story from the youth of Talese's dad, in which quick thinking saved him from a terrible fate after he inadvertently holed a mafioso's trousers...
And then we get another sodding boxer. Yes, it's Ali, yes he's meeting Castro, but still. That's a third of the pieces in the book. Now, obviously, these are nine pieces culled from decades of work, and there's no telling what sort of selection bias may be at work; perhaps Talese was doing all sorts of great work ahead of 'Sinatra', and it's only the attempt to give us more stuff like the hit which has front-loaded the collection with failed sketches for it. If this collection were designed for free magazine giveaways in the nineties, like they used to do with Rat Pack Confidential, then fine; as is, being published in whatever this clusterfuck of a decade is called, it can't help but feel doubly dated. OK, the book then closes with a fabulous self-analytical potted autobiography, in which it is also established that Talese got his start as a sportswriter...but of all sports, why did it have to be boxing? I mean, I find them all tedious, but I can still enjoy some in the right artistic hands, a Damned Utd or an Any Given Sunday. Men hitting each other in the head for money...I couldn't even bear with Raging Bull.
So yeah, I might well read more Talese. He's very good at the whole New Journalism bit, even if he has reservations about the term. I just need to check next time that there's no bloody boxing.
And then we get another sodding boxer. Yes, it's Ali, yes he's meeting Castro, but still. That's a third of the pieces in the book. Now, obviously, these are nine pieces culled from decades of work, and there's no telling what sort of selection bias may be at work; perhaps Talese was doing all sorts of great work ahead of 'Sinatra', and it's only the attempt to give us more stuff like the hit which has front-loaded the collection with failed sketches for it. If this collection were designed for free magazine giveaways in the nineties, like they used to do with Rat Pack Confidential, then fine; as is, being published in whatever this clusterfuck of a decade is called, it can't help but feel doubly dated. OK, the book then closes with a fabulous self-analytical potted autobiography, in which it is also established that Talese got his start as a sportswriter...but of all sports, why did it have to be boxing? I mean, I find them all tedious, but I can still enjoy some in the right artistic hands, a Damned Utd or an Any Given Sunday. Men hitting each other in the head for money...I couldn't even bear with Raging Bull.
So yeah, I might well read more Talese. He's very good at the whole New Journalism bit, even if he has reservations about the term. I just need to check next time that there's no bloody boxing.
December 22, 2017
“In the winter of 1965, writer Gay Talese arrived in Los Angeles with an assignment from Esquire to profile Frank Sinatra. The legendary singer was approaching fifty, under the weather, out of sorts, and unwilling to be interviewed. So Talese remained in L.A., hoping Sinatra might recover and reconsider, and he began talking to many of the people around Sinatra—his friends, his associates, his family, his countless hangers-on—and observing the man himself wherever he could. The result, "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold," ran in April 1966 and became one of the most celebrated magazine stories ever published, a pioneering example of what came to be called New Journalism—a work of rigorously faithful fact enlivened with the kind of vivid storytelling that had previously been reserved for fiction. The piece conjures a deeply rich portrait of one of the era's most guarded figures and tells a larger story about entertainment, celebrity, and America itself.”
To be honest, I was only interested in Frank Sinatra has a Cold, so I didn’t bother with the other essays (the one’s about DiMaggio, Castro or O’Toole) that appear in this book. As I am currently working my way through a biography about Ava Gardner and listening to an audiobook about Frank and Ava’s tumultuous affair it seemed like the perfect time to dive in.
5 stars
To be honest, I was only interested in Frank Sinatra has a Cold, so I didn’t bother with the other essays (the one’s about DiMaggio, Castro or O’Toole) that appear in this book. As I am currently working my way through a biography about Ava Gardner and listening to an audiobook about Frank and Ava’s tumultuous affair it seemed like the perfect time to dive in.
5 stars
January 24, 2014
Gay Talese is a great writer and his talent and way with words is something you rarely come across even in pieces of writing today. Each essay paints a wonderfully realistic picture of its subject. I must say, though, that the last essay sent a chill down my spine, and was absolutely the best of the lot.
August 4, 2017
عظيم جدًا
دي قصة صحفية كتبها جاي تاليز لمجلة اسكواير
قصة صحفية قوامها 15 ألف كلمة يا بتوع الترافيك
انتشرت في الستينيات
قصة ممتعة جدا ونموذج الواحد يتعلم منه في الكتابة والربط
وازاي احكي قصة حياة شخص بطريقة مشوقة
دي قصة صحفية كتبها جاي تاليز لمجلة اسكواير
قصة صحفية قوامها 15 ألف كلمة يا بتوع الترافيك
انتشرت في الستينيات
قصة ممتعة جدا ونموذج الواحد يتعلم منه في الكتابة والربط
وازاي احكي قصة حياة شخص بطريقة مشوقة
March 19, 2013
"Frank Sinatra has a Cold" was recently voted esquires greatest article ever. Dope werk!
December 27, 2017
صورة كاملة يناها الكاتب لفرانك سيناترا دون ان يتحدث معه في درس مهم .. ان التفاصيل الصغيرة قد تجيب على الأسئلة الكبيرة
بناء رائع ومهني تمام
بناء رائع ومهني تمام
March 10, 2022
Absolutely brilliant, great pictures & writing ❤️
August 5, 2025
“Picasso without paint, Ferrari without fuel - only worse”
[me if I don’t have my weet bix]
[me if I don’t have my weet bix]
Read
November 3, 2025Talese's writing reads like a really observant, empathetic fly on the wall. A random find in a cupboard at work. It's up there with some of my favourite non fiction books(Essays).
November 3, 2025
A brilliant profile on the workings and backstory of a great and quirky musician.
October 24, 2019
Outstanding!
March 8, 2019
"Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" is the best piece of literature I have ever read, full stop.
December 17, 2024
Gay Talese writes with such melancholy about former and current stars and the people that surround them that to foray into his work inevitably leaves one intimately aware of their own hopes and dreams and, somewhat less comfortable but perhaps more valuable, their realities.
I see myself in every figure to grace his pages, including Talese himself, because at this point in my life I have a thousand branches snaking forward from the trunk of my future possibilities. To become a writer like Talese is desperately desired. To become the subject of a piece equally so. To become neither is most likely. Christmas Break is the unwelcome amplifier of these feelings, the perfect liminal space in which I am deep in University and also recently returned to my childhood home; reliant on my parents love and goodwill and viscously intent on leaving it behind through my own talent, of which I infrequently assert.
And yet, thankfully, Talese and his writing are inspiring rather than pessimistic. In his subjects and craft he finds great joy even when it may not be obvious to most. I sense this joy and long for it too. What’s more, I feel propelled forward. His works will not be read in vain.
I see myself in every figure to grace his pages, including Talese himself, because at this point in my life I have a thousand branches snaking forward from the trunk of my future possibilities. To become a writer like Talese is desperately desired. To become the subject of a piece equally so. To become neither is most likely. Christmas Break is the unwelcome amplifier of these feelings, the perfect liminal space in which I am deep in University and also recently returned to my childhood home; reliant on my parents love and goodwill and viscously intent on leaving it behind through my own talent, of which I infrequently assert.
And yet, thankfully, Talese and his writing are inspiring rather than pessimistic. In his subjects and craft he finds great joy even when it may not be obvious to most. I sense this joy and long for it too. What’s more, I feel propelled forward. His works will not be read in vain.
March 27, 2016
Unfortunately, I rushed through the first half of this essay collection, impatient to read the title essay "Frank Sinatra has a cold", lured by the many positive reviews and the urban legend that Talese wasn't given the possibility to interview Frank and had to build a story around the man instead, by getting to know his whole entourage. Well, curiosity killed the cat and the Frank Sinatra essay wasn't as good as I had expected it to be, however the father of "New Journalism" tugged at my heart elsewhere: in his precise, beautiful, heartfelt description of every day people and in his timeless language, my favorites being "Mr. Bad News" and "The Brave Tailors of Maida". Gay Talese's charismatic writing is a joy to read.
December 18, 2023
I downloaded this as a pdf from the internet. It's a longform magazine article that's apparently quite famous as an example of 'new journalism' coming out in the 1960s, influenced by fiction writers of the time. I enjoyed the piece, the prose stylish and the content hooked me in. The story goes that Sinatra wouldn't do a scheduled interview with the author so he hung around in Sinatra's orbit, observed what was going on and wrote the article anyway. Nice quick amusing read. Great title as well.
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April 16, 2014Gay Talese's take on the art of writing within the non fiction genre is quite something. His style is insightful, at times painful, emotional, readable, and just an absolute joy. Instead of a straightforward interview, you get the nuances of the person at the heart of the article. And who can ignore a book entitled Frank Sinatra has a Cold and other essays! Stupendous.”
October 22, 2016
A great set of essays that span the early sixties to the nineties. I was attracted to the book by the title essay, and was not disappointed; however, each essay was engaging. I would highly recommend this to anyone who appreciates good literature and/or just wants to step into the "hidden" worlds of some very interesting sports and entertainment personalities from this period.
October 3, 2018
A beautiful edition of a very well written journalistic essay. The piece is nicely observed and well put together. The photographs and the letterpress printing combine to make a very handsome volume.
September 4, 2023
Sinatra with a cold is like Picasso without paint or a Ferrari without fuel. This is a short story I had to read for my Lit Journalism class. Pretty okay- Sinatra desiring relevance but hating his lack of privacy as a star. New journalism! Yay!
February 6, 2012
A great collection of Talese's most famous essays, including his profiles on Frank Sinatra, Joe Louis, and Muhammad Ali.
April 8, 2016
SUPERB!
April 9, 2016
Gay Talese has never impressed me because his work is so good its imitators have made it cliche.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews