My Father's Daughter : A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: Most talented singer of all time... life wasn't always sunny
Review: Frank Sinatra was always a father. His wives walked through his life but his children and thier mother were always first in his heart.

Tina, FS's youngest child, has recounted her father's life for all to read. She tells of her concern and sister, Nancy's for the care her father was given during the last year and a half of his life. Sinatra's mind was dulled by use of antidepressants and pain pills. Tina felt these drugs were given to her father to keep him a placid and calm frame of mind.

Sinatra's youngest let's the chips fall where they may in regard to her father's last marriage to Barbara. Accorinding to the author Barbara ditched her husband Zeppo Marx in order to be with Sinatra. During his last days Barbara kept Frank worried about money enough for him to continue to perform past his prime. His fear of not leaving his family provided for was the reason he had to continue to entertain even though he was forgetting the words and being ridiculed by the press. It seems like Tina is a chip off the old block, and not afraid to call them as she sees them. All Sinatra devotees should make this a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting & fast read!
Review: Good Read!!!

I have read several other books about Frank Sinatra which chronicle his childhood, the bobbysox years, the Rat Pack years, the Mia years, etc. However, this is the first book I have come across that goes into detail regarding his years of marriage to Barbara Marx & the last years of his life. That alone makes the book fascinating as it fills in missing gaps.

Furthermore, the fact that the book is written from an insider's perspective helps in making it a riveting read. The book flows smoothly and quickly and I don't feel like Tina tries to sugarcoat her father' life (which is how I felt when I read a book written by Nancy Sinatra Jr.). Tina mentions both his good and bad sides and she is very candid in her feelings and emotions regarding her family and father.

The only thing I really wonder is why did Frank stay married to a money-grubbing, social climber for so long? He could have had his pick of beautiful woman, so why her? I would love to know what was really going on in his mind regarding his last marriage, but as he is dead and gone we may never know.

Rating:
Summary: Great insight into troubled lives
Review: I can fully appreciate why Tina Sinatra wrote this book, and why she didn't wait long after her father's passing to write it. I can recall, in his last years, when his children would be asked how their father was doing, they would dutifully report that he was doing well. Tina must have had great difficulty saying this to protect her father, knowing what life was really like for him due to Barbara Marx's gradual isolation of the man from everyone he loved. This is Tina's chance to set the record straight. The hateful feminist diatribe of the preceding review notwithstanding, this is a story that starts out drawing a generally positive vision of Frank and Tina's lives, although there were plenty of heartaches. The story then descends into the tragic isolation and destruction, both psychological and physical, of Frank, mainly due to the heartless, money-driven behavior of Frank's last wife, Barbara. There is undoubtedly a lot of editorializing on Tina's part, but the facts alone draw a picture of a cruel woman who exploited her husband's weaknesses to divide him from his family and attempt to deprive his children of their heritage, and Tina's efforts to prevent this. Some may believe this makes Tina come across as a jerk, but somebody had to stand up to defend what Barbara was attempting to seize by force. The book's greatest disappointment was in not living up to its title; we learn very little about Tina's life after her childhood. But in general, we are offered an excellent, unique insider's perspective which brings a touch of humanity to the legend, and makes his true fans, I believe, only feel more affection for Tina and her father.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book
Review: I have been exposed to Frank Sinatra's music all my life, and been a fan of his since I was 9. However, after reading this book, I feel I know him in a way like never before, in a more detailed, intimate way. I truly understand the kind of man and person he was. Tina does an outstanding and thorough job explaining the man her father was, from all points. She describes what he was like as a father, husband, friend, performer, etc. She leaves nothing out, nor does she sugar-coat the story. She tells the truth, in an honest, loving, respectful way. I am proud to say I own this book, and have enjoyed it very much. It's a must for all fellow Sinatra fans. My hats off to her- great job, Tina!

Rating:
Summary: A review of the very good(and bad) years
Review: I picked this book up a week ago, and really enjoyed reading it. While it doesn't give the reader a good idea of his childhood or pre 1950's career(that's the only reason it doesn't get 5 stars), it is a great portrayal of Frank Sinatra as a father, a husband and a friend. It's sad t read how full of life and vigor he was up until the last 20 years of his life. By the 1980's, his wife and her cronies had him him doped up, and made him flying around the world like a dancing bear for far too many years(You must take the last 150 pages with a grain of salt. Frank's daughter is the author of this book, and she was never a fan of her father's fourth and final wife). If you want to learn about swinging singer, read something else. However, if you want to learn about the person behind all the glitz, read this.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting & fast read!
Review: The reason I enjoyed reading this book so much is that I appreciate the expression of Tina's honest and true feelings, even if sometimes painful. I applaud her courage in telling her story as she saw it. Being her "Father's Daughter", she had a definite vantage view as an insider who could shed some light on her beloved father's life. This book was difficult to put down once I picked it up. I enjoyed learning more about Frank Sinatra as the world famous Icon as well as a family man and by the time that I finished the book, I felt he was also a remarkedly loving, passionate and generous man during his best times. This book also was truthful enough to point out the temptations of living in the spotlight as a celebrity and the pitfalls that exist for anyone living that type of lifestyle. Thank you Tina! This was definitely an enlightening book worth reading!

Rating:
Summary: SINATRA: ACCESSIBLE AT LAST!
Review: This book is a nice surprise. Sinatra must have been a very difficult person to get close to. He was as distant emotionally in real life as his music was wonderfully intimate. We fans only knew exactly who he was when he was singing to us. Then, an iron curtain came down and we seldom got to know anything else. I remember reading an article by Frank Sinatra in a World War II issue of [a] Magazine. It was about his disdain of racism and his puzzlement about why people become and remain racist. That's when I knew there was a man who existed before and after each song. He did not just materialize, do his magic, and disappear. He really had thoughts, feelings, joys and sorrows. Tina Sinatra does me a great favor in her book--she lets me see her father through her eyes. In the book SUNDAYS AT SEVEN, Jack Benny's daughter did the same thing for me--she let me into the Benny family for a few hours. Thanks, Tina Sinatra--...--Jim Reed, ...

Rating:
Summary: Great Talent, Awful Person
Review: This is the strangest as-told-to movie star bio I've
ever read. One thing comes through clearly: Frank
Sinatra wasn't a caring father or a good person until
illness rendered him helpless. Then, and only then,
did he stop being abusive. And it was then that he
became dependent on his last wife Barbara. Approximately
half of Tina Sinatra's book is about the 25 year marriage
of Frank Sinatra and the former Vegas "escort" Barabara
Blakely Oliver Marx, and how Daddy was dominated and

ripped off. Tina's tone was very similar to a book
I read about the late John Huston. He impregnanted his
wife, hit the road and seldom came back but when he did
it was a wonderful happy occasion. Some fatherhood!
Let us face facts: Frankie, a consummate pro as a
performer, was a selfish you-know-what. Tina's romantic
memories go against the facts. Frankie had a choice:
stay at home or stay away being a tomcat. He chose the
latter. While Tina keeps harping
on Barbara for being money-grubbing, this is exactly
how Tina comes out. In my view, there was certainly
enough money for everybody without quibbling over it!
How much money does one person need anyway? It might
have been nicer to have a full-time Dad who put Tina
on his lap to tell bedtime stories, as opposed to
an absentee father with Juliet Prowse on his lap.
Since Tina never had that, what was left was the money.
Lots of it. And this is the flavor of the book.
Money, real estate, jewels, corporations that still
churn out money from Frank's fantastic career. And
bitterness over who gets what. It's a bitter read.
If you admire Frankie as a person, stay away from
Tina's book. But if you like a good ....read,
this is for you.

Rating:
Summary: something for reflection
Review: This was a thoughtful book about the Greatest Talent and Showman FS. I have a collection of his albums, c.d.'s, books and more. This book was truly heartfelt,Tina wrote this as if she was at your home talking to you over dinner. It was wonderful
that he was such a loving father. Nancy Sr. was the glue that kept it all together and the strength that enabled him to have it all. It talks about their love affair and to me, sheds more light on the other women he loved, for a while, always going back to Nancy Sr.

I think Tina called it when she said that Barbara was his mother, like Dolly, disciplining and taking up to the end. Whatever else they may have had was their business.

He gave allot to us and Tina gave some of it back by allowing the reader to be part of the family. The photo's where so great! He was the coolest!

Thank you Tina, and I love you Frank.