Bing Crosby

[kenny weir]

Has anyone read the first volume of Giddin's biography of Crosby?

I'm a fan of both, but after hefting this (ahem) tome in a couple of book shops, I suspect it may be a case of too much information.

[ghost of miles]

I think there was some discussion of this on the old BNBB. If you can find it used (or remaindered--I hear they really overprinted it), I'd definitely pick it up. Giddins' portrait of the late-20's/early-30's Whiteman/Bix/Bailey scene really made the book for me. Yes, Giddins is exhaustive regarding Bing's childhood & other areas that might not be quite as interesting. The evolution of BC as a cultural icon is fascinating to me, though, so I didn't mind it as much, and look forward to reading at least the 1940s part of the second volume (Part 1 ends around '39, I think). Lon read this book as well & might have some comments to offer.

[neveronfriday]

Great book. It is very detailed, but it wasn't Atlantic Monthly Best Book of 2001 for nothin'. Pick it up at powells.com (direct link to the book; select version on the right at the price you're willing to pay) for under $10 (new, sale). I buy most of my second-hand stuff there (and I live in Germany, and it's still cheap).

I'm looking forward to the second volume. If it's anything as exhaustive as this one, we're in for a real treat.

[BruceH]

Hey, Gary, how about a bio of Monk?

[ghost of miles]

Found out yesterday that V. 2 is slated for autumn 2012 publication.

[ghost of miles]

On 9/15/2009 at 1:47 PM, ghost of miles said:

Found out yesterday that V. 2 is slated for autumn 2012 publication.

Off by six years, apparently, but this Amazon listing looks pretty viable for November 2018:

Bing Crosby: Swinging On A Star: The War Years, 1940-1946

[ghost of miles]

Amazon tells me it's "out for delivery," so I guess I'll finally get to crack this one open sometime this evening.  

Washington Post review