

The Rat Pack
Books | Biography & Autobiography / Music
Lawrence J. Quirk
No phenomenon could have been more portentous of the turbulence of the 1960s than Frank Sinatra's rat pack. Sinatra and his entourage -- Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop, and a bevy of hangers-on -- performed, gambled, and boozed it up in the lounges of Las Vegas' Sands Hotel and Casino. The pack held court with starlets, mobsters, and politicians. Their aura -- glamorous, cocksure, and infinitely cool -- influenced not only movies and music, but the Kennedy White House as well."The Rat Pack" explores the antics of this "royal court" from its origins as Humphrey Bogart's circle of close friends to Sinatra's band of party-hardy playboys. Authors Lawrence Quirk, who knew several members of the pack personally, and William Schoell probe the members' personalities, shed light on their interpersonal relationships, analyze their movies and careers, investigate their involvement in organized crime, and account for their ultimate demise. "The Rat Pack" also examines the continued fascination surrounding the pack and why they are still cultural icons today.