Bobby Darin: A Life

This book gives his fans an insight into what is going in his life.

A comprehensive chronicle of the troubled and all-too-short life of one of America's greatest entertainers. Michael Starr masterfully weaves together great anecdotes about Darin from those who knew him best.

Michael Seth Starr has given us a thorough look at the life of this great talent. Bobby Darin's show business success belie the touching tragedies he had to endure. I think Bobby's true strength and ulimate success was in how he dealt with them. He may have tried different directions to enhance his appeal to different audiences but he was evolving as an entertainer. This in itself shows us how multitalented he was. Even when he was at his lowest peaks both physically and emotionally, Bobby Darin was a success, a real trouper to the very end. Bravo, Mr. Starr.

Biography, Biography & Autobiography, Biography / Bobby Darin (real name Walden Robert Cassotto) put more into his 37 years alive than most people fit into much longer lives. Driven by the knowledge that the rheumatic fever he cought at age seven was going to shorten his life dramatically, he achieved his goals of fame as a great performer. His other goal of fame as a human being was more elusive as the sense of urgency driving his life made him neglect his wives and family. This book will serve as a tribute, an eulogy if you will of his life. It is based on interviews with such close friends and relatives as Steve Blauner - Darrin's best friend and business manager - Darin's half-brother Gary Walden, Dick Clark, Wayne Newton, Neil Sedaka, Tony Orlando and many others. Extensively researched it also details the shocking secred that Darin learned late in life - that his "sister" Nina was actually his mother and that Polly, the woman he thought was his mother, was actually his grandmother. This knowledge made him spend the last five years of his life consumed by bitterness and anger over this betrayal. This is an excellent companion to the movie, helping to explain some of the reasons he was the man he was.

This book is well-written, insightful and the author did a great job of giving us a glimpse of this complex man's personality. Well done!

Once again, I am amazed at the way in which Michael Starr can draw you right into the life of his characters. Bravo to Mr. Starr for so accurately describing someone who became a legend in such a short time. As usual, Mr. Starr doesn't disappoint. He gives you a well researched, complete picture and then some! This book will leave you with no questions unanswered and wishing that you knew Bobby himself! A MUST read either before the movie comes out, or immediately after to fully understand what he accomplished.