Why Sinatra Matters

“A graceful reminiscence of Sinatra after hours serves as the frame for shrewd reflections on . . . [his] art, his personality, his audience . . . his ethnicity.” —Terry Teachout, New York Times Book Review

In this unique homage to an American icon, journalist and award-winning author Pete Hamill evokes the essence of Sinatra—examining his art and his legend from the inside, as only a friend of many years could do. Shaped by Prohibition, the Depression, and war, Francis Albert Sinatra became the troubadour of urban loneliness. With his songs, he enabled millions of others to tell their own stories, providing an entire generation with a sense of tradition and pride belonging distinctly to them.

With a new introduction by Hamill, this is a rich and touching portrait that lingers like a beautiful song.

“The most intimate and thoughtful eulogy for 'the Voice'. . . . It leaves you wanting to listen again to Sinatra's best songs.” —Entertainment Weekly

“[Hamill] does a better job of placing Sinatra's saga in a social and political context than any of his biographers have. . . . Why Sinatra Matters is most valuable in its explication of how Sinatra came to formulate a musical style that was a sound track to urban American life.” —Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer

“A brief but eloquent homage. . . . Hamill succeeds—convincingly, with natty aplomb—in explaining why Sinatra, even now, matters.” —Tom Chaffin, LA Weekly