Frank Sinatra Has A Cold

Gay Talese is the father of American New Journalism who transformed traditional reportage with his vivid scenesetting sharp observation and rich storytelling. His 1966 piece for Esquire one of the most celebrated magazine articles ever published describes a morose Frank Sinatra silently nursing a glass of bourbon struck down with a cold and unable to sing like Picasso without paint Ferrari without fuel only worse. The other writings in this selection include a description of a meeting between two legends Fidel Castro and Muhammad Ali a brilliantly witty dissection of the offices of Vogue magazine an account of travelling to Ireland with hellraiser Peter OToole and a profile of fading baseball star Joe DiMaggio which turns into a moving immaculatelycrafted meditation on celebrity.