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THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
“Deconstructing Sammy” was written by an investigative journalist, and it shows:
Birkbeck has killer leads, gripping kickers and sensational descriptions. This
cinematic book reads more like a detective story than a traditional “life of.”
DECONSTRUCTING SAMMY:
MUSIC, MONEY, MADNESS, AND THE MOB
By Matt Birkbeck
(Amistad/ Harper Collins) ON SALE NOW
"Matt
Birkbeck in Deconstructing Sammy has done a tremendous amount of reporting into
the life of Sammy, but the book is more than a newspaper story...Birkbeck tells
the epic of Sammy Davis Jr... from his Harlem boyhood to his wrenching deathbed
(he died of cancer in 1990) in his Beverly Hills mansion, where various
hangers-on, seeing the circling vultures, stripped his corpse even before it was
a corpse."
LOS ANGELES TIMES
“It's
essentially a mystery tale, a piece of investigative journalism that
unravels what happened to Davis' estate, and in the process reveals
more about the man that we knew. Birkbeck spoke to people that have never
spoken before -- and the portrait of Sammy that emerges is difficult, demanding,
and ultimately tragic.”
NPR’s TALK OF THE NATION
“Exceptionally detailed…makes tax law sexy,”
LIBRARY JOURNAL
“Sammy Davis Jr. was blessed with so much talent that his life should have been
a cakewalk. Instead, it was an earthquake. The inside story makes for a
fascinating read.”
SACRAMENTO BEE
“Un-put-down-able…Stunning …With a journalist’s eye toward a great story, author
Matt Birkbeck leads readers through a decades-long financial mess including
cover-ups… mob connections, political friendships and snubbing.”
TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER, NATIONAL BOOK REVIEWER
“Davis’s remarkable life is certainly well-trod territory. Nevertheless,
through interviews with close friends and confidants who had never spoken
publicly before, Birkbeck digs up many startling details.”
MICHAEL RUBINKAM,
ASSOCIATED PRESS
“Compelling…Birkbeck is a tremendous investigative reporter.”
MIKE FRASSINELLI, NEWARK STAR LEDGER |