In 1990, Sammy Davis Jr. died $15
million in debt,
leaving behind an estate that today remains a shambles and a
rich legacy that is all but forgotten.
the shocking true story of an international icon at the center of
a confluence of entertainment, politics, and organized crime.
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 |