Bing Crosby A Pocketful of Dreams The Early Years, 1903-1940 Book

First off, "Pocketful of Dreams" is a balanced biography. It would be nice if this didn't have to be noted, but especially in the case of Crosby, when his children and step-children have written scathing or adoring memoirs, it is refreshing when a biographer explores all aspects of a person, the strengths and flaws, some of which are deep. That said, what Giddins focuses on most is the music.

This award-winning book makes a strong argument for Crosby being under-appreciated as a leader of making jazz popular in the mainstream. It argues persuasively that Crosby was not merely one of a group of crooners, but a leader in music who came onto the scene at the right moment in time, and then used his considerable talents and enormous popularity to introduce elements of black jazz to mainstream, white America.

If you consider Crosby a singer of smaltz who merely sang Christmas standards, this book will make you see him in a new light, and greatly expand your appreciation of his contribution to American popular music.

One caveat: Giddins has written the definitive biography, well-documented and thorough. He had so much material, that he decided to split the biography into two parts. This first volume, checking in at over 750 pages, covers Crosby's life until 1940, and was published in 2009. Five years on, readers are still waiting volume two. I eagerly await the publication of volume 2, but it may be a while.