A review by rbkegley
Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star: The War Years, 1940-1946 by Gary Giddins

4.0

Second volume in Giddins' authoritative biography of Bing Crosby (the first is "Pocketful of Dreams", covering birth to 1940), the focus is on the years just prior to and just after World War II. In addition to creating some of his best recordings, Crosby continued near-weekly live hour long radio broadcasts, while making classic "Road" movies with Bob Hope, and his Oscar-winning performance in "Going My Way", followed a year later by his Oscar-nominated movie with the same character, "The Bells of St. Marys." If this was not enough, he crisscrossed the country multiple times drumming up war bond sales, entertaining troops, and visiting the wounded in hospitals. No wonder his wife was falling apart in his absence, though this was simply the progression of the path she had long been set upon. In his telling, Giddins covers details of the major recording sessions, and shows us behind-the-scenes in the filming of the movies. The portrait that emerges is of a brilliant, seemingly approachable man who really drew close to very few. Fascinating reading that makes you look forward to the third volume.