I'm surprised I enjoyed this as much as I did, I'm not a big fan of the "Crooner" genre and I had never heard of Russ Columbo prior, but Lanza did present the material in a way that made it engaging, if not mysteriously hazy. That isn't to say the book was overly vague or anything, but the atmosphere was continually one of trying to grasp an understanding of Columbo and subsequently, making him quite a curious figure that was continually close to 'making it' but never fully succeeding. ( )