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In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr |  | Author: Wil Haygood
Publisher: Aurum Press Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: $18.60
Buy New: $17.18
You Save: $1.42 (8%)
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Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 2579707
Media: Paperback
Pages: 518
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.5
ISBN: 1845131061
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9781845131067
ASIN: 1845131061
Publication Date: July 29, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Good Condition, Dispatched from UK, delivery time 10 to 12 Working days
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Product Description
Sammy Davis, Jr was one of the most recognisable showbiz entertainers of the twentieth century: dancer, singer, hyperactive cabaret performer, film star and hard-drinking, high-living bad-boy member of Las Vegas's legendary Rat Pack along with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Peter Lawford. But his story was also one of contradiction and compromise: a black man trying to make his name as a star during a time of racial prejudice and even segregation, Sammy Davis, Jr never came to terms with the complexities of his situation. He endured patronising humiliation from his fellow Rat Pack members; he marched with Martin Luther King while, notoriously, cozying up to President Nixon and conducting numerous affairs with white women. Above all, he made his name as a vaudevillian entertainer by arguably accepting the role of honorary white man. This is the definitive portrait of the Rat Pack's most interesting and maverick member.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 Not A Definitive Biography May 18, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Maybe the definitive biography of Sammy Davis Jr. can never be written. Or maybe it simply hasn't been done. This book is a mixed bag.
The book filters the story of Sammy Davis Jr. through race, everything is either black or white. As a result, you do get some interesting concepts, that Davis did not want to "be" black, as if all blacks (or for that matter, all whites) had something in common.
You do get extensive thoughts about his love for blonde women, and his affairs with Kim Novak is given a prominent amount of space.
You also have a wonderful portrait of Will Mastin, a man who is ignored in every other book about Davis.
But other things are glossed over, his drug and alcohol abuse, his Rat Pack days, even his marriage to May Britt.
Oh, do not expect anything about his music in here, absolutely nothing about any of his records.
 A Biography filled with Historical Landscapes May 9, 2007
A must read! Wil Haygood's book, In Black and White, The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr. not only captures the mesmerizing and oftentimes daunting physical movement of the man- Sammy- in the seemingly separate worlds of black and white but unapologetically captivates the reader with Sammy's human quest for love and approval.
The author skillfully provides the reader with a historical landscape to navigate the multidimensional aspects of the making of "Sammy" from his vaudeville childhood days to the inscription on the headstone of his final resting place--
Sammy Davis Jr. "The Entertainer" He Did It All...and indeed he did.
After reading the book, I can't wait to see Sammy "in living color" thanks to Denzel Washington's insight to purchase the screen rights.
Written by Deleso Alford Washington, J.D., LL.M.
 Not the real story... February 3, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book does not reflect the spirit of the life of Sammy Davis, Jr. I'm afraid that it relects the spirit of the life that the author, Wil Haygood, unfortunately must have led.
I am very familiar with the details of Sam's life, I have heard it in his own words. Sam was a very pragmatic optimist who imagined the world in a very color-blind way. This is where Mr. Haygood leads the un-informed reader very far away from Sam's actual beliefs.
Sam didn't want to be white, he wanted to be the best. That is what he constantly strived for. Sam stood up to racism so many times, in so many ways. How many times was his nose broken in race baited fights from his hitch in the Army ? Sam experienced the ignorance of racism many, many times, from many different people. But for every racist he had to battle, he also saw many more people who he loved, trusted & repected, and who he knew felt the same way towards him.
Almost all of the material in this book is 'lifted' from the books co-written by Sam and Jane & Burt Boyar. These works are the true story. These people were there when these events happened, they witnessed them first hand. Not only has Mr. Haygood taken what actually transpired and twisted it to fit his agenda, he berates the people who daily lived through these experiences with Sam.
excellent November 5, 2005
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is well written, thorough, entertaining, and really a superb history lesson. Great Job Mr. Haygood.
Impressive and entertaining biography of Sammy Davis jr. May 10, 2005
Wil Haywood, staff writer for the Washington Post, won the 2004 Hurston-Wright Legacy Award in Nonfiction, plus a host of other awards for In Black And White: The Life Of Sammy Davis Jr., so it's only fitting his impressive and entertaining biography of the life of Sammy Davis Jr. be reprinted in paperback to reach new generations of audiences with his award-winning life of one of America's most popular and versatile performers and entertainers of the 20th Century.
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