This is amazing. A few minutes ago, I wrote that no one would have had the wisdom and prescience to do a great biography of Tony Bennett that came out just as he became the hottest new singing sensation. Then I went to Amazon to check, knowing full well there would be no such book…but it turned out there was! It's called All the Things You Are: The Life of Tony Bennett and it's getting great reviews. Matter of fact, I just realized that I read it the other day and enjoyed it tremendously.
And here's the really stunning thing: I was shocked to realize that this fine book was written by my cousin David. That's right: There are two Evaniers who write. I do the stuff about the talking cats and inept barbarians. David handles the acclaimed biographies of superstar Italian singers…this, along with the many successful articles and novels he authors. So if you want to know all about Tony Bennett — and get a good idea of why he's survived so long in a field where few can sell records a tenth as long — order a copy of my father's brother's son's new effort. Never thought I'd see that last name on a book this good.