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I just happened to see that the sequel to the first volume of Gary Giddins' biography of Bing Crosby is out. Called "Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star: The War Years, 1940-1946," it's available in hardcover or as an e-book from Amazon.

I found the first volume interesting but a little plodding at times. For the sake of completeness, it seems that every theater Crosby ever played in was mentioned. But there were also some great nuggets of information that I hadn't seen anywhere else before, so hopefully Giddins used plenty of primary sources. I downloaded a sample of the sequel today and will see if it merits a full purchase.

I had also heard that publication of the sequel was delayed because the first volume didn't sell all that well. If so, it seems odd that we are now seeing volume two, which only goes to 1946, so that perhaps a third volume and possibly a fourth, are contemplated? Although I successfully read Tolkien's three-volume trilogy "Lord of the Rings," I was a lot younger then, my eyes were better, and I had more patience! SETH

I bought a copy of volume one (only because it was a buck at Dollar Tree or some place) and really disliked the way that author knocked and belittled the talent and/or importance of almost everyone who worked with Bing or was something of a rival. Granted Crosby has been underrated himself by pop culture but that's really no reason to trash everybody else to make Bing look better. It's ironic he pretty much did the same thing to Crosby's 20's-30's peers that most writers due to Bing in relation to Elvis, Sinatra, etc. I was impressed though that he got Mary Carlisle to talk, which was pretty rare.

Well, I'm about 20% through the new volume, and I am enjoying it. This book seems to be better paced than the first volume; although it's full of good detail, it does move along pretty well. So I'd recommend it to anyone who survived the first volume . . . . SETH