A selection of witty and provocative essays from the father of New Journalism, Gay Talese''s Frank Sinatra Has a Cold and Other Essays is published in Penguin Modern Classics.
Gay Talese is the father of American New Journalism, who transformed traditional reportage with his vivid scene-setting, sharp observation and rich storytelling. His 1966 piece for Esquire, one of the most celebrated magazine articles ever published, describes a morose Frank Sinatra silently nursing a glass of bourbon, struck down with a cold and unable to sing, like ''Picasso without paint, Ferrari without fuel - only worse''. The other writings in this selection include a description of a meeting between two legends, Fidel Castro and Muhammad Ali; a brilliantly witty dissection of the offices of Vogue magazine; an account of travelling to Ireland with hellraising actor Peter O''Toole; and a profile of fading baseball star Joe DiMaggio, which turns into a moving, immaculately-craft
