James Gandolfini: The Real Life of the Man Who Made Tony Soprano
Gandolfini, who died of cardiac arrest in June 2013, gets the quickie-bio treatment in this slick but superficial book. Readers who know Gandolfini only as New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano might glean some interesting info from the book, but it’s the kind of info— the actor’s early roles, his childhood, his self-admitted perfectionist and self-destructive habits—they could also find, as Bischoff apparently has, in previously published interviews and articles. Quotes, including many from Gandolfini himself, are either unattributed or drawn from published sources (there is some original material here, but it comes from people on the periphery of the actor’s life and provides only a small amount of fresh insight). On the other hand, this is a respectful book. Bischoff clearly admires his subject and has no interest in filling his book with tawdry rumors, gossip, and would-be myth-shattering revelations. It’s a shame this isn’t an “official” biography (the author notes it was written without the cooperation of Gandolfini’s family), because the author might have been able to make it something more memorable. As is, the book is a solid recycling of information readers can find elsewhere; the definitive biography of the actor remains to be written. --David Pitt