Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr. by Burt Boyar

How does one review a coffee table book?  Most often you don't even read a coffee table book, you just flip it open now and then and look at the pictures.  That is not the case here, Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr. is a book to be read.

Discovered in a storage locker in West LA, this collection of photographs is a remarkable window into life and times of a remarkable individual.  Burt Boyar knew Sammy Davis, Jr. intimately and is able to tell the stories behind the pictures from an insider's point of view.  He has selected and arranged these photographs into chapters of the entertainer's life from the start of his career through his rise to superstardom, his marriages, his friendships, his involvement in the Civil Rights Era and political affiliations.  All are accompanied by enlightening text much of which is verbatim remarks made by Davis.

Only Burt Boyar could have put this collection together and narrated it so adroitly.  This is a book that deserves a permanent place on your coffee table.

The more Burt Boyar I read, the better he gets.




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