The Good Life

By BRUCE HANDY

Tony Bennett's greatest gift as a singer has always been his warmth, the sheer joy and geniality that radiate from his pipes. The same goes for this memoir, which skates pleasantly over the surface of his life--just about everyone he ever worked with is "the greatest"--and doesn't even wobble on the choppy patches (the divorces, the cocaine, the time he beat up Don Rickles). One especially wishes the book dug more deeply into Bennett's music--a surprising lack, since co-author Will Friedwald is one of the sharpest jazz writers around. Still, this is an engaging read. It's that voice, the lovely Tony Bennett-ness of it all.

--By Bruce Handy