Roman Candle
The Life of Bobby Darin  
By David Evanier

     David Evanier gets it right on this inside look at Bobby Darin. I grew up when Bobby Darin, Sandra Dee, and all the others were the absolute rage. We all loved him and them, when they got married. It was a horrible time when it was announced that he was dead. I remember sitting there at the office with all the co-workers around as we listened to the radio talk about his life. We were so young then. He had this very young attitude and fast pace that we all loved, as well as all—and I mean all—of his music. There wasn’t a person that I knew who didn’t love to dance and sing along with every song he made. This book brought back all the times, the songs, the heartbreak and envied joy for Dee, of young girls everywhere when he and Dee got married. He was thought to be one of the best catches in Hollywood and every single woman I knew wanted a chance at him, with that curly hair and those sexy eyes and that mischief in his swagger. He was the one that our fathers would have hated to have their daughters fall in love with, for they all knew that he was nothing but bad news, but we knew better. He was the “hip” one, the one that we all swooned over, though none of us ever thought it possible for any of us. He married the Girl Next Door, Sandra Dee, that cute little blonde that we all wanted to be and look like.

     The one thing that I really found interesting about this book was all the questions that his fast life and hearty times left unanswered during his life. The answers are revealed in this book, and for the most part are more than a bit tragic. He had that inside feeling that he simply would not be here on this earth long, so he lived fast, hard, and full, every second that he could, sort of like Steve McQueen and Sal Mineo both did. He was a very determined young man, and he wasn’t going to let anything stop him from leaving his mark in our hearts and memories.

    Roman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin will let the younger generation know who Bobby Darin was and what an important part in the music industry he played, as well as how wonderful it was to hear his voice and think that we, the listeners, knew him, for we really thought we did. In reality, it turns out, mostly we did not. It will also give the older reader a wonderful look back as they sit reading and humming the songs and thinking about life as it was then. It was a wonderful eye-opening trip down memory lane David Evanier, even though in places I cried. It was really a pleasure to dredge up the past from the recesses of my heart. Thank you for writing this book.