''Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams'' is a biography of

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

written by

Nick Tosches Nicholas P. Tosches (; October 23, 1949 – October 20, 2019) was an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet. His 1982 biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, '' Hellfire'', was praised by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as "the best rock and roll ...

. It draws heavily from interviews Tosches did with

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in pop culture, Lewis was nickn ...

, and with Martin's second wife and lifelong friend Jeanne Biegger. The story begins with the births of Martin's grandparents in Italy and follows his entire life up to the point of publication. It also includes sections in which Tosches writes in the first person from the point of view of Martin, a gonzo journalism style which would be used more frequently in his later non-fiction works.

Critical reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' wrote: "A dazzling stylist, Tosches operates like a be-bop sax player, using Martin’s resume as his basic melody, then bursting into frenzied improvisational solos as he tries to liven up Dino’s lowbrow antics."

References

Books by Nick Tosches 1992 non-fiction books Doubleday (publisher) books Biographies about musicians {{music-bio-book-stub