'Treasures' from the Chairman of the Board

By Liane Hansen

Published December 11, 2004 at 9:00 PM PST

Eighty-nine years ago, on Dec. 12, 1915, Francis Albert Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. A former newspaper reporter, this blue-eyed son of Italian immigrants went on to become one of the most popular vocalists of the 20th century.

A new book, The Sinatra Treasures, celebrates the life of the legendary crooner with never-before-seen photographs, music and pull-out mementos from the Sinatra family collection. Frank Sinatra, Jr., who contributes to the book, talks to NPR's Liane Hansen about his father.

Liane Hansen

Liane Hansen has been the host of NPR's award-winning Weekend Edition Sunday for 20 years. She brings to her position an extensive background in broadcast journalism, including work as a radio producer, reporter, and on-air host at both the local and national level. The program has covered such breaking news stories as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the deaths of Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Columbia shuttle tragedy. In 2004, Liane was granted an exclusive interview with former weapons inspector David Kay prior to his report on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The show also won the James Beard award for best radio program on food for a report on SPAM.