Man That Got Away

"e;Over the Rainbow,"e; "e;Stormy Weather,"e; and "e;One for My Baby"e; are just a few of Harold Arlen's well-loved compositions. Yet his name is hardly known--except to the musicians who venerate him. At a gathering of songwriters George Gershwin called him "e;the best of us."e; Irving Berlin agreed. Paul McCartney sent him a fan letter and became his publisher. Bob Dylan wrote of his fascination with Arlen's "e;bittersweet, lonely world."e; A cantor's son, Arlen believed his music was from a place outside himself, a place that also sent tragedy. When his wife became mentally ill and was institutionalized he turned to alcohol. It nearly killed him. But the beautiful songs kept coming: "e;Blues in the Night,"e; "e;My Shining Hour,"e; "e;Come Rain or Come Shine,"e; and "e;The Man That Got Away."e; Walter Rimler drew on interviews with friends and associates of Arlen and on newly available archives to write this intimate portrait of a genius whose work is a pillar of the Great American Songbook.