The Sound of Music Story: How A Beguiling Young Novice, A Handsome Austrian Captain, and Ten Singing von Trapp Children Inspired the Most Beloved Film of All Time Hardcover – February 17, 2015

Synopsis: In 1965, The Sound of Music hit the big screens. What is the back story to this long held, classic family favorite that remains popular to this day?My rating: 5 StarsMy opinion: OK, first a disclosure: I am a HUGE Sound of Music fan. When I say huge, I mean behemoth huge. I have seen this movie well over 200 times in my 47 years on this earth. I own three copies of the DVD. I have scenes from this movie memorized. I have read almost every book put out on this movie and, I believe, all of the von Trapp family books and it is on my bucket list to visit the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont.I found Mr. Santopietro's book to be incredibly well researched and beyond detailed oriented. I find it easy to say that of all the books on this subject I have read, Santopietro's is easily the best. The book did have periods of dryness or that seemed to drag in over describing occurances, but those were few and far between and I found that I was able to overlook them with some new things that I had learned.This book would have been 10/5 stars if photos were included. Especially with this book, couldn't figure out why photos weren't included. I will say that a member of Goodreads did comment on my preliminary review that she had purchased a copy and that there were pictures included in her version.Source: Publisher for reviewWould I recommend? : Not only would I recommend it, I have a copy in my Amazon cart waiting for purchase. Even though I have already read it, I found it worthy to add to my personal library.

Thoroughly researched and delightfully readable, this book is the best yet on the making of The Sound of Music. I would have likes more detail on the original stage production, but Santopietro's coverage of the film is outstanding - better than any other book on the subject, and I have read them all. Highly recommended!

Although the subtitle does allude to this being about the film, this fact may not be totally clear to the potential buyer who needs to be aware that this book is almost totally about the movie. Only a minor bit at the beginning of the book touches on writing or producing the stage version. That's okay; one just needs to be aware. The first two-thirds of the book deals with the production and stars of the movie and, for the most part, provides an interesting insight into it. The final third deals with the impact of the movie and the individuals who made and starred in it during the 50 years after its release. While some of the facts in that portion are interesting, much of it is somewhat tedious. The author obviously loves the movie and, while I do too, he seems almost overly generous in supporting and defending it. His praises sometimes drone on much too long.

I have read everything I could find about the Sound of Music. I was in college when it came out. I memorized the whole score and was enthralled with the love story. Many years later, I can still watch this movie or the play and enjoy it like I'd never seen it before.It is such fun to read a well written, interesting story of how this movie was made, the actors, the music, the location, the grind of a musical production, and the technical people. Sometimes all the factors come together to make something wonderful and lasting.If anyone enjoys the movie they will love reading the book. If the movie is not your style, I'd advise against the book.

The book has much wonderful information and details about the making of the movie, which I found fascinating. The author does digress now and then but manages to get back on track. However, I was a disappointed in the lack of quality of the book itself. Think of all of those wonderful books about Downton Abbey, with lots of color photos, quality pages and details about the period. I feel that Tom Santopietro missed a great opportunity here. As much as everyone loves The Sound of Music, this would have been a book that everyone would want to add to their library.

This is a fine covering of the Sound of Music. It is detailed yet also interesting. I learned many facts about The Sound of Music that I had not gotten from other sources. I felt that Santopietro's writing style was clear and easy follow but also laden with beguiling truths. I appreciated that he did not hesitate to present his own point of view but he made it clear that it was his view. This is the best book on The Sound of Music I have read.

Every single juicy detail to be had about The Sound of Music saga: the Trapp Family journey from Austria to the US, the addition of Maria to their family, the bringing of their story to Broadway, making the musical play into a musical movie, and all that has happened since with every person involved that you can imagine. I love the thoroughness of this book. So happy I read it. And will do so again, no doubt!

This book fills in the back story on the others (including the actors) like, director, costume designer, producer--their story about how they came to this project. If you like The Sound of Music, you might like to know all these facts and history behind how the movie was made.