Book excerpt: First time in Paperback! Noel Coward and Cole Porter's fascinating lives celebrated. Fresh on the heels of the popular motion picture based on Cole Porter's life called De-Lovely, Noel and Cole presents a fresh and often surprising portrait of these two geniuses. The author provides insight into both men's private lives - including a frank discussion of their homosexuality - while illuminating their musical achievements. Born an ocean apart - one in Indiana, the other in England - Cole Porter and Noel Coward have come to represent the ultimate in sophistication and urbanity. Noel and Cole will be an essential reference as well as a fascinating dual biography of two men who brought style and dazzle to the art of popular entertainment. * Based on access to previously unpublished manuscripts, lyrics, scores, and letters, plus dozens of interviews * Includes a chronology and a fifty-page section devoted to the analysis of select works