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Return Of The King Elvis Presley's Great Comeback (Book Review): Once in a while a book comes along which re-opens our eyes and minds to the majesty of Elvis as a person and/or performer. Gillian Gaar's Return Of The King Elvis Presley's Great Comeback is one of those books!
Gaar’s release examines, analyses and interprets Elvis’ life and career from the year before his stunning '68 Comeback Special to his death and after. Exhibiting great research and careful thought, the author offers a vibrant, fly-on-the-wall account of how Elvis resurrected himself and why the decline happened. (July 2010)
Read EIN's full review
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"Without the King's Consent".......fact or fantasy??:
From the publisher's press release: WITHOUT THE KING'S CONSENT is the true story of a 1954 mystery recording. The record, entitled TELL ME PRETTY BABY, is perhaps the most controversial recording in U.S. music history. The recording received extensive media coverage throughout the world in 1978 and 1979. The discovery of this recording was like finding an unknown Rembrandt or Van Gogh to the music industry. The purchase of this original tape recording in 1977 was like a dream come true for Andrew Jackson.
However, some dreams can turn into nightmares; especially when those dreams feed the greed and power of the hungry hearts of those who take every avenue possible to steal the dreams of others or to stop the world from sharing the joy of that historical event.
Andrew Jackson and Frederick Allen, the authors of WITHOUT THE KING'S CONSENT, pull no punches in this exposition which reveals the methods and means utilized by a greedy and insatiable corporate giant out to "destroy this one-sided mystery record," as stated by Peter Brown of The Dallas Morning News on January 14, 1979.
Not only is the story WITHOUT THE KING'S CONSENT an expose of the greed of powerful attorneys and their ability to influence the outcome of judicial proceedings, but it is also an examination of the conclusive expert and eyewitness testimony attesting to the fact that it was indeed Elvis Aaron Presley who recorded TELL ME PRETTY BABY.
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EIN Comment: While we do not believe the voice on Tell Me Pretty Baby is Elvis, Without The King’s Consent is a well written and absorbing account of the legal battles around the song’s authenticity. With its heady mix of for and against information, audio analysis, court deposition, jail time and intrigue, the book is certainly interesting reading.
A CD edition of the song will shortly be released. For more information visit the International Classic Productions website
'The Elvis Files Vol. 3' Book Review: 'The Elvis Files Vol. 3' 1960 – 1964 contains over 1200 stunning photos in its 470 pages and all in quality printing. It includes all ELVIS events in "1960 to 1964", Every Working Moment, over 200 newly discovered photos, multiple interviews, the Hawaii and Memphis 1961 Shows with Rare Pictures and all the movies from G.I. Blues up to 1964 are covered in great detail.
There is no doubt that this is a labour of love for Norwegian Erik Lorentzen, author and long time Elvis fan, who has found a ton of images and information never before published.
But it isn't a cheap book and many fans want to know what it really includes and what format it takes.
(Book Reviews, Source;EIN) |
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(Capsule Book Review): “JUST PRETENDing” A Guide to be an Elvis Tribute Artist : Kurt Burrows’ “JUST PRETENDing” lives up to its description as a light hearted look into the ETA world and the key elements of being an ETA and presenting a good show.
It is a book that tells you how to look, sound and move like the King! From the attire, the mirror, the stage, using the microphone and choosing the right songs to ‘cleaning up your own back yard’, having the right attitude, marketing yourself and finding the ‘right’ manager, there are many valuable insights for becoming a successful ETA.
The book foreword is by one of the all-time best, the legendary Doug Church. Amusing Elvis cartoons dot the chapters. |
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The initial 101 pages of the book are printed on cheap pulp paper stock with large text. The remainder of the book is then presented on quality, semi-gloss paper stock – firstly a section offering narrative-visual (“Spotlight”) looks at a number of prominent ETA’s and an article about noted Elvis photographer, Keith Alverson. This leads in to the highlight of the book – full color photos from the Keith Alverson Photo Archives. The rare images of Elvis live on stage cover a range of 1970s concerts including Atlanta, Georgia (1973 & 1976), Dayton, Ohio (1974), Indianapolis (1974) and Huntsville, Alabama (1975).
Book Details: Kurt Burrows, Memphis Mansion Marketing, Great Britain, 2010, Softcover, 148 pages, ISBN-13: 978-0956346001 (Reviewed by Nigel Patterson; Copyright EIN 2010)
Capsule Book Review) - Up Close: Elvis Presley (Wilborn Hampton): Wilborn Hampton is a celebrated theater and book critic and noted author of books for younger readers. His biography of Elvis is well written and given both its target audience and a minimal 192 pages (the final 14 of which are Source Notes, Bibliography and Index), in-depth analysis and commentary are not the objective.
Based on the Source Notes it appears Hampton has written his book based on a small, albeit solid group of bibliographic texts. These include the Guralnick tomes, Elaine Dundy’s Elvis and Gladys; Bill E. Burk’s Early Elvis: The Humes Years; Albert Goldman’s mean-spirited release, Professor Vernon Chadwick’s In Search of Elvis, Priscilla Presley’s memoir and an assortment of magazine articles. Hampton’s reliance on a limited number of sources could be seen as a weakness. |
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My biggest issue with the book is that as the first 140 pages only take the reader to around 1960, it means the final 17 years of Elvis’ life and career are captured in only 38 pages! Not surprisingly, cramming the highlights of 17 years into 38 pages means Hampton can only offer a superficial account of the period. Some may argue this is not such a bad thing when introducing Elvis to a younger market.
Hampton’s narrative is positive and his account of the young Elvis and Elvis the Hillbilly Cat is solid and engrossing. While it does not resonate with the detail of Guralnick or erudite insight of Dave Marsh, the text nevertheless informs its younger reader with a rich feel of the importance of one of the world's pre-eminent and influential rock and roll forces.
- Reading level: Young Adult
- Hardcover (d/j)/Softcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Viking Juvenile (June 14, 2007)
- Language: English
- Illustrated: Yes, a number of stock b&w photos
- ISBN-10: 0670061662
- ASIN: B003F76DLA
- Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
WhWhat others say about Up Close: Elvis Presley:
School Library Journal: Grade 7 Up—From the foreword, readers learn that Hampton has an admiration for Elvis that reaches back to his childhood. His enthusiasm and passion for his subject are evident throughout this appealing biography, yet he remains objective about the performer's virtues as well as his tragic flaws. The striking cover photograph complements the lively and accessible text that delves not only into Elvis's life but also his impact on music and American culture. The writing is casual yet authoritative, and includes occasional black-and-white photographs. Readers who can't imagine a world without rock and roll will find this to be an excellent introduction to the man about whom John Lennon once said, "Before there was Elvis, there was nothing."—Marcia Kochel, Olson Middle School, Bloomington, MN Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Booklist: Elvis may have left the building, but interest in his life hasn't waned. This entry in the Up Close biography series records the familiar tracks in Elvis' life, giving slightly more attention to his assent to fame than the tragic descent into narcotics addiction and his extravagant lifestyle in the final years. The strained relationships with wife Priscilla and the controlling Colonel Parker are included, but daughter Lisa Marie is barely mentioned. Hampton provides plentiful examples to back up first girlfriend Dixie's assertion: "Elvis was just a nice boy who desperately wanted to please people." The language dealing with Elvis' exploits with girls is genteel as well--"The relationship became passionate very quickly, but both Elvis and Dixie agreed they would not go all the way until they were married." This didn't hold true for women he met on the road, but subtlety reigns there too, suiting this biography to a younger audience than most Presley picks. Source notes and bibliography are appended. Cindy Dobrez Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Reviewed by Nigel Patterson, May 2010, Copyright EIN
The King and Dr. Nick What Really Happened to Elvis and Me (Book Review): Dr. Nick's long awaited memoir was recently released. After three decades of being often maligned by the media and an unforgiving public Elvis' personal physician finally has his say.
In conjunction with interviewing Dr. Nick, EIN's Nigel Patterson spent time exploring Dr. Nick's side of the story.
What EIN found:
- sheds great light on Elvis' medical conditions;
- provides facts around several contentious issues;
- is a memoir written with honest caring and compassion; and
- a memoir which will challenge the views held by many fans!
In order to establish the truth, Dr. Nick deserves to be heard and his memoir is a fitting way for him to clearly state his case. (Source: EIN, Feb 2010)
Read EIN's full review |
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(CD/Book Review, Source;EIN) |
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Elvis My Best Man (Book Review): George Klein became a friend of Elvis' while they both attended Humes High. EIN contributor, Susan MacDougall, recently sat down to read George's memoir. What Susan found was an entertaining memoir which has met with some criticism. Susan says:
The stated purpose of the book is to document some of the important things about Elvis that have been missed elsewhere, especially “his deep, natural intelligence and how funny he was”. There are certainly some entertaining anecdotes, such as putting a gift-wrapped box of snakes on a car seat to frighten thieves, and Elvis hiding under a train to escape a horde of sorority sisters.
Read Susan's full review
(Book Review, Source: EIN, Feb 2010) |
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| Elvis Presley's GOLD Cadillac Tour of Australasia 1968-69 (Book Review): Australasian Elvis fans never got to see Elvis on their sunny shores but in 1968-69 they did get to see a piece of Elvis history when his 1960 Series 75 Fleetwood Limousine went on display across Australia and New Zealand.
Well known Australian Elvis historian, Bob Hayden, has released his comprehensive look at the events behind the tour and its trek north, south, east and west around Australia and on to New Zealand.
Filled with well researched information and many rare photos, this is a little known tour in Elvis history well worth taking!
Read the full review
(Book Review, Source: EIN, Jan 2010) |
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Baby, Let's Play House Elvis Presley and the Women Who Loved Him (Book Review): The latest Alanna Nash book will be released in the US on 5 January 2010.
EIN recently had the pleasure of delving deep inside the 700+ pages of this release to discover a rich and compelling account of a side of Elvis, which until now has been rarely, if at all, documented in detail.
What we found was illuminating, at times emotional, and occasionally confronting. Never dull and always adding to our understanding of the man, Alanna Nash has written a stunning new book!
As its title implies, Baby, Let's Play House presents the long overdue female perspective on Elvis and answers a number of important questions including how differently Elvis communicated with men and women and the inner anguish which eventually led to his tragic demise.
Read why Baby, Let's Play House will be one of the two best Elvis book releases of 2010. (Source: EIN, 1 December 2009) |
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| "Ancestors of Elvis Aaron Presley 50 Generations": In 2009, Lorina Bolig has published a revised and updated edition of her groundbreaking book. The new edition has blown out to a mammoth 806 pages, making it, I believe, the largest single volume book yet released about Elvis.
EIN's Nigel Patterson recently explored the fascinating world of Elvis's ancestors and in so doing came face to face with Kings and Queens in many countries across the globe and other wonderful folk who may not have a royal pedigree but who nevertheless share a link to the world's greatest celebrity icon. Fascinating and eye opening stuff!! (Source: EIN, 1 Nov 2009) |
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The "first" Dr. Nick book or "When Elvis Meets the Dali Lama" (Book Review): In December 2009-January 2010, Dr. Nick's long awaited memoir wil be published. Some fans will recall that back in 1990 his story was announced for publication as Who Killed Elvis Presley?
For varous reasons that biography was never published, however in his wildly entertaining book, When Elvis Meets the Dalai Lama, Murray Silver reveals the story behind the failed book attempt as well as many other colorful stories about Silver's brushes with celebrity, both secular and sacred.
Be it the first female to direct an X-rated film to eccentric Memphis Mongo, pro-wrestling, rock groups of the 70s, the Dalai Lama, race relations and the assassination attempt on Dr. Nick's life, When Elvis Meets the Dalai Lama is a wide ranging, provocative and wildly amusing book. (Sep 2009)
Read EIN's detailed review |
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| She Played Elvis - A Pilgrimage to Graceland - new book release by Shady Cosgrove: Price: AUD $26.99 inc. GST/ ISBN 13: 9781741757248.
A quirky, funny and quietly moving memoir that tells of a road-trip that a young American immigrant undertook with her boyfriend on a pilgrimage to Graceland, travelling across America on Greyhound buses, busking Elvis songs along the way.
Description: She Played Elvis is the story of a trip that Shady, a young American immigrant to Australia, undertakes with her Australian boyfriend to rediscover her homeland - which, after several years in Australia, doesn't necessarily feel like 'home' anymore. As part of the journey, the pair decide to make a pilgrimage across America, travelling on Greyhound buses, to get to Graceland for the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, with Shady busking and singing Elvis songs at cities and towns along the way.
As they travel across America, memories of her past begin to surface and Shady realises that while she is coming to understand the meaning of 'home', she is also untangling the knotted threads of her difficult relationship with her estranged, erratic, unreliable and often violent father.
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A moving, witty and original meditation on the idea of pilgrimage, family, home and loss, She Played Elvis is a classic road story and a journey of self-discovery set to an Elvis soundtrack; a story told with a clear-eyed, intelligent, unforgettable grace.
Reader reviews:
"She Played Elvis is an engaging dissection of personal and national identity; and how we extract meaning from experiences... Shady Cosgrove’s writing style is intimate, yet unflinching and clear-headed." - Alisom McCallum
"A story of awareness and self-discovery, written in a very clever and witty way, an enjoyable read." - Cheryl Moulton
About Shady Cosgrove: Shady Cosgrove lives in the Illawarra with her partner, Scott, and teaches creative writing at the University of Wollongong. Her work has appeared in Best Australian Stories 2006, Antipodes, Southerly and Overland. (19 Sep 2009)
'Elvis: The Biography' by Jerry Hopkins - an alternate Book Review: Controversy reigns at EIN! The first serious Elvis biography was published in 1971. Reaching the top of numerous best seller lists around the world, Jerry Hopkins biography of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was irresistible reading for millions of Elvis’ fans and those simply wanting to understand more about the 20th century‘s pre-eminent cultural icon. The 2007 edition of 'Elvis The Biography' combined revised editions of the earlier two volume biography.
Back in 2007 EIN's Nigel Patterson reviewed the book positively stating that, "Finally, a definitive one volume biography about Elvis - a mandatory inclusion in all fan's Elvis libraries."
EIN's Piers Beagley now examines the book, finding it full of major errors and, as an 'updated book', a real failure! He states that, Jerry Hopkins has "put his career on 'automatic pilot' and stopped growing. He weakened his standards. He wasted his talent"!
Read EIN's new review of this classic Elvis biography and Have Your Say. Is it a worthy updated re-release after all?
(Book Reviews, Source;EIN/PiersBeagley)
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Book Review:
The Genuine Elvis: Photos and Untold Stories about the King
By Ronnie McDowell, Edie Hand and Joe Meador
Reviewed by Nigel Patterson. Copyright EIN
Released in July, this new book release is a surprise which lives up to its title.
The stories and recollections come from a diverse group of family, friends and peers. Apart from the authors, the reader is treated to many great stories by names we immediately recognise such as Pat Boone, Jerry Schilling, Ray Walker (Jordanaires) and Alfred Wertheimer (photographer), to those we are not familiar with including Howard Hite (Tupelo Hardware Company), Judy Spencer Nelon (the Judy Spencer Nelon Group), Jimmy Angel (friend/performer) and Charles Watt (disc jockey). |
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All have something interesting and informative to convey. Jerry Schilling reflects on Christmas with Elvis in 1975; Pat Boone talks about he and Elvis were both essentially “good ole boys”; Judy Spencer Nelon reflects on the importance of gospel music to Elvis and Howard Hite recalls the day Gladys and Elvis came into the store with Elvis wanting a rifle but Gladys wanting him to buy a guitar (and we all know the outcome); while Charles Watts recalls the fans, National Guard, state troopers and local police when Elvis returned to Tupelo for his legendary concert in 1956. These and many more stories keep the reader enthralled.
The text is nicely balanced by a mix of photos, archival material and artworks. There are numerous visuals you probably haven’t seen before including Elvis in Sheffield, Alabama during a train stop in the 1950s, Elvis and cousin Gene Smith, Elvis surrounded by black and white fans as he leaves the Hudson Theater in 1956 and a still from the set of Loving You with Elvis, family and cast at lunch.
The real highlight (for me) was Ronnie McDowell’s sublime Elvis artworks. These need to be seen to be appreciated but it is clear Ronnie would have a very successful other career should he ever decide to give up his day job. They resonate with rich, vibrant color and each scene depicts an important part of the Elvis story. You will marvel at (Elvis outside the) Roxy Theater; Lonely Street (Elvis and James Dean); A Tale of Two Kings (Elvis and Clark Gable in Hollywood); Reflection of a King, Elvis and Friends and to name just a few. My favourite is The World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band: The Rising Sun Edition which is a joy to behold. McDowell’s prowess with the paint brush is prodigious and will be a revelation to many.
The Genuine Elvis: Photos and Untold Stories about the King is a smallish book with a correspondingly small price. The book and page design is strong. Overall, it represents very good value for money!
Verdict: A welcome addition to the bourgeoning Elvis library. Great stories are complemented by some very rare photos and absolutely stunning artworks by the multi-talented McDowell.
Product Description: Untold stories, candid photographs, and personal memories fill the pages of this ultimate tribute to the king of rock-'n'-roll. From anecdotes about Elvis's high-school years from friend Jimmy Angel to the personal memories of Elvis's best friend, Jerry Schilling, about the Christmas of 1975 and Elvis's cousin Edie Hand's childhood memories of their summertime family reunions, this book is a must-have for fans and collectors of Elvis memorabilia.
This collection features contributions from Elvis's friends and family members, country music star Ronnie McDowell's original paintings, and dozens of remarkable pictures by Al Wertheimer. Highlights include the entries from Pat Boone; Louise Smith, widow of Elvis's cousin Gene; and the never-before-told story of the exclusive 1956 interview disc jockey Charles Watts recorded with Elvis and his mother, Gladys, and father, Vernon.
Product Details
- Hardcover: 112 pages (with dust jacket)
- Publisher: Pelican Publishing (July 1, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1589806956
- ISBN-13: 978-1589806955
- Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
Other Reviews
"The coupling of Ronnie McDowell's great paintings with an insider's delightful stories about Elvis makes The Genuine Elvis a magic combination." --Dick Clark, American Bandstand
About the authors: Ronnie McDowell is well known to Elvis fans thanks to his tribute song, The King Is gone, and numerous hit songs and successful tours since 1977. Edie McDowell is a relative of Elvis’ while Joe Meador is a successful songwriter, music manager, producer and performer.
Buy:
Genuine Elvis, The: Photos and Untold Stories about the King
Comment on this review
Black Angels in Vegas (Book & CD review): The new book + 2CD release from Venus Productions recently caught our eye and ear.
What we found was a first rate release which will delight all fans.
With rare photos, an excellent narrative accont of Elvis in 1974 and great sound resonating from the audio component, there is much to be enjoyed and wondered about with this release. Elvis's use of the "F" word during the show has sparked debate and while some other shows in his 1974 Summer season were ordinary, at midnight on 30 August he was in particularly fine form.
Click here to read our detailed review
(Review, Source: EIN, 18 Aug 2009) |
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'ELVIS: Vegas '69' - Book Review: Written by Ken Sharp author of the critically acclaimed ' Writing For The King' the book tells the remarkable story of Elvis' return to the concert stage told through first-hand accounts by those lucky enough to be on hand to witness Elvis' miraculous artistic and creative rebirth. But does 'Elvis:Vegas '69' live up to its promises?
EIN's Piers Beagley provides a detailed review of this absorbing and stunning book - and includes some excerpts and images.
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Advanced Elvis Course (Book Review): Just when you thought it was safe to venture into the book store, along comes an irreverent, offbeat and at times very funny pilgrimage around Memphis.
Author and essentially Elvis philosopher, CA Conrad, has written a book which is verey different to most other books published around Elvis. What makes Conrad's tour so special?
Click here to find out
(Book Review, Source: EIN, Aug 2009) |
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Elvis 2000 (Book Review): Jay Gould is apparently a well known US psychic.
In his minimalist book, Elvis 2000, Gould provides an at times interesting (if unbelievable) account of his psychic consultations with Elvis…….both spirit communications from beyond the grave and personal consultations during the last year of Elvis’ life!
Read EIN's review (March 2009) |
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Book Review - Teenagers' Hero: Steve Rino's mammoth book from Italy has met with a mix of praise and criticism.
What is the real story about this release? Is the criticism justified?
Amber Smith (with Nigel Patterson) has explored the more than 400 pages and even more images in Teenagers' Hero, and brings you her detailed review of the release and a few choice words for those who have been critical! (Source: EIN, March 2009)
Read Amber's review |
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EIN Comment: EIN has now seen The Complete Works set and what a beauty it is! The packaging is superb. All 9 discs are colorful picture discs and the book, while slimline, is full of quality visuals from and information from the film (one of the visual highlights is a series of terrific shots of Elvis in his famous red shirt and belt). The strong box holds both the "Behind the Scenes" book and "The Shows"........a quad-foldout digipack disc compartment with great color visuals and backing imagery.
EIN is yet to listen to the audio discs or view the DVDs, but by all accounts, we will not be disappointed.
'68 At 40 Retrospective' book review: Joe Tunzi has teamed up with Elvis' 1968 TV Comeback producer Steve Binder to create a quality hard-backed book of 120 colour pages. The book, which features 8 chapters that examine all the different aspects of bringing this life-changing programme to air, is very stylish and beautifully laid-out. There is a real excitement in being able to study every stunning classic Elvis moment in detail and best of all are Steve Binder's recollections giving us yet more insights on this special event and all the tricky production decisions that he had to make a stand for. EIN's Piers Beagley checks outs JAT Productions best book so far.
Click here for our detailed review and images.
(Book reviews, Source;EIN) |
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ELVIS, Dave Marsh (Times Book/Straight Arrow Publishers Inc., USA, 1982, Hardback, 245 pages, Illustrated, ISBN: 08129094X. (Re-issued numerous times, principally in softcover format, since 1982)
On its release, either aggressively lauded as a masterful tour de force or a pretentious, overblown biography on Elvis. Marsh’s intellectual prose is certainly not to everyone’s liking but his ‘Elvis’ has stood the test of time exceptionally well.
Littered with great shots of Elvis in concert - several of the 1950’s visuals are dramatically symbolic of the enormity of Elvismania at its peak.
Marsh weaves an almost surrealist tale of a simple country boy thrust into an initially magical world of women and riches far beyond his wildest dreams.
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There are so many moments of rare insight and illumination in Marsh’s book that it is difficult to determine which, if any, are more important than others. The following text reflects both the power of the rags to riches success Elvis experienced and the countervailing forces opposing the liberation of a free, independent spirit in the land that pretentiously prides itself on the rights of the individual to free expression:
Superficially, Elvis’ goals had been realized. He was a star of stage, screen, radio, television and recordings, easily the biggest name in American entertainment, an international figure so persuasively attractive that in other lands, young people had begun to dream of the U.S. as the land where anyone might grow up to become not president but Presley, ruler of his own destiny. But Elvis’ act of self-invention was unwelcome at home. In addition to the media and social forces allied against the outbreak of hillbilly barbarism, there stood the United States government’s Selective Service System (conscription).
The author is both critic and sympathizer about the King of Rock and Roll and one suspects stands as most of us do, in awe of the incredible primal talent and impact that one man possessed and unleashed upon the world. Includes a solid bibliography. Some of Marsh’s analysis has been questioned in recent times (see in particular: Elvis After Elvis by Gilbert B. Rodman). Recommended. (Source: Elvis In Print: The Definitive Bibliography & Price Guide) (Oct 2008)
Availability: Hard to find, but copies often available through Amazon & Barnes & Noble
Comment on this review
Book Review - The Man Who Made Elvis Laugh: Sammy Shore's second memoir is filled with wonderful stories about his time with Elvis and the countless other celebrities who he either opened for, or were his good friends.
From Red Skelton, Bob Hope and Glen Campbell to Barbra Steisand, Sid Caesar and Ann-Margret, Sammy's memoir lives up to its by line of "A Life in American Comedy".
There are many delicious one liners and more involved jokes to keep the reader smiling as you engage in Sammy's trip down memory lane to a sadly by-gone era - the Golden Era of Comedy. (Source: EIN, Sep 2008)
Read EIN's full review |
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"Elvis If We'd Only Known" (Book Review): There are several categories of books about Elvis Presley. Some authors try to discover Elvis’s elusive character by documenting and analysing his every word and move. Some explore Elvis’s effect on other people’s lives. Other authors write about how Elvis affected their own lives. Yet other books are deliberate frauds, the authors claiming to have known Elvis in order to gain fame by association and to sell books. Authors’ motives vary considerably.
In this context, Susan MacDougall explores this little known book by Sandra Richards. Ms Richards falls into the third category mentioned above....but does it have merit and deserve our attention? Read Susan's review to find out. (Source: EIN, July 2008) |
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'Elvis '57: The Final Fifties Tours' Book Review: In 1957 Elvis performed in eighteen cities, including a short tour of Canada. 'Elvis ’57: the Final Fifties Tours' by Alan Hanson is a detailed look at these tours which started in Chicago and ended with the headline grabbing sensation of the LA Pan Pacific concerts and the final Hawaii trip in November. These would be Elvis' last live appearances before he left for his army stint and would help cement his place in Pop culture forever. This book is a sensational investigation into the phenomenon of Elvis in the fifties presented from a brand new perspective. The reviews from the time are exhilarating . .
"He clutches the mike and begins to sing, twitching all over. . . Up and down the stage he goes, dragging the mike like a captive, undulating, shouting feverishly.... Then his face sets, his lips curl back and seizing the mike by the scruff of the neck he prowls like a panther up and down the platform, snarling and driving his worshippers crazy."
EIN suggests that all discerning Elvis fans should invest in this thrill-ride. Go here for full review and photos.
(Book Reviews: Source;EIN) |
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Eric Zolov. Refried Elvis: The Rise of the Mexican Counterculture: Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999. vii + 349 pp. B/W illustrations, 2 tables, 2 graphs, notes, bibliography and index. $45.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-520-21514-6; $18.00 (paper), ISBN 978-0-520-20866-7.
Reviewed by: Mark D. Van Ells, CUNY-Queensborough/ Published by: H-PCAACA (May, 2000)
Although the social and cultural unrest of youth in the 1960s and 1970s was a worldwide phenomenon, scholars have written little about the interrelationship between youth movements in different countries or movements in developing nations.
In Refried Elvis: The Rise of the Mexican Counterculture, historian Eric Zolov of Franklin and Marshall College examines the impact of Rock and Roll music on politics and culture in Mexico. He shows how Rock music stood at the confluence of several potent forces: modernization, trans-national business, imperialism, and nationalism. He then elaborates on the effects of these forces in America's neighbor to the south. |
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Rock music first hit Mexico in the 1950s and grew popular among middle class youth, for whom it represented modernity and participation in an international culture. However, Rock music also had its critics; some complained that it represented a threat to traditional Mexican social and cultural values, while others saw it as an instrument of American cultural imperialism.
By the 1960s, Rock music had become a "vehicle for free expression" (102), and asserted the concerns of young Mexicans from all classes: the desire to interpret for themselves the meaning of Mexico's revolutionary history, the balance between nationalism and internationalism, and the meaning of democracy. A Mexican counterculture known as La Onda ("the Wave") emerged by the mid-1960s, which challenged traditional values and the ossified official memory of Mexico's revolutionary past. Fearing that La Onda posed a threat to its power, the authoritarian Mexican government suppressed the counterculture movement, including the infamous Tlatelolco Massacre of 1968. By 1980, Zolov contends, the Mexican counterculture had been effectively crushed and nearly forgotten.
Zolov describes the political and cultural milieu against which Mexican youth rebelled in exacting and convincing detail, but some phenomena usually associated with the counterculture in developed nations are discussed only briefly, such as drug use among young Mexicans. In fact, one wonders how accurate a portrait of the Mexican counterculture the Rock music genre can provide.
Would a history of Rock in the United States tell the whole story of the American counterculture and political protest movements? Zolov describes Rock as a "mirror" (10) that reflected the concerns of Mexican youth in a rapidly modernization nation. Whether that mirror reflected issues accurately or in a distorted fashion is unclear. Nevertheless, Refried Elvis is an important work.
It provides a wealth of detail on the youth movement in Mexico and highlights the myriad ways in which the world's peoples have been growing closer together, how a global popular culture has been emerging, and yet how domestic issues can still shape the nature of social and cultural protest movements. The book is an important step in the creation of an international history of "the Sixties" and the worldwide youth rebellion of the Cold War Era.
EIN note: Refried Elvis is an excellent examination of socio-cultural movement in Mexico in the context of rock music....with a number of healthy doses of Elvis, including those nasty rumors!
See "Why Mexico Hated Elvis"
Book Review - The Name Code: The God of Elvis Volumes 1 & 2: Complementing our interview with author Chris Matthews, EIN also publishes its review of his highly controversial and challenging books.
The Name Code trilogy, is in a sense, the Elvis world's own DaVinci Code. The books require serious intellectual rigour as they take one on a stunning journey traversing hidden name messages, the Hebrew language and the Bible.
For those willing to approach the controversial issues in The Name Code trilogy with an open mind there is a rich outcome.
(Source: EIN, May 2008) |
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Presley - Movie Icons (Book Review): Another Elvis photobook has been released.
Is it simply more of the same or does it offer value to the viewer?
EIN recently took a look inside to find out. (Source: EIN, May 2008) |
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Book Review: "Elvis' Secret Legacy": Elvis' Secret Legacy is a gripping fictional book full of action, adventure, excitement, humour, kidnapping, unseasonable weather effects and the paranormal. Step into a world of meditation, spirit guides, white light and auras...
Adding to the intrigue around this book is the author's real claim claim to having been Elvis' date at the Humes High Prom in 1952 and the book includes a photograph of the pair in support. But is all as it sems? Read Susan MacDougall's detailed review and make up your own mind. ! (Source: EIN, March 2008) |
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"Growing Up With the Memphis Flash" (Book Review): EIN reviewer, Susan MacDougall, recently delved deep inside Kay Wheeler's memoir of the heady rock 'n' roll 50's and her time with Elvis. Reflecting on Ms Wheeler's book in the context of a similar release by June Juanico, Susan offers insight into Kay's observations on important issues including how Hollywood changed Elvis and Colonel Tom Parker. Susan then gives her appraisal of whether or not Growing Up With the Memphis Flash warrants a place in our Elvis libraries.
Read Susan's full review
....Kay Wheeler’s book contains matters in common with June Juanico’s. Each different perception of Elvis is part of a mammoth jigsaw puzzle. Whether we’ll ever see the whole picture is another matter..... (Source: EIN, Feb 2008) |
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Elvis' intriguing family tree laid bare: Elvis' ancestry is an area rarely covered. Over the years it has assumed fascination for some as different stories have emerged as to the King's historical origins.
German ancestry has been widely suggested, and in recent years Scottish ancestry and familial relationships to people as diverse as Oprah Winfrey and US presidents suggested.
So what is the truth?
To answer that, one needs to read Ancestors of "Elvis Aaron Presley" 50 Generations by professional genealogist, Lorina Bolig. Published after more than 13 years of laborious research many of Ms Bolig's fascinating findings will surprise most fans. That Elvis has direct relationships to royalty....
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'Live In L.A' FTD Book/CD review: 'Live In L.A.' is FTD’s audiovisual documentary of Elvis in Los Angeles. Although it covers 1956-1976, the main focus of the book and bonus CD is the evening show at the Inglewood Forum, May 11th 1974. The book contains 138 pages with nearly every photo in colour. Supergroup Led Zeppelin were in the audience and Elvis needed to put on a good show - and the book gives fans a chance to relieve the feel of the concert through some excellent images of Elvis in action. Since it is a much slimmer volume than FTD's 'Rockin' Across Texas' and also containing some audio problems with the soundboard CD, fan reviews have been varied. Click here to read EIN contributor Armond Joseph's deeper investigation to see whether it is really worth the price. (Source: EIN, Jan 2008) |
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"In Search of Elvis" (Book Review): Regular EIN book reviewer, Susan MacDougall, recently sat down to take in the delights of Charlie Connelly's interesting book, In Search of Elvis. What Susan found was a well researched and entertaining book:
This is not a book about Elvis as such. Charlie Connelly set out on a physical journey to discover why Elvis remains an iconic figure to so many people of so many different backgrounds and where his spirit might be found.
Despite being written in a light-hearted, facetious and entertaining style, In Search of Elvis is well researched. For each location visited, Connelly provides description, historical context and his own comments. In fact, if it had an index, this book could almost be used as a guidebook to the various places. (Source: EIN, Jan 2008)
Read Susan's full review |
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"Elvis The Biography (Book Review): The first serious Elvis biography (Elvis A Biography) was published in 1971. Reaching the top of numerous best seller lists around the world, Jerry Hopkins biography of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was irresistible reading for millions of Elvis’ fans and those simply wanting to understand more about the 20th century‘s pre-eminent cultural icon.
It was followed in 1980 by a sequel (Elvis The Final Years), completing the remaining years of Elvis’ extraordinary but flawed life.
The 2007 edition of Elvis The Biography combines revised editions of the earlier two volume biography and adds new material advancing the Elvis story to the sale of EPE in 2005 to entrepreneur, Robert Sillerman.
Read EIN's review of arguably the definitive one volume Elvis biography |
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"Elvis, Sherlock & Me" (Book Review): Michael Hoey's account of growing up, working in, and meeting the stars of Hollywood is a wonderfully rich memoir and history of the film business covering the decades from the 40’s to the present.
Hoey deftly weaves among illuminating anecdotes about the industry and at times revealing profiles of some of its biggest stars including Elvis (Hoey wrote the screenplay for six of Elvis' films). There are two chapters about Elvis including some great anecdotes and interesting insights!
Throughout his memoir, Hoey maintains a colorful picture of a vibrant, multi-layered “Tinseltown” from its golden years to the, in its own way, equally fascinating culture of contemporary filmmaking.
Hoey's prose evokes dazzling images of the dramas, highs and lows, and stars of a magical industry which occupies the minds, bookshelves and DVD collections of most people.
Elvis, Sherlock & Me will appeal to both Elvis fans and lovers of film. (Source: EIN, DEc 2007)
Read EIN's full review |
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| The other Elvis lives!: Back in 1998, actor Steve Carlson, a veteran of series such as The Virginian and General Hospital as well as over 500 TV commercials, published the how-to tome Hitting Your Mark: Making a Life and Living as a Film Actor. But his latest work, the fictional novel Almost Graceland, is set to cause a whole lot of shaking with Elvis fans rather than Elvis impersonators.
It supposes that Presley’s identical twin brother did not die at birth, but rather lived to lead a separate life and eventually reunite with his world famous singing brother. The novel is set in 1977, with 42-year-old trailer park protagonist Ray Johnston deciding to sell his story to the tabloids. For Carlson, who could very easily rest in contented retirement in Oregon, it’s but the first of several efforts. Another novel, the romance crime intrigue Tracks, is set for release in 2008, while he is currently at work on a third book.
Chances are the fiction game will be far less lucrative for Carlson than the world of TV commercials. He tells the Wyoming Eagle-Tribune that writing the score and starring in the “Aren’t You Glad You Used Dial [Soap]?” commercial took care of ten years’ worth of house payments.
On the other hand, writing fiction is probably a piece of cake for Carlson compared to his days on soaps such as GH and The Bold and the Beautiful. “It's the hardest work there is,” insists the 64-year-old, who was born in Missouri but grew up in Wyoming. “One day, you could have 30 to 40 pages of dialogue, and the next day could be another 40 pages. You get good at memorization." (Source: FilmStew.com, 23 Nov 2007) |
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MRS release another winner!: The MRS organisation has done it again. Its Elvis Presley New York RCA Studio 1 The Complete Sessions DVD/CD/book (digipack) package is chock full of sublime audio, visual and narrative treats.
"And if they'd only known what was about to happen, most of the big brass RCA would likely have keeled over from heart attacks." (from the 'Elvis Presley New York RCA Studio 1' book)
The CD offers remastered and restored by Real Bouwman from high quality 24 bit/94k resolution!!! The album features 11 Master tracks, Elvis interviewed by Don Davis, and 24 intriguing session takes. The music is glorious, at times resonating with the searing power and energy of rock 'n' roll's King and at other times beautifully tender.
Buy "New York RCA Studio 1: The Complete Sessions" from HMV UK - out now!!
The recordings range from Blue Suede Shoes and Anyway You Want Me to Tutti Frutti, Don't Be Cruel and So Glad You're Mine. Also in the mix is Hound Dog, My Baby Left Me, One Sided Love Affair and I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry Over You; and when supplemented by 12 takes each of Lawdy Miss Clawdy and Shake Rattle and Roll listening is an absolute aural delight.
The CD also includes three bonus tracks: My Baby Left Me and So Glad You're Mine performed by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup; and Hound Dog from Freddie Bell and the Bell Boys.
The DVD-Audio in 5.1 Dolby Digital features the same tracks (bar the three bonus tracks) as the CD, remastered in high quality 24 bit 96 kHz sound accompanied by rare photographs. For those who have experienced the earlier DVD-Audio releases from MRS you know the very high quality on offer. For those who haven't experienced DVD-Audio this is your opportunity to listen to Elvis as you've never listened to him before!!!
The 68 page book features strong design and high quality paper stock. There are many rare photographs from the famous Alfred Wertheimer Elvis Archives as well as some from the Joseph A. Tunzi Archives; archival session material; and a blow by blow account of Elvis' recording process in the studio.
The visuals are a stunning mix of b&w and color including a knock-out color shot - watch the female fans swoon (page 13) and a hauntingly expressive double page b&w image (pages 56-7).
EIN will publish a full review of Elvis Presley New York RCA Studio 1 The Complete Sessions shortly. (Source: EIN, 13 Nov 2007)
"Elvis: A King In The Making" (Book Review): The Alfred Wertheimer photo archives is arguably the most famous Elvis visual collection in the world. And while the master photographer was only with Elvis for a relatively short time, the visuals he captured offer a timeless exposition of the young King of Rock 'n' Roll Elvis at his peak.
And finally, Wertheimer's magnificent photographs have been released in a way which does them proper justice.
Elvis: A King In The Making was recently released in Australia and New Zealand. What EIN found was the best photo-journal release of 2007 and one of the strongest Elvis book releases in many years! Read our full review |
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"Faux Elvis" (Book Review): The world of Elvis fiction is a particularly rewarding one in which the recent release Faux Elvis is an intelligently constructed and valuable addition. Its themes and believable characters have a broad appeal - from the casual fan to conspiracy theorists who want to debate the events of August 16, 1977.
Faux Elvis is also unusual in that it is a work of historical fiction, where fact and fiction are blended together. The result is a most satisfying one.
Delightfully written, Faux Elvis is an entertaining and absorbing read. ( Source: EIN, Oct 2007)
Read EIN's full review of Faux Elvis
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"Judgment & Grace in Dixie": In this reissue of his study first released in 1995, eminent Southern studies scholar Charles Reagan Wilson takes us on a tour of popular faiths and iconography in the South.
The book is wide-ranging, insightful, and well-written, and it will satisfy the curiosity of any reader interested in such common phenomena as roadside crosses, football as Southern secular religion, and Elvis relics. Wilson takes as his objects of study a range of popular texts that are both well-known and of interest in their own right, including literary figures such as William Faulkner, painters and visual artists such as Howard Finster, and country music legends like Hank Williams.
One real strength of Wilson’s book is that he combines careful accounts of Southern religious history with his analysis of these iconic cultural texts. He notes that Southern popular religiosity involves a merger of civil and religious imagery in a range of cultural expression. Tracing the influences of evangelical Protestantism, Calvinism, and popular folk religion (and supernaturalism) historically in Southern regional culture, Wilson establishes the complex ways in which popular religion informs Southern expression. |
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From the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame and Museum at Dollywood to the Bear Bryant sports myth, Southern religious-inflected practices and artifacts are a crucible for such region-shaping ideas as nostalgia for a Jeffersonian agrarian ideal. Wilson establishes how his popular and literary texts reflect racial tensions and negotiations as well as unifying mythologies that are constantly being questioned. He also shows how the influence of religion in Southern rituals illuminates ways of dealing with everything from mortality in the practices involving communal observances of deaths to the ideals of beauty circulated in beauty pageants.
One particularly fine chapter on themes of death in country music scrutinizes familiar recurring tropes and concerns in this mass media form seen as, as Wilson notes, “one of the clearest expressions of southern working-class culture.” Wilson notes numerous songs about accepting death as a fact of life (given historically high mortality rates in the South) or as a daily part of a working class existence. He draws out the association between the “live hard, die young” tragic lives of country stars such as Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers to their cult of personality and songs about celebrity deaths, but also frames them as iconic examples of a regional culture that expects death.
As Wilson catalogues, other country songs address tragedies of unrequited love and death ("He Stopped Loving Her Today"), the impact of death on family units, the need to square one’s accounts before going to meet your maker, or even the on-going influence of folk religion supernaturalism ("The Devil Went Down to Georgia"). He underscores a recurring trope stemming from some of the biggest early country music standards (coming out of early Gospel), in which lyrics focus on the hope of the promised land ("I’ll Fly Away").
Throughout his study, Wilson offers smart arguments about the links between Southern worldviews and Southern popular religious history. He engagingly details a mass expression of spirituality in key popular culture artifacts and practices. He cites Flannery O’Connor, who noted that “the South was Christ-haunted”, and he succeeds in his goal of explaining how this observation holds true and plays out in Southern cultural expression. (Source: Leigh H. Edwards, PopMatters.com, Oct 2007)
"Leaves of Elvis' garden (Book Review): On her return from Elvis Week 2007, Susan MacDougall sat down to delve inside the latest book from Larry Geller, one which looks at Elvis' spiritual search. What Susan found was both interesting and challenging, as these excerpts from her insightful review attest:
Behind the distorted image of a hard-living rock and roll sex symbol and super star is revealed a vulnerable man with a thirst for understanding and enlightenment.
Elvis believed that there is one God who is within us all..........At the same time, Elvis never rejected his religion, only its rigid adherents and their intolerance of any deviation from the accepted word, remaining a Christian his whole life, but not a Christian to the exclusion of anything else.
In closing her review Susan observes: "Leaves of Elvis' garden" provides a whole different side to the public image of a celebrity. Geller was never the Memphis Mafia's favourite person, but they can't deny his existence and his access to Elvis. I wonder what certain members of the MM will make of this book? I challenge them to read it. Read full review (Source: EIN, Sep 2007) |
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"Contract with the King" (Book Review): Contract with the King is the debut novel for Paul Pullen. It is a superb piece of storytelling with finely drawn characters and a strong moral center.
As you read Contract with the King you find emotional challenges and emotional highs and lows which have personal resonance. At times humorous, at times symbolic, from the opening few pages you know you are in for an entertaining ride.
The key narrative premise, the kidnapping of Elvis Presley, is so well realised that the reader....Read full review (Source: EIN, Sep 2007) |
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"The Gospel Side of Elvis" (Book Review): EIN's Nigel Patterson recently explored this new book (due for release in the US on 13 August).
What Nigel found was a very entertaining, insightful and somewhat different look at Elvis, and the role gospel music played in both his life and musical development. (Source: EIN, 11 August 2007)
Read EIN's review |
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"Elvis: in the twilight of memory" (Book Review): June Juanico holds the distinction of having been one of Elvis' girlfriends in the mid 1950s as he became famous.
Susan MacDougall offers her views on Ms Juanico's impressive memoir. With subjects as diverse as food, sex and how Colonel Parker tried to sabotage their relationship, Elvis: in the twilight of memory is a thoughtful, well-written book giving us a window onto events in a pivotal year of Elvis's life when he was on the brink of fame and fortune. (Source: EIN, July 2007) |
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'Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley' Book/DVD In-depth Review: The DVD contains recently discovered unreleased film of Elvis performing 6 songs, including ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ and ‘Don’t Be Cruel’, live in Tupelo Mississippi 1956. It is fascinating to see Elvis performing to hometown crowd of 10,000 instead of a TV studio audience and we get to see the only filmed performance of 'Long Tall Sally’ live in the fifties.
The limited edition book written by Tupelo historian Roy Turner contains over 200 photographs of Elvis in Tupelo many previously unknown. EIN's Piers Beagley investigates this historically important record of "Elvismania" near its peak. (Source: EIN, 11 June 2007) |
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"Elvis, Linda and Me" (Book Review): While millions of Elvis fans fantasized what it would be like to know "The King", Jeanne LeMay Dumas lived that dream. As Miss Rhode Island, Dumas met Miss Tennessee - Linda Thompson - at the end of the 1972 Miss USA Pageant. The two formed an instant and lasting friendship...one which saw Jeanne become a regular part of Elvis' inner sanctum as she experienced an unforgettable four and a half year odyssey!
Step inside Ms Dumas's book as Mandy Squair discovers a visual and narrative treat which will delight many fans. (Source: EIN, 8 June 2007) |
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"Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley" (Book/DVD Review): EIN has received the latest release by Joseph Pirzada. Does it live up to expectations?
The answer is a resounding YES!
The set is an historically important record of "Elvismania"near its peak. And the incredible "live" concert with both sound and vision will blow most fans away.
Read EIN's capsule review (Review, Source: EIN, 5 June 2007) |
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"The Elvis Conspiracy?": Did Elvis have to die? Following Elvis' death in August 1977, his Chief of Security, Dick Grob, commenced a detailed investigation of the circumstances surrounding the King's passing.
Join EIN as we delve inside one of the biggest books ever published about Elvis. With nearly 700 pages, Grob's investigation of the circumstances surrounding Elvis' death reads like a mystery story, full of intriguing twists and turns as it proceeds towards its conclusion. ( Source: EIN, May 2007)
Long out of print, copies of this sought after release are now available from The Elvis Conspiracy? website |
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| Elvis and his Police buddies: Nearly 30 years after the death of Elvis Presley, you'd think every possible book had been written about the late King of Rock-and-Roll.
And you'd be wrong. Retired Memphis Police Department Captain Robert Ferguson has compiled Elvis: In the Beat of the Night, an interesting book that focuses on Elvis' friendship — some might even call it an obsession — with police officers. The entertainer liked to hang out with policemen, collected police badges wherever he traveled, and enjoyed being made an honorary policeman in any city where he performed.
Ferguson explains that shortly after Elvis’ death in 1977, he began taping video interviews of many of the local officers who knew Elvis, from officers who met him at the beginning of his career to those who helped at his funeral. Those tapes might have remained hidden forever, but when biographer Peter Guralnick interviewed Ferguson for Last Train to Memphis he persuaded the former policeman to compile the interviews into the self-published book.
Visit the book's website |
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In his introduction, Ferguson says, "Everybody who lives in Memphis has an Elvis story. So I decided to document mine." Ferguson met Elvis at one of the King's first concerts in 1954, and became a police officer in 1958. He began hearing stories about how Elvis enjoyed hanging around cops; Elvis, it seems, actually thought of himself as a police officer. Several times, says Ferguson, the singer even rode along with police officers as they made their rounds.
The book includes photographs, maps, and interviews with dozens of officers who met and worked with Elvis from the late 1950s until his death in 1977. "The interviews are mainly from the rank-and-file officers," says Ferguson, "since they are the ones with whom Elvis had the most rapport. Elvis didn’t want to be a chief or a sheriff; he wanted to be a policeman, and this identified himself with the patrolmen on the force."
Elvis: In the Beat of the Night presents a side of Elvis that hasn’t really been told. "Elvis was a down-to-earth person in our presence — a man who just happened to be famous," says Ferguson. "He actually appeared to be in awe of us, rather than the other way around. It was a special time that none of us will ever forget, and I'd like to share it with you."
The book is available for $14.95 from Davis-Kidd Booksellers and Borders, or it can be ordered directly from Robert Ferguson, 901-380-8411. (Source: Michael Finger, Memphis Flyer, 2 May 2007)
| Bill E. Burk's Elvis World #83: EIN recently took a peek inside the latest issue of Bill Burk's long running quarterly magazine. From an informative article on the American Studio Sound Sessions to the deluge of Elvis products planned for the 30th anniversary and a photo article showing Elvis really is everywhere, we found "something for everybody". Take a tour of what is in the latest issue with EIN. (Magazine Review, Source: EIN) |
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"Elvis and Kathy" (Book Review): One of the most sought after Elvis books ever written is Kathy Westmoreland's "Elvis and Kathy". With copies selling on eBay for up to US$500.00, and book dealers listing it at prices as high as $999.00, this is one book many fans want.
Susan MacDougall recently delved inside the Westmoreland memoir. She discovered that Kathy loved Elvis deeply and went through emotional traumas adjusting to being only one of the many women in his life. She was determined not to be just another victim and came out the stronger for it.
Read Susan's detailed review of a touching and informative book.
(Source: EIN, March 2007) |
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"Aloha Elvis" (Book Review): The sequel to Jerry Hopkins' "Elvis in Hawai'i" was recently published and EIN spent time exploring what it has to offer.
What we found was surprising.....but not necessarily for the right reasons.
Read EIN's review
(Source: EIN, March 2007) |
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Elvis at 21: New York to Memphis (Book Review): Finally, a book which does proper justice to the exquisite photographic images of the young King of Rock 'n' Roll captured by Alfred Wertheimer in 1956.
Quite simply this release is an outstanding example of how to present a photo-journal!
Elvis at 21 New York to Memphis was the stand-out book of its type in 2006 and one of the best Elvis book releases in many years!
Join EIN's Nigel Patterson as he explores the absolutely stunning visual feasts this book has to offer. ( Source: EIN, March 2007) |
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A Tale of Two Cooks: Susan MacDougall recently indulged in a little Elvis culinary delight as she savoured the treats offered in two disparate books by two of Elvis' cooks at Graceland: Elvis Beyond Graceland Gates by Mary Jenkins, and Inside Graceland Elvis' Maid Remembers by Nancy Rooks.
Together, these two books provide a fascinating glimpse into the private life of Elvis Presley at Graceland . Mary Jenkins and Nancy Rooks were daytime employees at Graceland, both starting out as maids and later taking on the role of cook. Mary started in 1963 and Nancy in 1967. They worked together for several years and recount unique individual experiences as well as overlapping anecdotes. Read Susan's full review (Source: EIN, March 2007) |
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"Memphis Recording Service Vol. 2" - 2006's #1 release (Review): If you thought MRS1 was a superb release...be prepared...Memphis Recording Service Volume 2 (MRS2) has lifted the bar to another level!
A sublime mix of book, audio and video DVD, and 7" single, Joseph Pirzada has thrown down the gauntlet to Ernst and his upcoming Sun project.
Chock full of great photos, historical content and 40 enhanced audio tracks MRS2 is an absolute delight! And the amazing earliest known video footage (in full color) of Elvis as an up and coming new star in May 1955, will blow many fans away.
Read EIN's full review of "Memphis Recording Service Vol. 2" (Source: EIN) |
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Elvis Decoded - A Fan's Guide To Deciphering The Myths And Misinformation (Book Review): Finally a researcher has spent years of investigative research getting to the bottom of the myriad of myths and misinformation which have affected the Elvis world since The King's death in August 1977.
Patrick Lacy is to be congratulated on Elvis Decoded, a powerful, if at times imperfect, decimation of many of the unfounded theories and claims that have been the fodder of an eager tabloid media and an even more eager Elvis underground movement. Read EIN's detailed review (Source: EIN, 1 Feb 2007) |
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"We Remember, Elvis" (Book Review): Susan MacDougall explores the pages of the revised edition of Wanda June Hill's book, We Remember, Elvis.
What Susan finds include some explosive allegations which are sure to split fans and raise the ire of the Memphis Mafia!
Some of the issues uncovered by Susan are: Was Elvis a drug addict? Was he drugged against his will? Were members of the Memphis Mafia controlling? Was he sexually profligate? Elvis' generosity and compassion. Is Wanda June Hill's book genuine?
Read Susan's in-depth review to find out more (Book Review, Source: EIN) |
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Book Review - "The Elvis Reader": Susan MacDougall delves inside The Elvis Reader, a selection of writings by a variety of authors. It ranges over all facets of the Elvis myth - the Musical, the Mythical, the Southern, the Physical, the Mortal, and the Metaphysical Elvis. With an introduction by Mojo Nixon, articles from the New Republic and Harpers sit alongside essays and book extracts.
The writers are journalists, authors and academics, including: James and Annette Baxter, Stanley Booth, Van K. Brock, Jay Cox, the infamous Albert Goldman, John Lardner, Richard Middleton, Maureen Orth, Clark Porteous, Priscilla Presley, Janet Winn, and Charles Wolfe.
What merit does The Elvis Reader hold? - do we can develop our own discernment and critical thinking, or we could become swamped by the bewildering number of different view points and find it hard to decide where the truth lies? Read Susan's detailed review to find out more (Source: EIN, Jan 2007)
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Library Journal reviews Jerry Schilling memoir: "In 1954, Schilling had a chance meeting with Elvis Presley at a Memphis pickup football game. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, which eventually led to Schilling's entry into the strange and exciting Presley entourage in 1964. Here, the author vividly describes meeting the Beatles, Eric Clapton, Richard Nixon, and basketball great Wilt Chamberlain; tripping on LSD with the King; and sitting in shock with Elvis as they watched the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on television.
Throughout, Schilling treats Elvis evenhandedly, focusing on their friendship but not ignoring the drug problems, isolation, and creative vacuum that killed Presley. The King comes alive once again as a romantic, sensitive, caring, and sometimes childish and moody man in a bubble. Refreshingly, the author reveals as much about himself as Elvis, showing how the tinsel lifestyle transformed him from a well-meaning, wide-eyed, obedient kid to a divorced adult wanting freedom and a career. Schilling has captured the aura and grim realities of life with one of the most important American icons of the 20th century. One can only hope that he will follow with a book about his post-1977 life as a manager of the Beach Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, Rick Nelson, and Billy Joel. Highly recommended for all types of readers.-David P. Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information". (Source: Library Journal, USA, Jan 2007) |
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Read EIN's review of Me and A Guy Named Elvis
| E.P. in Concert (Book Review): EIN was fortunate to recently obtain a copy of this legendary book by Paul Lichter. Does it live up to its hype as one of the best, if not the best, book about Elvis' concert years from 1969 to 1977? Read EIN's detailed review to find out the answer. (Source: EIN, Dec 2006) |
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| "Elvis The Louisiana Hayride Years 1954-56": EIN recently had the pleasure of exploring this book. What we found was an historic treasure trove of impressive narrative and stunning visuals - an enlightening journey which evokes the fun, tension and passion of life experienced by Elvis on the Hayride. (Source: EIN, Dec 2006) |
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The "Love Me Tender" Years Diary - (Book Review): How important is Trude Forsher's diary memoir in the Elvis Presley story?
EIN delves inside a book which differentiates itself from the pack, offering a first-hand account of Elvis and the Colonel at the height of "Elvismania" ... a book which is supported by historic documents straight from the offices of Elvis Presley Enterprises.
This is a... (Source: EIN, November 2006) |
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'Inside G.I. Blues' - Book Review: An Elvis Unlimited production written by Megan Murphy & Henryk Matraszek, with a stylish design by Kenneth Dokkeberg along with some research from Ger Rijff. EIN reviews this deluxe box-set, which also a bonus DVD & even a promo 45rpm, and presents some example images from this very appealing book. Is this book one of the best of 2006? (Source: EIN, November 2006)
EIN has only 2 copies left of this great set. Best price in Australia/NZ |
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The Elvis Interviews (Book Review): What do a mysterious southern sheriff, a car thief disguised as an Elvis impersonator, the Japanese Yakuza, the mafia, a locked metal briefcase, a couple of beefy goons, and a washed-up investigative journalist on the brink of a major breakthrough...all have in common?......A Pink Cadillac...THE Pink Cadillac Elvis bought for his mother in the 1950s. So forms the underlying premise for the latest intriguing Elvis novel.
EIN's Nigel Patterson recently submerged himself in Glen Bonham's fast paced adventure story which interlaces its Elvis theme with an assortment of interesting characters and a plot line which twists and turns from page to page. Read EIN's review (Source: EIN, 26 Oct 2006) |
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| "Me and a Guy Named Elvis" (Book Review): EIN's Nigel Patterson recently lost himself inside the pages of Jerry Schilling's long awaited memoir. In our detailed review of the book we discover a celebration of life and one special friendship. Schilling's memoir is generously laced with the familiar, the not so familiar, several amazing revelations, and wonderful doses of humor. (Source: EIN) |
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| Elvis was King of Rock and Roll: William O"Brien gives his take on the richly textured new Elvis biography by Charles Ponce de Leon. From Vernon's incarceration and the role of Colonel Tom Parker to Elvis' decline into a world of paranoia and drug addiction... (Source: Altus Times) |
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| Fortunate Son (Book Review): Charles Ponce de Leon's biography on Elvis could well be the Elvis book release of 2006. Susan MacDougall offers an insightful review of what is a considered and thought provoking release which, unlike many other biographies, places its subject within the social, economic and historic parameters of his time and examines the triggers for his behaviour and actions. In so doing, the reviewer explains why de Leon's book has merit beyond the generally accepted definitive two volume Elvis biography by Peter Guralnick. (Source: EIN, September 2006) |
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'Elvis Presley: The Man, The Life, The Legend' - book review: Written by Pamela Keogh, this is the first EPE authorised Elvis biography. Printed on high-quality paper and with a good selection of beautiful photos, the writing has a suitable urgency that reflects Elvis' own life. But do we really need yet another biography? Piers Beagley investigates. (Source: EIN, September 2006) |
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'THE KING' by Jim Piazza - book review: If you are looking for something extraordinary amongst a zillion Elvis books then this is it. Way over-the-top and so large that it will never fit on your bookshelf, this 160 page glossy high quality, high-style book is immense. Even though the fabulous photos are the key to the book, author Jim Piazza does include some pertinent text and observations. August (and now early September) is EIN's book month so don't miss out on the opportunity to check out some images from this unique book. (Source: EIN, August 2006)
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Book Review - "Elvis and Popular Cinema": The Elvis film is an area few reviewers have taken seriously. An exception is, "Elvis Cinema and Popular Culture".
As EIN discovers, author Douglas Brode has stepped outside the square to "reframe" our focus on what the Elvis film was, and is, all about. In so doing he has written a fascinating book traversing a wide and eclectic range of themes in the context of radical transformation in America and an icon of mythic proportions around which much of that socio-political transformation was played out on the big screen.
Well argued with cogent examples, the result is a potent and challenging mix of innocence and primal change. It is an illuminating journey examining where the "reel" ends and the "real" begins. Read our full review |
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| The Blue Moon Boys: The Story of Elvis Presley's Band: EIN's Nigel Patterson delves inside this release and discovers a side to the Elvis story which is often overlooked. It is an important story rich in detail and one which adds to our understanding of both Elvis and the development of rock 'n' roll. (22 August 2006) |
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Book Review: "LIPS" by Byron Edwards: EIN's Nigel Patterson took a road trip across the USA and into Mexico as he travelled with Elvis and a cousin trying to stay one step ahead of the law.
Read what Nigel discovered in Byron Edwards' highly readable Elvis novel, a quirky mix of evocative imagery, adventure, and innovative narrative. (11 Aug 2006) |
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| "Banner Days": what do one of pro wrestling's original divas and Elvis have in common? Quite a lot as EIN found out when it delved inside Penny Banner's highly entertaining biography. The pair dated in the 1950s and Ms Banner shares details of their relationship with us, as well as taking us behind the scenes of what is now called sports entertainment. Read EIN's review |
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"Fairytale": The idea that Elvis did not die in August 1977 has spawned a mini-library of richly diverse and controversial, fiction and non-fiction titles since the late 1970s. The most well known books are of course by Gail Brewer-Giorgio, who left the Elvis world several years ago to pursue other interests.
In the fiction area, one book highly sought after by collectors is the anonymously written, Fairytale. In a thorough and insightful review of the book, Susan MacDougall (Presleys in the Press) dissects its meaning and explores its themes and merits. |
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| "Elvis American Idol": Elvis was undoubtedly the original American Idol. But does this latest book offering from Susan Doll differentiate itself from the rest of the Elvis book pack and is it worth its asking price? EIN delves inside this "book brick" release and delivers you the answer. (Source: EIN, July 2006) |
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| "Fortunate Son - The Life of Elvis Presley" book review: Here is a short review by Publisher's Weekly about this new book which is for releasse in the US on 25 July: Elvis was "influenced by the products of a national mass culture" until he became one of that culture's greatest icons while creating a sound that wove together various strains of music from Southern whites and blacks. …the personal details are packed tightly into a psychological reading that sees Presley's downward spiral as an attempt to escape the pressures of fame in "an alternate universe governed by his own whims and predilections." Ponce de Leon's portrait is sympathetic, confidently defending Elvis from those who would brand him a racist, but this is all just reinforcement, not reappraisal.” (Source: Publishers Weekly, 18 July 2006) |
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| "The Ultimate ELVIS IN MUNICH Book" (Book Review): EIN recently had the privilege of stepping inside one of the greatest 'coffee table' books ever released about Elvis. Stunning and very rare visuals complement great investigative research, as author Andreas Roth uncovers the truth about Elvis' visits to the German city. With high production and design qualities, text in both English and German, and a mine of valuable information, this superb book should be essential reading and viewing for all fans. Read our full review (June 2006) |
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Rivaling Goldman: "Elvis Through My Eyes" - Book Review: Earlier this year there was a tirade of online messages and opinion decrying this new book by Heart Lanier Shapre as told to her by Jimmy Denson. As a result of all the negative publicity, online sales of the book spiked as fans wanted to find out what all the fuss was about. At the time of the outcry, EIN had a copy of the book coming by 'slow boat from China'.
Having now arrived, EIN's Nigel Patterson spent a sunny Sunday sipping boat drinks and being alternately riveted to the page and repulsed by a book which rivals the despised Albert Goldman biography in its senstationally revisionist account of the Elvis story. Venture inside a dark fairytale with EIN as our review explores the world of the Lauderdale Courts 'Forrest Gump', a genetically babyfied male requiring daily protection from the oppression of life around him...and, if you believe the story, luckily the Denson brothers were there to provide it. (Source: EIN) |
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THE KING. By Jim Piazza (Mini Book Review): Elvis World's Bill Burk has this to say about "The King" by Jim Piazza:
" This is a humongous book in outer size -- 15x17.5 inches (38x44 cm)! Never seen an Elvis book, or ANY book, with this large an outer size. When it came to us in the US Mail, the box looked like the Queen Mary had docked on our front porch ! It's 160 pages and was introduced at $70 last Christmas. EW was approached on the idea of selling it at a much lower price. We bought a copy to review it ... and have decided against selling this book. Reasons. (1) It is much larger than any shipping envelope we even are aware of. Packing would be special (and costly) for each book. And (2), even a quick scan thru the pages shows sloppy editing (Ginger Alden being ID'd as Linda Thompson, for instance). The book is filled with photos, but most have been seen in about every general release Elvis book since 1848 !! The number of rare photos is so small it is not worth the price of the book for this few. It was a great idea -- this oversize -- but it just ain't flying. COMMENTS welcomed from anyone who has a copy?" (Source: Bill E. Burk) |
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| "Memphis Recording Service" - simply stunning book and audio release!: Joseph Pirzada's Memphis Recording Service delivers fans an exquisite and well balanced offering of visual, aural and narrative elements in a superbly designed fold-out package. EIN takes a detailed aural and visual trip inside one of 2005's finest Elvis releases. (Book/Audio CD Review, Source: EIN) |
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Elvis and the Memphis Mafia: The re-issue of Alanna Nash's superb oral biography is long overdue. Justifiably acclaimed as one of the best ever books published about Elvis, the 792 page tome presents the recollections, views and emotions of three prominent members of the Memphis Mafia: Billy Smith, Marty Lacker and Lamar Fike.
Regardless of the tension sometimes inherent in the differing views presented in Elvis and the Memphis Mafia, it is always engrossing and continually offers us gold nuggets of information which add immeasurably to our understanding of the man who was Elvis Aaron Presley.
There is also great poignancy and sincerity in Elvis and the Memphis Mafia, and the reader's emotions will often flow from joy to laughter to anger and sadness. Such is the wonderful and illuminating way in which Alanna Nash has captured and presented her potent narrative. Click to read EIN's full review (Source: EIN) ....3 reader comments |
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| The King's Ransom (Book Review): From the archives of Russ Howe, Tom Salva and Bud Glass, comes this well designed and gloriously illustrated catalog of personal treasures once owned by Elvis. EIN has a peek inside. (Book Review; Source: EIN) |
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| Graphic novel "takes care of business": Rich Koslowski's masterful graphic novel, The King is a thematically adult mystery and adventure story with well drawn characters who wring out an emotional response in the reader. "The King" is a powerful, off-beat story full of humour, challenge and revelation. (Book Review, Source: EIN) |
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| For "All Things Elvis" you want The King by Jim Piazza: This is the ultimate tribute book, a gorgeously designed rhinestone-studded keepsake filled with little-known biographical and anecdotal information and crammed with hundreds of photos and illustrations, including movie stills and posters. "Romps through the decades, highlighting Elvis events with a chronological time line floating at the top of each page, while amusing anecdotes punctuate a striking selection of magazine covers, paintings, photos, posters and other entertaining ephemera, from cinema curiosities to Elvis imitators. Paging through, readers encounter an explosion of sidebars with revelations such as that a suicide note ('I walk the lonely street') inspired 'Heartbreak Hotel.'" (Book Review, Source: Publishers Weekly, 27 Oct 2005) |
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| Book Review - "The Year the Music Changed": The Year the Music Changed is rich in emotional depth and the insecurities of life. Diane Thomas has infused her debut novel with a powerful realism which lingers in your mind long after you have put the novel down. (Book review, Source: EIN) |
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Playboy: the Byron Raphael claims - Bill E. Burk responds: Dry humping "Nipper" on stage, the size of Elvis' genitals, and The King's "relationship" with 'gay' actor, Nick Adams, are several of the issues Elvis World's Bill Burk tackles in his review of the controversial article in Playboy, In Bed With Elvis. (See earlier reports 13, 14 & 15 October) (Magazine Review, Source: Bill E. Burk, 20 October 2005)
| Desert Storm: The Shattering Of A Myth (Book Review): This is the most controversial book about Elvis in years. The strength of Desert Storm is its willingness to openly confront and seriously question widely accepted positions in the Elvis world. The reader doesn't have to accept all of the author's arguments but if read with an open mind, the book is a rich and rewarding experience. (Book Review, Source: EIN) |
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| Elvis On Stamps: The world of Elvis stamps is a visually colorful and expressive one. EIN takes a look inside Ronald King's glorious hardcover release devoted to the subject. (Book Review, Source: EIN) |
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| "A Tribute To The King" (Book Review): Dennis Uithol's 20 page visual tribute to Dutch tribute artist, Frank Anthony, is an unusual but visually entertaining entry in the world of Elvis related photobooks. There are only a handful of releases which focus on the Elvis tribute artist and even fewer which offer a striking visual record of an artist in action, live on stage. Uithol's booklet occupies both realms. (Source: EIN) |
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| Elvis-UFO Connection-Non-fiction Account of Alien Intervention (Book Review): In the world of Elvis literature there are a number of very obscure titles. Elvis-UFO Connection is one of them. Author Richard Daniel examines the theory that Elvis was consciously aware of repeated and continual abduction by alien beings. EIN gives its view on the merits of this highly unusual book. (Source: EIN) |
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| Behind The Image Vol.2 - Welcome To His World (Book Review): The front cover promises "never before seen photos" and 90% of this book is just that. A beautifully presented, hard cover book, featuring 144 pages of high quality glossy colour and black & white photographs plus some fascinating stories, this is an absolute must for Elvis fans. (Source: EIN) |
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| Elvis on Screen (Book Review): EIN takes a peek inside the latest photo book from Japan. How does it measure up against some of its famous predecessors from the 'Land of the Rising Sun'? (Source: EIN) |
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| Warman's Elvis Field Guide (Book Review): The first half of the book essentially looks at The King's life and career through an eye pleasing series of color and b&w photos and the second half details his American record (vinyl) releases, with catalogue details and a price guide. But how good is it? (Source: EIN) |
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| Dewey and Elvis - a phenomenal story: Louis Cantor's recent book about the eccentric Memphis deejay, Dewey Phillips, and his relationships with Elvis and the other Phillips, Sam, is a story full of humor, pain and spirit. It adds real value to our understanding of the Elvis legacy and is arguably the best Elvis book of 2005 and one of the best of all-time. (Source: EIN) |
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| New books examine impact, role of Southern music, performers: While many books have been written examining various aspects of Southern music and the accomplishments of noted performers, new volumes from James L. Dickerson and Paul Simpson take divergent but equally informative and compelling approaches to spotlighting both the region's, and Elvis', importance. (Book review, Source: Nashville City Paper) |
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'Rockin' Across Texas' (FTD/Book review): Over 270 pages featuring plenty of unpublished photos along with fascinating tales of Elvis' early years, 'Rockin' Across Texas' is the biggest project by FTD so far. However since it is an upgrade of the 2002 book 'Elvis In Texas', this time combined with two concert CDs from 1974 & 1976, EIN checks to see if it is really worth the money. (Source: EIN) |
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| Elvis by the Presleys (Book Review): With such heavy world-wide publicity can the new book really live up to expectations? Do Lisa Marie or Priscilla reveal any new secrets about the King? Is the book full of unseen photographs? EIN Elvis expert Sanja Meegin reviews the new Presley memoirs. (Source: EIN) |
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| Book review - "Elvis Presley's 78's around the world": Andre Helling has done a masterful job of putting together information on more than 900 releases from countries as diverse as Columbia, Mexico, Britain, Japan, Uruguay, Pakistan, the Philippines, the US and New Zealand. (News, Source: EIN, March 2005) |
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| Elvis The Man and his Music: If you are interested in investigating the more serious side of Elvis, then this quarterly magazine, 'The Man & His Music' is one of the very best. EIN looks inside the latest issue. (Review, Source: EIN) |
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| Book review - "The Elvis Handbook": EIN takes a peak inside the latest Elvis photobook targeted at the general market. With very high production values, insightful text and some great photos, The Elvis Handbook is a reading and visual pleasure. (Book Review, Source: EIN) |
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| The Presley Arrangement (A Novel): Monte Nicholson's famed novel has finally been reissued. EIN takes a look inside what is a strong mystery thriller with a potent conspiracy laden underbelly. |
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| The Rough Guide to Elvis: Piers Beagley tells us why the updated edition of Paul Simpson's book should be an essential part of every Elvis fan's library. (Book Review, Source: EIN) |
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| The Elvis Album: Re-release of this book by Millie Ridge should please many fans. EIN takes a look inside what is an impressive and competively priced photobook. (Book Review, Source: EIN) |
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| The Memphis Lullaby 'A Play Script': Linda Ann McConnell's play has been described as a powerful, intimate account of the Elvis life story that will please many fans. EIN offers its views on an unusual entry in the world of Elvis literature. (Book Review, Source: EIN) |
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| The Elvis Archives: Is Todd Slaughter's latest book a case of hype over substance? David Neale has definitive views! His review will get you thinking. (Book review, Source: David Neale) |
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| The Tupelo-Memphis Murders: A Psychological Study of Self-Destruction and Murder!: ElvisBookResearch says "A very different Elvis book that is challenging, cryptic and confusing. You simply won't have read anything like it before. Be prepared to get totally hooked and to never look at the Elvis story in the same way again!" Check out their full review of one of the most controversial Elvis books ever released. (Review, Source: ElvisBookResearch) |
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Elvis Sessions III: EIN's Piers Beagley probes inside a "fascinating but ultimately flawed" release from Joseph Tunzi. Does the book live up to its US$75.00 price tag? Piers offers more than a few thoughts. (Book review, Source: EIN)
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| Such Vicious Minds: EIN dives inside the fourth instalment in Daniel Klein's entertaining series involving Elvis Presley, super sleuth. (Book Review, Source: EIN) |
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Elvis My Dad: How does a 14 year-old book about The King's daughter rate today? Is it worth buying? EIN takes a look inside the first biography of Lisa Marie Presley. (Book review, Source: EIN)
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| Elvis No. 1 The Complete Chart History of Elvis Presley: Joseph Tunzi's detailed compendium of Elvis' immense impact on the USA music charts will be welcomed by all Elvisphiles. Despite one weakness this is an important release chock full of historic chart information. (Book review, Source: EIN) |
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Raised on Elvis! Elvis! Elvis!: EIN takes a look inside one of the best ever memoirs from someone who became a friend of Elvis. With rare photos and many great stories written in an easy going, engaging style, Raised On Elvis! Elvis! Elvis! is a book all fans should enjoy. |
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| Secrets of Elvis' record collection: the June 2004 issue of Britain's excellent Record Collector magazine featured a very interesting article about what is in Elvis' personal record collection. It provides a great insight into Elvis' eclectic musical interests with many titles sure to surprise fans. (Review, Source: EIN, 3 August 2004) |
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| Spectacular Look at "Elvis Fashion": Julie Mundy has produced a visually stunning record of an aspect of Elvis' life rarely discussed in any detail. With insightful text and "in-your-face" full page photos, fans will love this book. |
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| Child Bride: The Untold Story of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley: Who is Priscilla Presley? EIN reviews Suzanne Finstad's colorful and never boring biography of a woman who splits the Elvis world. Fans either love or hate Elvis' former wife. There appears to be no middle ground, and what Child Bride offers will have you challenging your views about not only Priscilla but also Elvis!
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| Elvis Rock 'n' Nassau: a playful smile, a poignant look, Elvis with arms flailing, knees bent, body cocked! This is a great photobook. |
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John's Pocket-Movie Elvis Presley:
This small-sized "flip book" suddenly appeared on auction sites last year. Before this no-one seems to have known about the book. |
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It is marked "Copyright 1957 Elvis Presley Enterprises All Rights Reserved".
The flip-book is a 'frame-by-frame' of Elvis poolside in Jailhouse Rock singing You simply flip it from the back to front using your thumb and the result is a moving image of Elvis from the film.
So is this a genuine 1957 release or a clever new millennium hoax? While the design of the book (old style font, old style stapling, faded paper, absence of publisher details) makes it look old, the tell-tale sign is that it is not listed in any Elvis memorabilia or collectables listing!
And the fact that suddenly "numerous" copies have turned up on ebay.com strongly suggests it is a much more recent production than a 1957 publication. Unfortunately some fans are bidding (and winning) the item thinking it is a genuine 1957 collectable and in the process paying much more than it is really worth. Click to comment on this review
| Viva Las Elvis (Peggy Thompson): EIN looks at a small-sized, overpriced compendium of Elvis facts and quotes. |
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Elvis His Most Intimate Secrets: Does this book live up to its title? EIN takes a look inside.
| Inside Loving You: Ger Rijff has done it again! His latest photo-journal is a high quality product with superb design and chock full of rare, interesting photos and historical items. |
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| Eating the Elvis Presley Way: Despite its unflavoursome cover, this is a healthy look at Elvis' eating habits with dollops of down south charm and rich humor. |
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| The World According To Elvis: Clare Flowers has written a surprisingly good biography of The King. Not perfect, but offering some fine insights, quotes and plenty to think about. |
Tears of a Shadow: Stella Patchouli's memoir is a fascinating story. From the night clubs of Paris to the beds of international film and music stars, and finally Graceland, this book will captivate your attention.
Elvis' Religious Side Examined in New Book 'Prayers of Elvis':
Religion was a very important part of Elvis' life and Madeleine Wilson has written a fitting record of this aspect of The King's life.
"Three Way Dance" - Battle of the Elvis Photobooks: EIN compares three new Elvis photobooks.
"The Mysterious John Crow Recordings": Is it really Elvis? EIN examines a little known, baffling mystery in the Elvis world.
Elvis & You: A Comprehensive Look at the Elvis World:This "fan pleasing" release is a case of "something for everybody", as it crams a vast amount of eclectic information between its covers.
Elvis: The Hollywood Years (David Bret):
Publisher's Synopsis - This comprehensive guide to Elvis Presley's career on film and TV analyses the King's every celluloid appearance, including his 33 films, documentaries, TV appearances, tributes, biopics and retrospectives. Accompanying this exhaustive study is a biography of the legend and a complete filmography.
Elvis: The Hollywood Years uncovers a wealth of previously unpublished material and presents photographs from the author's personal collection. In his research, the author delves into the archives to reveal what really happened behind the scenes or when the cameras stopped rolling; the cat fights with directors and co-stars.
The truth regarding the relationship between Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis is exposed and the controversial allegations that Presley slept with his own mother, raped his wife, held wild sex and drugs parties and left a fan brain-damaged are explored. This is the essential study of the man who virtually invented rock'n'roll and certainly inspired thousands of imp! er! sonators and obsessive fans. Invaluable to anyone with an interest in popular culture.
EIN's comment: "Elvis: The Hollywood Years" is a book that lives up to the publisher's claims. It is undoubtedly one of the best books ever written about Elvis' film career and the other territory it explores is fascinating.
Pieces Of My Life: EU's new Elvis photobook suffers from inconsistent image quality but offers good value for money given its excellent book design and relatively low price.
Playin' Around The Lives and Careers of Famous Session Musicians: Jennifer Ember Pierce's excellent examination of the often faceless men who back our musical superstars is a fascinating read. And there's plenty of Elvis too!
Caught In A Trap: Why is this photobook worth buying? Piers Beagley gives you the reasons!
The Elvis Treasures: this deluxe edition with removable items is a glorious, coffee table release designed to delight fans.
Elvis A. Eagle: A Magical Adventure: ostensibly a book for children, Carl Sinclair's tale is rich in characters and meaning and will appeal to readers of all ages.
Heartbreak Hotel (A Tribute to the King in Verse): EIN reviews a book of contemporary poems about Elvis written by one of Britain's leading poets.
Elvis Presley: the new Elvis biography by Bobbie Ann Mason is a rare entry in the world of Elvis literature - as an intelligent examination of Elvis and his impact on the world it goes beyond the superficial and prosaic offerings of many other books.
Elvis Day By Day The Definitive Record of His Life and Music: Peter Guralnick and Ernst Jorgensen have collaborated to write a monumental record of the life and career of Elvis Aaron Presley.
Elvis in Hawai'i: the latest book by noted Elvis author, Jerry Hopkins, may not be as narratively detailed as his earlier books about The King, but nevertheless offers fans a visually pleasing look at its subject matter and a solid record of Elvis' love for and career in the island state.
Elvis A Radio History from 1945 to 1955: Aaron Webster's detailed look at the importance of radio in Elvis' early years is full of rare facts and archival material. This is a very welcome release.
Elvis In Canada: Bill Burk provides a visual and narrative record of Elvis' only live concerts outside the USA, and as usual, "007", dispels the odd myth or two.
Elvis' Karate Legacy: EIN reviews a book devoted solely to one of Elvis' great passions in life, karate.
From the City of Brotherly Love to the Big Apple: the latest "quality" hardcover photobook from Paul Lichter book is a real gem.
"Schmelvis": In Search of Elvis Presley's Jewish Roots: part adventure story-part humor, this unusual release (based on the documentary film of the same name) is well worth a look.
Elvis The #1 Hits: Patrick Johnson has written a great companion to the smash hit CD, 'Elvis 30 #1 Hits'.
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Elvis (Theresa Celsi): Ariel Books/Andrews and McMeel, 1993, Hardcover, 80 pages, ISBN: 0836230450
This is a small-sized hardcover offering a "thumbnail" biography and "thumbnail" photos from Elvis' career. |
While the text is minimalist Ms Celsi does at times manage to capture essential themes in the Elvis story such as the impact on Elvis of the death of his beloved mother, Gladys. However, overall her text is too brief to do the Elvis story justice.
For instance, the author gives very little coverage to Elvis in the 1970s:
"The last five years of Elvis' life were much the same as they had been since he became a superstar. He was fabulously wealthy..." On his live performances in the 70's: "One of his concerts was beamed from Hawaii all over the world. Another was attended by all four Beatles who were thrilled to finally see onstage the man who inspired them"
The book also includes a short chapter listing films and theater productions based on or inspired by Elvis. The photos (b&w) are very good, clear and shiny on the gloss stock used in the printing process.
Verdict: Commensurate with its size this release is value for money if you find it with a small retail price. Click to comment on this review |
