Book Description

The Essential Elvis is the story of the King of Rock 'n' Roll and his effect on music through an analysis of 112 essential performances that defined his career. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A FITTING TRIBUTE TO THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING
There have been 4,567 books written about Elvis, mostly by people who have never known him, but whose third cousin's sixth-removed niece might have once dated Elvis' former schoolteacher's third wife. Then there's "The Essential Elvis." What makes this book so different is that Samuel Roy and Tom Aspell trace Elvis' life and legacy through personal history as well as 112 of his most significant songs. The book doesn't proclaim to be an expose or definitive history (it's neither); what it is is a clear portrait of the Man Who Would Be King, told through behind-the-scenes knowledge that uncovers and pieces
together the story of a man, his times, talent and cultural influences. And the 20 photographs -- many of which have never been published --- add a nice touch.

A tribute to the King!
This excellent book is about what was most important to Elvis and his fans: his songs and music. One of the most significant things the authors said about Elvis is the following words: «The first and best thing that can be done for Elvis Presley is to lessen the emphasis that has been placed on his later years and focus on the talent and genius that define the King.....one of the reasons for his demise was because he cared and felt too much...it got to the point that being Elvis Presley was one of the hardest jobs in the world». I agree completely with the authors and, as a fan, my only wish is that this book will make the people, who don't respect Elvis, see the light...

An Essential Book
"The Essential Elvis" is an intelligent, thoughtful exploration of Presley's music from 1954 until his death in 1977. It's an important and much-needed book that concentrates solely on Presley's artistry. Authors Samuel Roy and Tom Aspell break free from the ill-informed mythology of most Elvis books by re-examining Presley's work in provocative, exciting ways. You may not agree with all of the writers' assessments, but it encourages you to track down the 112 Elvis recordings listed in their book. This publication is a valuable, long-overdue critical assessment of the King and his musical legacy.

It sounds like a good angle to look at Elvis' music.
It sounds like a good angle to look at Elvis' music. I'm looking forward to its publication! And I plan on picking up a copy as soon as possible! ... Read more

Book Description

In the fall of 1954, author Valerie Harms met Elvis after a concert in her high school auditorium. As Elvis toured Texas that year, she got to know what Elvis was like and she was even kissed by him. At the suggestion of a local disc jockey, Harms and her friends started a fan club, possibly the first. Elvis gave them photos, signed cards, and read the letters sent to him.

When Elvis Presley died, Valerie Harms resurrected her memorabilia of encounters with him and published the story of his life. More deeply than any other book, Tryin' To Get To You: The Story of Elvis Presley explores the early years of his life: his poor childhood in rural Tupelo, Mississippi, his teenage insecurities in a big city high school in North Memphis and early successes in the South.

Elvis Presley changed American culture with a new style of popular music; one based on country ballads, the gospel hymns of his youth, and the black rhythm and blues he heard as a teen. Tryin' To Get To You takes the reader behind-the-scenes of Elvis’ short, meteoric life and reveals his true personality.

Reviews (2)

Been a long time...
I read this book when I was in 7th grade, which was.... oh, let's see... I'm 30 now... so that means I read this book approximately seven billion years ago. Or so it seems. Anyway, I also wrote a report on this book for English class. The book was okay, but to this day I remember one glaring error: the author named Elvis' first post-army film "G.I. Joe." Of course, that title should be "G.I. Blues." Hopefully that error has been corrected in this new edition.

author speaks:
In the fall of 1954 I was 14 and living in the very small town Stamford, Texas, where Elvis came to sing, accompanied by Scotty and Bill. Elvis had just recorded "That's All Right, Mama" and Sun Records would produce four more in quick succession, as Elvis toured around in his pink Cadillac. The night he appeared in our high school auditorium (tickets $.25), he wore ivory shirt, slacks and shoes. I had never been to a "concert" before but I was totally crazy about him from the start. A couple of my friends and I rushed backstage and got his autograph. We stayed up late that night gushing about his music, smile, and unusual Adonis-like appearance. In the early morning we heard where the guys were eating breakfast, and we rushed over. He invited us to join them.

As Elvis toured Texas that year, we went too and always were invited backstage. I got to know what Elvis was like then and was even kissed by him. In between stops we had energy to burn and the local disc jockey (wisely) suggested we start a fan club. Elvis gave us photos, signed cards, and read letters that came to me.

This book was first published after Elvis' death and is now restored to print by a special program of the Authors Guild. That's me in the cover photo standing to Elvis' right. ... Read more

Book Description

Sylvia Plath, 1932-63. American poet and novelist, established her reputation by the courageous and controlled treatment of extreme and painful states of mind. The volume covers the period 1960-1985. ... Read more

Book Description

Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon are two of the most important and controversial figures of the twentieth century. Although fame came to them in very different ways, they rose from very similar backgrounds of poverty to seek the American Dream. These two remarkable men both had to face falls from grace, but while Nixon rebounded from Watergate to regain a reputation as a distinguished elder statesman, Elvis was destroyed by the pressures of fame, only to have his image restored after his death. Here, for the first time, the remarkable parallels in their lives are examined, balanced on the point of their historic December 21, 1970, meeting. Their similarities and differences as American icons are analyzed, and numerous photographs, including all those taken during their meeting, are included. Together, the stories of these two men form part of the essence of American culture. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Truth is stranger than fiction!
This book tells of two men who made history , One in politics and the other of course in music, Both lives of these two men who met are explored into great detail with some simarlarites ??

You will have to buy the book to understand that one ? This is a factual account of then President Nixon and Elvis Presley meeting not once but twice to discuss the direction of America?

Enjoy!

This is a fun book!
Although my mom wrote this book, don't take my review as biased. It is just a really good book! Anyone who wants to know more about Elvis and Nixon should read this book. Although I am not much of a non-fiction reader, I found this book to be informative, enlightening, and a little bit amusing. The reason I say "amusing" is because picturing either of these so-call "distiguished" men doing the things described in this book is enough to give anyone a good chuckle. This book is a quick read, has great information, and is very well put together. The whole experiance of reading this book is fun!

A lot of Nixon in an Elvis-book
This book by Connie Kirchberg and Marc Hendrickx examines thelives of two Americans fulfilling the so-called AmericanDream.

Both made it from rags to riches. There are a lot of similarities in the way these two persons made it to the top, but of course also differences. This book handles both. By writing the biographies of these two people who briefly met in December 1970, the authors try to paint a picture of two lives which seem to have a lot more in common then expected. For us, more familiar with Elvis than with Nixon, there were some interesting eye-openers on the last one. Although we couldn't get rid of the idea that some of the comparisons are a bit sought for. More interesting than the exact comparisons between the two man making it to the top in their own field (becoming 'The King' and the president of the USA), are the differences after making it to the top and what happened then.

As we all know Elvis made it to the top and lost his spot at the top because of the addictions that led to his death. The last couple of years only his loyal fans kept him 'on top' by still buying his records and going to his shows (even if they were not the quality they once had).

We also know the story of Richard Nixon, making it to the top of the (Capitol) Hill and tumbling down on the other side as a result of the 'Watergate' scandal. Both persons made a 'comeback', and we're not referring to the TV special with the same name. But there are differences. Nixon became a 'respected elder statesman' and was rehabilitated in the eyes of the general public. He lived to enjoy that. Elvis' rehabilitation came after his death. There are three moments most people remember what they were doing when it happened: the first man on the moon, the shooting of Kennedy and the death of Elvis, this does say something on the man and his achievements. Unfortunately he wasn't able to enjoy it.

A great pro of the book is that describing the lives of these two people from birth we also get a lot of information on Elvis parents, something which isn't seen in too many books and a nice extra for Elvis fans to complete their 'picture' of Elvis' entire life. Another nice feature of the book is the appendix in which a lot of documents and pictures surrounding the Presley - Nixon meeting are presented...Our conclusion:

'Elvis Presley, Richard Nixon, and the American Dream' is an interesting book since it goes into the backgrounds of the lives of two men we all know, the 'American Dream' is the red line used to tell the stories of these two people. These backgrounds add some interesting views on the youth of Elvis dealing with a lot of rumours surrounding his upbringing. Besides that, the view from which this book is written is different from other Presley-books which makes it also interesting. For those like us, primary interested in Elvis, we must mention there's a lot of 'Nixon' in this book about Elvis' life and achievements, but we admit to be narrow-minded...

Astounding parallels between the lives of Nixon and Presley
This book gave me a great amount of insight into the lives of both Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon which I did not know before reading. The lives of Presley and Nixon, from their upbringing to their metoric rise to fame and success, had many surprising, unseen parallels which this book explained very well. The way the book is written, comparing the lives of Presley and Nixon as they grew and evolved, really illustrated to me how similar the course of events which lead to their rise and fall were to each others. This book is an interesting read as well as a thoroughly researched text which I would recommend to not only the Elvis or Nixon buff, but any person who wants insight into the climate of the late twentieth century ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive collection of 59 songs, including: Blue Suede Shoes * Can't Help Falling In Love * Hound Dog * In The Ghetto * Love Me Tender * and many more. ... Read more

Amazon.com

We'll obviously never know what would have happened if Elvis Presley's twin brother hadn't been stillborn. Perhaps companionship wouldn't have fostered Elvis' creative side, maybe the two would have been sensations as the Presley Brothers, or any of a number of scenarios. By contrast, Peter Whitmer advances the notion that Presley's status as a "twinless twin" was a defining characteristic in the superstar's life. It drew him inexorably close to his mother, a relationship which shadowed his every move. Whitmer offers a bank of statistical evidence to his point and supplies an unusual look at one of our culture's most examined but misunderstood figures. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Interesting perspective but sometimes far fetched
A different and valuable analysis of Elvis Presley presenting the basis for his behavior in later life. I found a great deal of it plausible and very helpful in my understanding of the man. However, much of the reasoning seemed contorted and overextended with rambling, sometimes disjointed and overworked passages. It was like listening to Allen Greenspan before a congressional committee. I felt that the author made some conflicting statements. Most difficult for me to accept was the degree to which Elvis's life was supposedly shaped by the death of his twin at birth. But then I'm no psychologist.

A Fascinating Read
I read this book AFTER reading the 2 book biography of Elvis by Peter Guralnick and I think that is how best to read this. While Guralnick gives the 'definative' story of Elvis and what happened to him, I think "The Inner Elvis" explains the WHY of it all. There is in this book the 'missing link' the explanation of why, and how Elvis was so affected by the early years of his life and the psychological effects of such things as his mother's over protection "enmeshment", his dead twin brother amongst other things. This book, I found, was a fascinating read but if you haven't read the full biography of Elvis' life and were looking for it here then there's a lot of detail missing, but that isn't what the author intended, I believe. His point and explanations are very well made & I rate this a 5 star read.

A brilliant exploration into the mind of a music icon
The Inner Elvis was, for me, an identical twin, like reading a highly suspenseful mystery or spy novel. I devoured each page, each new pyschological insight.

As the author reveals through extensive research of events, interviews, recordings, Elvis Presely was, in large part, shaped by his lost (br)other and their one source, their mother.

Dr. Whitmer's "discovery", so to speak, of the origin of Elvis' unique musical style is nothing short of brilliant, spot on. I am sure music critics and scholars would scoff at his view but as an identical twin and a musician I understood it perfectly.

I look forward to any further explorations Dr. Whitmer may pursue in the psychological study of twins.

A great read.

Charlie Wine ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Review of "Elvis Presley, the King"
I love Elvis. In fact I think he is the best singer who ever lived.This book is the best book I have ever read in my whole life.It tells all about his life and how he got famous.Elvis was more than a singer.He acted inmovies too. He started out poor and got very rich. A lot of people likeElvis. This is a good book for anybody who likes Elvis. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Read, but with caution.
I am a 59 year old Elvis Tribute Artist, but I am also a Christian theologian with a Ph. D. This book is worth reading and has many good insights into Elvis' spiritual journey.
However, I find it dishonest in omitting or discrediting what many other good authors have said about Elvis' daily life. There is little mention of Elvis'profanity and lusting and even his pills. There is absolutely no mention of Rex Humbard or J. D. Sukner's influence on his life in the Christian vein of his spirituality. The author's view is that of Larry Geller an the praise of New Age meditatiion. Although Elvis did meditate, he did abandon many of the other disciplines the religion taught. I was surprised that Jess Stearn admitted that Elvis' focus on the last weeks was not on reincarnatiion, but on the resurrection. It is a shame that J. D. Smuner opinions (his admitted best friend for the last 7 years) are not included. Therefore, we cannot draw any conclusions about the real Elvis from this book. Beyond his faults, I think that Elvis truly believed that Jesus was Deity and that he had a mission to benefit mankind. ... Read more

Book Description

Lucas Myers was a friend of Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Hughes' sister Olwyn, Assia Weevil and Hughes' widow Carol. His memoir draws on his forty-year correspondence with Hughes (now in the Hughes archive at Emory University) and discusses Birhtday Letters, the late Poet Laureate's collection of poems about Sylvia Plath and their marriage, and Plath's recently published complete Journals 1950-1962. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Avoid at all cost!
This book contains more errors than Pierce's "The Ultimate Elvis" and many errors are simply inexcusable as they are to do with the films that are basically the subject of this so-called "encyclopedia." There are even errors in the plots and the character and actor names! Information about recordings is even more error-filled and further information one would expect to find in a book with this title is simply non-existant -- the vast majority of Elvis's co-stars are ignored and yet there are entries for Gracie Fields and Mae West. Film synopses are reasonable, the rest (including many of the illustrations) is rubbish! ... Read more