Elvisin Print

"Herinneringen" is Dutch for "memories." This A4-format paperback is a good basic biography, excellent for the newer fan. Plenty of b/w illustrations, including some unusual ones for this sort of book, though they are not always well reproduced. Very good. But who wrote it?

Unusually shaped little book (a sort of small 45 RPM single) containing the basic info and facts and figures in its 127 richly illustrated pages. Published by the same company as "Elvis: The Legend" and much of a muchness, too -- it's just that this is a bit bigger.

1962 British look at Elvis. Lots of photos, little text, and what there is is peppered with errors: Elvis's twin brother was called Aaron; he died after about two months; Elvis took his name; Elvis's parents were both orphans when they married; they were members of the Fundamentalist Assembly of God church; he first recorded ballads with Sam Phillips for use on a local radio station. Still, at the time it was wonderful!

Great cover on this attractive Dutch book, which also contains plenty of photos, most of which are, unfortunately, not optimally printed. Text is better than average career history, and includes references to unreleased numbers from the earliest Sun sessions up to the Memphis sessions.

Quickie bio and photo album published shortly after Elvis's death. Lots of B/W illustrations which are, for the most part, poorly printed. Career is covered from '53 to '61 in 26 pages, followed by a single paragraph for the period to '68 (!), and then another 36 pages for the years until his death. Surprisingly, the text is quite good!

It is disgusting that a book presumably aimed at instructing children (see the name of the publisher) should contain such basic errors and blatant untruths. That not enough research is done so that Mort Shuman's name becomes "Shulman", that Elvis's grandmother became "Dodger" because she ducked out of the way of a baseball bat he threw at her (heck, his parents probably couldn't afford a baseball bat!) -- you get the idea -- doesn't say a great deal for a "scholastic book." Furthermore, the text often denigrates those from the Southern states. The last sentence of the book reads, "Anyone writing [another Elvis book] ought to have their head tested!" The author is a case in question! Best left on the shelf.

Excellent general review, given the publishing date of 1976. Gladys dies too young and Tom Parker was an American, but who knew much defferent then? Great colour pics and some good comments from a British viewpoint.

Proudly calling itself the "20th Anniversary Edition", this book was originally published for the 15th Anniversary! They wouldn't be trying to cash in, would they? Well illustrated, large format book, with cursory overview of life and career. William Allen is none other than W.A. Harbinson, author of "The Illustrated Elvis" (also published as "The Life And Death Of Elvis Presley"), "The Legend Of Elvis Presley" and "Elvis: An Illustrated Biography", by the way. What's in a name?

Large format, well printed book with good illustrations. Includes short, but useful review of ancestry on both sides. Good extensive biography. One of the better "coffee table" books.

One of the smallest hardback Elvis biographies. Measures just 3 in by 3.75 in. Illustrated, too! Nice curiosity. But for an even smaller hardback, see "Elvis: The Legend".

Nothing surprising about this coffee-table style book: the standard biography and illustrations. Does include a chapter showing some of the tackiest memorabilia, though! Same as "Elvis: His Life And Music."

According to Goldman, Elvis never really learned to play the guitar, and Goldman's major observation regarding Elvis's grave is that the eternal flame "appears to have blown out." Goldman tries to drag Elvis down to his own level and displays an almost racial attitude to the Southern states. In fact, the book is as much Lamar Fike's as Goldman's, being based on Fike's revelations to Goldman. Best thing about this book is the dust-jacket!

See reference to hardback of same title.

Biography of Colonel Parker is amusing in its fantasy! Rest is a more than decent review of Elvis up to 1970. This book is used by many others as the main or only source of reference. Unfortunately, not documented.

Good quality printing and photos. Blooper: photo credit "The King and his Colonel", but the other guy is not the colonel! Rest is pretty standard stuff, including My Happiness being recorded because Gladys's birthday "was approaching." Nothing to write home about!

A superbly put together attempt at a serious look at Elvis's life. Still one of the best of this "coffee-table" format and far better than most other formats, too!

Throwback style tribute magazine, featuring several articles, each handling a particular aspect of Elvis's life/career. Little serious research, given the inclusion of stale old stories about Elvis winning second prize as a ten-year-old and making his first record for his mother's birthday. Plenty of illustrations in colour (sometimes hand-coloured, sometimes incorrectly) and b/w, though often with inappropriate (or incorrect) captions.

2nd edition, this time with new publisher and updated to include years up to 1997. Still the very best general review of Elvis's life and still such a pity that it does not include an index.

Almost encyclopaedic look at the life of Elvis, year by year. The author claims to give only the facts, without making judgments. Good photos, many appearing for the first time. If this book were in English, it would be considered the definitive work (there is a French translation)!

Elvis's life and the influence of his mother. Interesting and detailed family history. Probably one of the very best books about Elvis -- superbly researched and written. Good read and a MUST on every fan's bookshelf!

Superficial Dutch biography issued shortly after Elvis's death, written as a novel.

Unusual way of presenting Elvis basics. Almost comic-book in style, it covers the roots of rock'n'roll, including economic and social influences. And is that a previously unseen photo of a very young Elvis on page 9?

Very good general biography and commentary, profusely and well illustrated with rather more than the usual bunch of photos. Nicely written and well researchd, despite the few errors that fell through the sieve. Good stuff;

Lightweight, well-illustrated look at Elvis's association with and love of Hawaii.

Todd, secretary of the OEPFC of Great Britain, had this book published in 1977, not knowing that shortly after publication, Elvis would be dead. He closes with, "Elvis Presley's mortal future will be as big a mystery as his immortal past..." Little did he know! Anyway, it's a good basic biography and very readable.

Book is in CD format (CD Books). Text contains numerous errors (e.g. photo of Elvis in Germany labelled as at the gates of Graceland; Elvis wore a tuxedo and sang Hound Dog on the Johnny Carson show; his first record was made for his mother's birthday (inexcusable for a book first published in 1994); photo shows Elvis on motorbike with Nick Adams, captioned as with Scotty Moore...). Good photos, UK discography, review of UK and US chart positions.

Nicely produced quickie bio, presumably from 1977. Abundantly illustrated, some illustrations in excellent colour. Includes full review of all films.

Dutch translation (original title not indicated), issued as part of a series covering the history of pop music. Profusely illustrated (though the photos used are highly predictable) basic bio. In spite of the date of publication, it would seem they missed the "big event," as there is no mention of Elvis's death.

Well illustrated biography, issued in October 1977. Includes a chapter entitled "TheFinal Confession of Elvis," purporting to be his final person-to-person interview, made in June 1974.

Illustrated very early Dutch biography, incredible in its innocent inaccuracy. Just about every "fact" is incorrect and parts of the book are pure fantasy, but it remains a wonderful example of what the fans of the time expected and is an indication either of how much nonsense could be sold, or of just how little was actually known.

A really nicely produced original biography from Estonia, apparently produced to celebrate 1999 - 2000 Elvis In Estonia (but my knowledge of Estonian isn't enough to be 100% certain!). The title translates as "Elvis Presley, Life and Music of The King." Superb cover, great colour pics on inside cover flaps, great selection of black-and-white pics to supplement a well-printed text on good paper.

Translation from original German. Unusual format biography, resembling an LP and containing some good illustrations, many quite arty. Includes a synopsis of each film, recording information, collector's items. Pity about the poor translation and the language errors.

Superficial biography. Far too short to be of any real interest to anyone who knows anything about Elvis. Might spur the curious to look deeper into the phenomenon that is Elvis.

Excellent potted biography, dealing as much with Elvis the person as Elvis the entertainer -- his inner struggles, his conflicts, his attempts at self-improvement and ultimately his alienation, whilst still trying to reach his fans. Shakespeare would have been hard put to write a better tragedy, but this is fact, not fantasy.

Fast-paced biography, part of the "People To Know" series, aimed at the youth and written in appropriately simple English (American English). Sadly, although the main facts are there, too many errors in the details mar the book.

Great cover pic taken from 1968 TV Special to this brief, but good bio, which is almost a pocket guide to Elvis's life with just 144 pages, including index and lists of records, films and books, and illustrations. Aimed at the younger reader. A few errors mar an otherwise good effort. Pity about the picture of the author in a jumpsuit and sneer on the back!

Nicely produced, well researched and well written biography that shows Elvis to have been more than a simple entertainer. The man was inventive, had a great sense of style, a perhaps untapped intelligence (all those books!). Places Elvis well in context and is a worthwhile addition anyone's library, despite EPE's involvement.

Just five double-page pop-up spreads make up this impressive, though expensive book (well, it comes in its own slip-case, and is "officially licensed by Graceland"...) of LP format. Very brief bio (including a couple of bloopers) accompany profuse, but predictable illustrations, which are advertised on the slip-case as "rare"!

Danish short review of Elvis's life, including A-Z, told in first person.

A strangely rambling look at Elvis's life, career and influence. Includes interviews with an early Elvis tribute artist and an ABC radio VP. Discography (US) and filmography (interesting because of contemporary reviews). Pity about bio errors (but in 1978 they probably didn't know better!) and poor setting (plenty of misprints and even several displaced pages!). Unusual, difficult to find.

Richly illustrated, almost textbook biography. Slightly embellished introductions preface several of the twelve chapters, each of which covers a significant period in Elvis's life and career. A couple of errors in illustration captions and text, but otherwise an excellent basic introduction to Elvis for new fans and non-fans.

Beautiful coffee-table book, lavishly illustrated and excellently printed on high quality, heavy, glossy paper. Accurate biography, too! One of the best coffee-table format books and stands up well against other formats! Recording and film information only in passing. Well indexed.

1977 magazine-type tribute book, originally priced 99p. Well illustrated straightforward biography, in which the Sun start gets well warped, but the rest is reasonably accurate, though superficial.

Same as "Elvis" by the same author, but published with different cover and as part of 4 CD set of same name.

1977, presumably rushed, but reasonable biography. No sensationalism and many facts. Perhaps too superficial for real fans, but a good introduction to the life of Elvis.

Another example of the Great Elvis Book Scam in that this is exactly the same book as Doll's "Elvis: Rock'n'Roll Legend", only the title and cover are different. A shame that a publisher must resort to such tactics.

Coffee-table type book, with good text and equally good selection of photos, some of which are seldom printed. But be warned: see also "Elvis: Portrait of the King" -- it's the same book!

Has several parts: a superficial, biography, nevertheless covering all main points, save for films, which are handled in Lichter's "Elvis In Hollywood"; a good review of the concert years, including a full chronological list of appearances; a discography, complete for the US market (at the time) and including references to foreign releases and bootlegs. Well illustrated.

Well, there's nothing like an original title, and this is nothing like... Anyway, this is a small, but profusely illustrated biography, printed on good paper and with a first full-page photo that simply cries out to be framed. Bio has some errors (the usual "second place" myth and the not unusual incorrect spelling of Ann-Margret's name), but is so superficial that it really doesn't matter!

Coffee-table type bio. Good selection of illustrations, sadly spoilt because several pics are printed in reverse, as is clear in those showing Elvis playing guitar left-handed, including one on the title page -- inexcusable! -- and some badly reproduced. Captions are also sometimes inaccurate (pic from GI Blues labelled as from Love Me Tender; pic of Linda Thompson labelled as Ginger Alden). Text is light, pretty superficial and even continues the myth of second place in 1945! Confusing use of LP covers to accompany text. Indexed, but not well. Avoid.

A very basic biography, copiously and well illustrated, but sadly marred by a chapter on Elvis impersonators. The bio seems generally well researched, though a couple of unnecessary errors have slipped through -- Charles Bronson was not Elvis's gangster rival in "Kid Galahad" for heaven's sake and is it really that difficult to find Elvis's correct army serial number?! The book is accompanied by a CD of "Elvis interviews and reactions," which perhaps helps to justify a fairly hefty price tag.

A "Tiny Tomes" book that lives up to its name by being the smallest book ever about Elvis, measuring just 47 by 58 millimeters! Despite its size, it contains the basic information, though also has a few bloopers in its 127 profusely illustrated pages: only 45 gold records, for instance, but the biggest blooper has to be the statement that more than 7,000 people visit Graceland each year -- make that 700,000 Ms Lannamann!!

Given the publication date, a quite excellent and very well illustrated general biography and career overview. The "birthday gift" myth is brought into doubt, Tom Parker is Dutch, and some unusual pics are included. A good section on the continued interest in Elvis is included, too, even though this was just 6 years after his death and many people never thought that such interest would, indeed, continue. Clearly a British bent on the whole, but that was seldom a bad thing in the Elvis fan-world.

Good looking, well-illustrated Australian overview of the life and career of the man himself. Really, it's a book in magazine format and is better than many books to boot! As an added bonus to what is already an excellent publication, it came with a free "Platinum: A Life In Music" sampler CD. Could you ask for more?

A simply excellent biography that places Elvis in context during all periods of his life. No padding, no nonsense, a straight-to-the-point, excellently written book that everyone should read, both fan and non-fan. Top marks.

Special edition put out by the Belgian "Joepi" magazine. Usual bio with usual errors (only here, Elvis won the talent show!), but packed with photos, B/W and colour, mostly well reproduced. Not at all bad!

Early (1962) British look at Elvis, an "Elvis Monthly Special." A brief biography and career overview, a quick look at the films made up to the time, and a "full Elvis song list (every song Elvis has ever recorded -- 183 songs in all)." Illustrated in b/w, except for colour illustration from Kid Galahad on cover.

Brief though thorough basic biography, marred by a number of highly avoidable errors (e.g. Jerry Lee lewis was not a black pioneer of rock'n'roll and he didn't record before Elvis; Elvis's brother's name was not Aaron!!). Some interesting comments, though the author's insistence that Elvis could hardly play guitar is ridiculous, given his excellent rhythm-guitar work which formed the backbone of the early Sun releases. Nicely illustrated (B/W), though some illustrations seem peculiarly out of context.

As far as I am aware, the only Basque book about Elvis! The title means "Plastic Flowers For The King". It is fity percent biographical and fifty percent fictional: author Xabier Montoia travels from Euskal Herrie to Graceland, remembering other musicians and visiting places of musical interest. Xabier Montoia is not only a Basque writer, but also a Basque pop-rocker: he founded one of the the most famous punk-ska groups "Hertzainak", and the best Basque pop group "M-ak", and he now plays solo, with 3 CDs to his name!

Well-meant, but inaccurate and shallow biography. Nicely illustrated, but this edition is poorly printed. A little more research and this could have been a decent book. Given the publication date, perhaps it was rushed out in order to make a quick profit following Elvis's death. As it is, hardly worth it.

Nicely presented, though short and superficial biography, perpetuating the myth that the first recordings were made as a birthday present for Gladys. Interspersed with Elvis quotes and some nice photos.

Published shortly after Elvis's death. Richly illustrated. Basic bio, good concert shots, funeral gets plenty of attention.

A book that unfortunately does not match the promise printed on the cover, "Illustrated with over 100 rare or exclusive photographs." Hardly rare, unless you count photos of Jimmy Savile and Billy Fury in Elvis's company to be rare. Basically just another superficial bio, richly illustrated with largely familiar photos.

Pop-up book from 1985 featuring 5 scenes from Elvis's career (Million-dollar quartet, Jailhouse Rock, Army service, Graceland gates, and Las Vegas, which even plays Love Me Tender!). Good animation and basic commentary, making as much use as possible of Elvis song titles. Good fun!

1975 richly illustrated biography. Great cover portrait, but inside the illustrations are predictable and often poorly printed. Bio itself is pretty superficial, though there wasn't much else at the time! (Note that this is the US edition of the book, which was originally published in the UK.)

Dust jacket includes ad for O.E.P.F.C. of GB, but photo of Elvis of Tickle Me vintage with the caption "Presley as he appeared in the film Love Me Tender" does not inspire confidence! The biography has the usual "second place in the talent contest" and "birthday present for his mother" stories, along with the equally usual illustrations. No great shakes.

Curiously disjointed quickie bio published in 1977, following death. Plenty of errors (Elvis, Scotty and Bill formed the Starlight Wranglers, together with Sam Phillips -- where do they find such rubbish!) and omissions. Well illustrated, though, in colour and b/w, including a few unusual and seldom seen shots.

A play in five acts. Acts 1 and 2 form a monologue, with the Elvis character talking about significant aspects of his life and career. The remainder is a multimedia presentation relating to his death, funeral and achievements. Unusual approach from Scotland.

Hastily reissued in 1977 following Elvis's death, this is a biography that relies as much (or more!) on imagination as fact. Best avoided.

Strange little book whose writing is purported to have been requested by Elvis, or, as he is now known, "Jesse." The author is a doctor who is treating Jesse (Elvis) and relates, through letters from Jesse, why Elvis chose to end his career and take on a new identity. Proof is offered in the form of photos of a number of items that once belonged to Elvis that have been given to the doctor. Also included is a photo of Jesse himself, with his grandson, Benjamin Storm.

Well, not quite the whole story. In fact, a mere 48 pages, including many photos.

Too little, too late and with far too many errors, I'm afraid. A brief basic biography, a closer look at four of the women in Elvis's life, a selection of quotes by and about Elvis, and a discography/filmography. Just 162 pages in all and fairly large type at that, so no chance of anything in-depth, but even what there is, is sadly filled with errors. A good idea badly executed.

Looks at the relationship between Elvis and Tom Parker. Gets Parker's history wrong (but was written in 1981, probably before his Dutch origins were generally known). Really as much a sympathetic book about Parker as about Elvis.