Customer Reviews

All Shook Up: The Life and Death of Elvis Presley

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The only parts worth reading are the prologue entitled 'Marsha Cup' and the Introduction. The author claims to have researched his subject, Elvis Presley, however after the introduction the book is full of inaccurate information that is believed to be true because it has been printed before. The author's focus is on Elvis' dark and negative side. Elvis is portrayed in his Sun years as a pill popping mama's boy who then sells out his craft (Rock n Roll) to become Colonol Tom Parker's puppet. One sentence is dedicated to Elvis' charitable contributions, and little is said about how many gold and platinum records Elvis had. When Elvis' success in record sales is mentioned it is tainted with accusations of greed.

Reading this book reminds me of the Song Elvis sang in the 70's called "The Pieces of My Life", which I shall paraphrase, 'I read through the bad parts, I read through the sad parts, but I guess the author threw the best parts away.' Reading this book left me with feelings of disappointment and depression. I would not recommend it to anyone let alone young readers.

The king of rock and roll. The life behind the man that shaped rock and roll into what it is today. Elvis was born into the dirt-poor family of the Presleys. Being an outcast in everything, music was his only outlet. One day, he went to Sam Phillips, in the Sun Studios and asked if he could make a record. He definitely had promise, and was called back to sing more "blues and R&B" songs, aka black songs. He became a phenomenon. He became a celebrity overnight. He tried acting as a more stable career and produced horribly filmed and written movies that everyone ate up. He took drugs, medicine as he called it because he wasn't taking drugs but actual medicine, drank, and fits of rage, and became the man we all know and love. This book was very opinionated, but good, that sixth to eighth graders would enjoy.

All Shook Up showed how much Elvis affected rock and roll. During the book, the author talked about different bands, such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springfield, with some quotes about how Elvis had helped them. A quote about Bruce Springfield showed that he wanted to be like Elvis so much, and how he tried to incorporate this into himself. Bob Dylan was the Elvis that followed. He had the "I don't care" attitude, the look, the stage-presence, everything.

All Shook Up showed that Elvis was vulnerable. Elvis met the Colonel, a smooth talking con man that was only interested in money. Maybe it was because of his poor relationship with his father, but he signed with the Colonel, who only did what brought in the most money, and never considered what was best for Elvis. It talked about when, in Germany, he met Pricilla Beaulieu. He confided in her about his innermost things, like his mother's recent death and how he missed her, and she confided in him about her real father. Elvis met Larry Geller, his hairdresser, who introduced him to spirituality. They became very close, until the Colonel. He fired Geller while Elvis watched.

All Shook Up appealed to a certain crowd. The author told all about how Elvis bought extravagant gifts and gave them away. He appealed to the materialism of teens today. He told of Elvis being addicted to drugs and that was the cause of his death. Everything single performance, movie, and record that was sold were shown with the price tag.

All Shook Up was a generally good book that showed the many facets of Elvis, especially the material side. Adults would be disappointed with this book, so teens would like it.

B. Rimando

This concise, readable look does a nice job of describing the man, myth, and legend that was "The King." The book seemed strongest in its earlier chapters describing Elvis in his impoverished youth, and long travels on the road during the mid-1950's as a teenager seeking stardom by playing high schools, honkey-tonks, and other modest venues. We also get to know Elvis as the somewhat shy, generous, kindly young man - at least before the pitfalls of fame (arrogance, adulation, drug use, etc.) seem to have made him increasingly undesireable. I felt the book lost a bit of focus in the last decade of Elvis' life, rushing through his last years as he slowly descended in a route of self-destruction. Still, one wonders about accuracy - was his manager Colonel Parker really such a greedy louse? Was Elvis really that self-centered and detached from reality? Perhaps. At any rate, this book makes for a concise, readable effort.

ALL SHOOK UP THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ELIVS PRESLY

By: Barry Denenberg

All Shook Up: the Life and Death of Elvis Presley by Barry Deneberg is a nonfiction book that middle school or higher could read. During this book there are interesting facts about his whole life. From being poor to being the `King of Rock and Roll'' it will tell everyone who reads the book everything they would want to know. Elvis was a boy who was always with his mom and his mom would not let him go anywhere by his self. Elvis was drafted to the army and hated it. When finally Elvis's mom and dad came to live next to his camp site, but when his mom had gotten sick she went back to Memphis. Elvis came back to Memphis and stayed with his mom in the hospital but when he left his mom had died. Elvis has to learn how to go back to the war and try to live with out his mom.

This awesome biography is a great book. It makes people feel like anybody can now everything about Elvis whole life. One part of the book talks about all the drugs that he took and the book talked about it for almost the whole ending. The strong biography is a very well written book.

Barry Denenberg's All Shook Up is certain to appeal beyond the young adult age range it's intended for: this history of Elvis' life and death is lively, with black and white photos supplementing text appropriate for grades 6 and older. Any with a prior affection for Presley will find this a fine, approachable biography of his life.

To begin with, this is NOT a book for Juveniles. The Author merely repeats the same old distortions and outright lies that have been published over and over again. Isn't it about time that Elvis Presley was treated with some dignity? He was NOT a monster, but a basically fine and decent man. It's about time that His Daughter and other Loved ones were given some Peace from such garbage as is contained in this and other books of the same type. I am most disappointed with Scholastic Press for being a party to the Printing and distribution of this book.