Customer Reviews

Elvis: The Last 24 Hours

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

To quote Shakespere, the uproar this book caused was "Much ado about...." you guessed it. Okay, here's the story- Albert Goldman, a man who disliked Elvis intensely, wrote this acid account detailing The King's most intimate eating, dating, and bathroom habits. Just how Mr.Goldman acquired this information, I leave to one's own imagination. For good measure, he throws in descriptions of Graceland, Elvis' relationship with his mother- in short, his OPINIONS about Elvis Presley. However, through the years the book has taken on a life of its own. People in the "Memphis Mafia" and other inner circles who cooperated with its publication were scorned and cursed as "Judas" by die hard fans, and are to this day. Albert Goldman's book jacket picture was actually fashioned into a bull's eye by outraged Elvisphiles for the throwing of darts. Reading "THE Book", is akin to sacrilege for the Elvis-is-my-life fan, and Goldman is likened to Satan. My opinion? Whether you love Elvis, are indifferent to him, or could care less, this book is like chocolate- you hate yourself for consuming it, but you do it anyway. I was an Elvis fan before I read it, and after. Don't be afraid to challenge your idols. If they're as great as you say, they will stand up to it and it won't shake your admiration. Actually, the book itself is nothing earth shattering, and it certainly isn't one of your timeless classics. It's what it was meant to be- a trashy, dishy gossipfest. It's gotten more attention than it's worth, in my humble view, and so did its author, who, incidentally, was found dead,in his bedroom, bloated and under mysterious circumstances, an irony that was not lost on me.

Like it or not, this book was at times pretty entertaining,sad and shocking. I love Elvis(been to Graceland)and i don't like him portrayed as a pathetic man.Reading this book made me sad more than anything else.I don't believe that Elvis committed suicide, he was so sick he didn't need to.I also don't have any faith in the sources Goldberg uses throughout the book. I liked the picture of the floorplan of Graceland in the middle.So, make up your own mind.

Goldman (or is it "COLDMAN"?), does indeed become sarcastic at times, and his desciption of certain events are emblazoned with the MAD MAGAZINE SEAL OF APPROVAL. Yet his stitching together of Presley's career and life, doesn't seem to deviate from the accounts offered by Elvis' own "Memphis Mob". If anything, after reading this unauthourized bio, I feel more in touch with Elvis than ever, and also have a decidely more positive view of Elvis. I really feel for the man. Moreover, I appreciate his work more than ever, and share with Elvis his dream of being a serious actor. I despise Colonel Tom, and see the "inner circle" for the manipulative and exploitive parasites they were. Seems to me, Goldman was the best person to pen this bio, as he is somewhat grandiose as well. Perhaps we all are. Even the King! In a left-handed way, thats a compliment to Elvis. He was just like you and me.

The hard core Elvis fans take themselves (and Elvis) way too seriously. Goldman may be prone to hyperbole, but it's damn entertaining. Besides, he's just relating what those close to Elvis told. If Memphis Mafia (the guys) recall that Elvis installed two-way mirrors all over the house, or that his LA parties amounted to nothing more than everybody watching Elvis watch TV, with everyone laughing at anything stupid thing he said, then why not write about it? I ended up liking Elvis more than ever after reading this hilarious book. I think Goldman's treatment of the Colonel as the Carny was right on the money!

Having read numerous Elvis biographies (new and old) I purposefully left Goldman's until last. I wanted to reach my own conclusions as to the life and times of Presley before reading these notorious accounts ("Elvis" and "Elvis: The Last 24 Hours"). Though I do agree that Goldman's style is sometimes too confrontational, seemingly so vindictive in content that at times it does leave the reader feeling uncomfortable (however, there is every possibilty that the facts surround Elvis' private life are not so easy to digest), I can't dismiss any of his conclusions; his ultimate one being that Elvis did indeed kill himself.

I had already formed my own opinion long before reading "The Last 24 Hours" (which I finished only yesterday), and these were as close to Goldman's as possible. Elvis showed all the signs of a depressive paving his way to suicide, and it all becomes even more obvious when you read Goldman's account.

Both of his Elvis-related books are a superb read. Entertaining, shocking and informative in equal measure. Sure, we'll never know the exact truth as to "The King's" inner demons, but via Goldman we get as close as we ever will.

Albert Goldman is (was) a brilliant writer. Having said that, I have no idea why he used his talents to repeatedly bash Elvis Presley. When I read the first book, simply titled "Elvis", I thought, "Goldman's a little crass, but he does present a case. He says Elvis was immature (I've heard others say that)and that Elvis was an adulterer ( supposedly,even his wife knew THAT). He uses strong, sometimes vulgar terms to describe The King and his Courtiers- but, so what? That just makes the book 'Funny'- or a better read." He also gave alot of detail about Priscilla's affair with Mike Stone, provided by Stone himself. The first book ("Elvis") was also co-published by Lamar Fike, who was with Elvis to the end, and that gave it credibility. He also, quite plausibly, suggested that Elvis accidentally O.D.'d on August 16,1977, due to his "over-confidence" re: his tolerance of Rx drugs, and that Elvis was in great spirits the night BEFORE, due to his supposed up-coming wedding to Ginger Alden. Please bear with me; I'm dwelling on Book One for a reason. Now, when I saw ANOTHER book about Elvis, by the same author, I naturally ordered it, due to Goldman's aforementioned literary skill, and his( what I thought was) accurate -albeit somewhat biased, portrayal of the facts. Others had said, including Priscilla, that this book, out of all of them, would greatly offend people- but I thought, "I'm a BLACK (is that the PC term we're using these days?) female Elvis fan, from St. Louis, who's been to Graceland twice now, and have been ridiculed all my life because of Elvis's supposed views on African-Americans ( or is THAT the PC term - The NAACP changes it so much, it's hard for ME to keep up!)- I'm used to hearing every negative thing about myself, and Elvis, under the Sun- WHAT could POSSIBLY offend me?"
Well,ladies and gentlemen, here it is.... I finally found THE book! Goldman obviously , had a deep, almost pathological hatred of Elvis Presley, and this book reveals more about Goldman's biases and hang-ups than it ever does Presley's. For instance? Okay, you asked for it: he had an actual architect reconstruct, based on hearsay, the lay-out of Elvis' quarters and the bathroom he died in- even though the architect in question had never even SEEN it; and, should we be a little slow on the uptake (as Goldman obviously thought all of E.P.'s fans were), there's a little CARTOON drawing of Elvis, in a fetal position, totally exposed, lying next to the toilet. He describes (yet again), in VIVID detail, ALL of Elvis' wash-room activity on the night in question- (geez, wasn't writing about it in the first book ENOUGH, sir?). However, to my mind, the worst thing Albert Goldman does, is "accuse" Elvis of commiting suicide on the morning of August 16th,1977. Not that the unfortunate, mentally ill act of "suicide" is a "crime", mind you. I take exception to this claim, primarily because, on the day in question, 9 year old Lisa Marie was just down the hall, playing. Also, Elvis' father, Vernon, was just down the OTHER hall, recuperating from a recent heart attack. Elvis' suicidal act entailed letting himself be found, by his 80+ year old Grandma "Dodger" (Minnie Mae) Presley, his aforementioned father, and his much loved baby, Lisa, in THE most indelicate (per cartoonish diagram) manner; ANYone who knows anyTHING about Elvis knows that, had Elvis believed suicide to be "the way out", he would have done it in 1958, when his beloved Mom died suddenly after he was inducted into the Army, if he was EVER going to commit it. The suicide theory is the sum and total of the book's subject matter,not to mention that it is ALSO a major about-face from Goldman's "accidental over-dose" scenario in the first book. Golden scribes over the ambiguity, explaining it away in a foot- note, which is, more or less : "Whoops- the info in my first tome was slightly inaccurate, folks! Sorry- but it's not MY fault, of course; the fault must lie with: Ginger Alden, Lamar Fike, Ricky, David, and Billy Stanley, Red and Sonny West, etc.... NOW, let's get back to examining the contents of Elvis's final breakfast; you won't beLIEVE what the big, fat, disgusting PIG ATE on his last morning!" I'm paraphrasing, naturally, even exxagerating-- but, the sad thing is, not by much!
I would actually recommend reading the first book, "Elvis", if you enjoy well written "celeb-trashing" book; as I've so often said, Goldman can turn a phrase like no other. His was a breilliant, artistic mind. I caution the reader to examine this bio, only if you're an Elvis FAN, not an Elvis FANATIC; if you are the type of person who takes attacks on The King of Rock to heart, even THAT book, though tame in comparison, will greatly offend you. This book is NOT "Elvis"- and shame on Goldman for calling it that. I call it an abomination, to ANY man's memory, public figure notwithstanding. "Elvis Presley!" was, after all, also, Elvis Presley: somebody's son, somebody's husband, somebody's father, somebody's friend .
I won't take to the streets in protest, or fashion a bulls-eye out of Goldman's photo (like some of Elvis' fans did , @1981!). I thank God we live in a country where this man had the right to author this tome. Albert Goldman, ( who, incidentally, passed away on an airplane in the early 1990's, mid-flight, due to a "heart seizure". Ironically, Mr. Goldman was on his way to posthumously bash Elvis, once again, on yet another international T.V. show) will stand before his God one day to give an account of his actions, just like the rest of us.
Finally, I , sadly, never got the chance to meet Elvis, so I have no first hand knowledge of his character, but I CAN say that I have enjoyed "e=mail friendships" with people who DID; good friends like Joe Esposito, Larry Geller, and Marty Lacker ; I've even TALKED to Priscilla Presley's father, by telephone ( it was a wrong number, don't ask! :). ANYway, the portrait they ALL paint, is one of a decent, loving, special man. "Dear Mr. Goldman- to quote an anonymous wise man: 'It matters not how a man died- death is such a short event- but, rather, how he lived.' We wouldn't still be talking, writing, or visiting Elvis related stuff, had he been the terrible person you claim him to be. Elvis Lives! Sincerely, Now an EVEN BIGGER Elvis Fan!"

I must admit, I am not much of an Elvis fan. Never have been. I have always thought that Elvis-mania was the product of clever marketing by Col. Tom Parker rather than any truly overwhelming talent on Presley's part. But, leaving aside the merits or lack thereof of Elvis the performer, I can say that it's not hard to believe that Elvis the man had a lot of inner pain. And that this inner pain may have caused him to take his own life. Therein lies the thesis of the book.

I found this little book to be immensely compelling. It's a detailed accounting (based mostly on information from Elvis's stepbrother, David Stanley) of the last 24 hours of Elvis's life. The basic theme of the book is to correct errors from Goldman's previous book (the controversial 1982 biography, Elvis). In the 1982 book, Goldman had posited that that Presley died of a massive heart attack caused by years of drug dependency and eating like a glutton.

Now in this later book, Goldman claims that there were inaccuracies in his previous accounting of Presley's death, and he wants to set the record straight. Now, says Goldman, new evidence (again, mostly provided by David Stanley) indicates that Presley did not die of natural causes, but instead killed himself by overdosing on a stash of drugs that he stockpiled. Supposedly David Stanley, not wanting to see Elvis's name tarred with the brush of suicide, got rid of the needles and drug packets near Presley's body before the paramedics arrived.

The idea that Presley committed suicide is, of course, not hard to believe. Goldman is not the only Presley biographer who wrote of Presley's disturbed state of mind at the end of his life. It is pretty much common knowledge that Presley was depressed, drug-dependent, grossly overweight, and had many regrets about his life and career. And when a person is that despondent, it's no surprise that their thoughts can turn to suicide.

Naturally, diehard Elvis fans detest Goldman and maintain that this book, and the prior book he wrote about Elvis, are (in no particular order): inaccurate; mean-spirited; biased (many claim that Goldman disliked Elvis personally and his dislike for his subject caused him to always present Elvis in the worst possible light).

However, not a single word of either book has been disproven. Goldman is an academic, and his research is thorough, based on interviews who are "primary sources" - in other words, with people who knew Presley best - "the Guys" (a.k.a. his handlers/bodyguards who were with him 24 hours a day). Indeed, a number of the Guys were actually related to Presley in one way or another, and knew him well, from childhood.

So riddle me this: why is it so difficult for fans to believe that their hero was not a god, but rather a deeply flawed human being who battled his inner demons, and unfortunately lost the battle? If Elvis was a depressed junkie who just didn't want to live anymore, why is that something to be appalled at? Again, given what is well-known about Elvis's state of mind at the end of his life, it's actually quite believable.

And...believe it or not, Goldman may actually have written this not because he enjoyed Presley-bashing, but because it was the truth and he called it as he saw it, based on the facts. That is possible.

This book tries to drive home the fact Elvis committed suicide. He was supposed to have "saved up" his "attacks", as he called them, of sleeping pills and demerol injections. He then alledgedly took three doses on an empty stomach and expired. People who know Elvis insist he would not have done this because of his love for Lisa Marie. Granted, his death coincided with the release of the book entitled "Elvis, What Happened", written by members of the "Memphis Mafia". Also, there was no note left by Elvis... something very hard to believe would have been omitted had he taken his own life. For the true Elvis fan, a definite waste of time

The late Albert Goldman first established himself as the king of trash bios with his conjecture-ridden, wholly inaccurate Elvis biography in 1982. He later retained that title with his stupid and unfactual John Lennon bio (in which he accused Lennon of murder!). This new book about Elvis carries on the tradition. This book takes incredible liberties with facts and completely downgrades the person of Elvis as a cultural icon. The stuffy and elitist Goldman mocks Presley as a fat, no-talent, drug drenched, Southern redneck good ole boy and falls just barely short of labeling all Presley fans as dupes and fools. A complete waste of money and time.

Elvis was, and is, the king of cool and this book is a disgrace