Customer Reviews

Elvis and Kathy

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have read MANY books on Elvis by many people who where "supposed" to have know him, lived with him, traveled with him. Kathy's book is the first to give us insight about the "man", not the "image". She was honest and fair, she told us bad habits, but she also tried to explain why he did many of things he did. She wrote her book with lots of love and respect for a dear friend she misses very much. I was touched my many things she wrote and I cried throughout much of the book. Thank you Cathy for giving us a chance for the first time to understand just what a truly misunderstood, kind, gentle, caring "man" Elvis really was. And thanks also for not tooting your own horn....... Like many of us, on those days when you miss him the most, remember he is finally at peace, with his mama, and someday you will meet your friend again

The essence of Elvis Presley is underscored in so many satisfying, subtle nuances. Featured, are numerous and detailed, flavourful recountings of highly personal annecdotes, sharing an insider's view of Elvis and seemingly placing the reader smack dab on the inside of Elvis' world. Many revelations. Most gratiflying. Once started, the book can not be put down. Highly recommended.

I'm only writing a review of this extremely out of print book because I recently read on Kathy's website that she is planning on reprinting an expanded version. For starters, I have to say that this is one of the most poorly written books I've ever read. There are hundreds of run-on sentences, and over a thousand missing commas. I found myself re-reading every other sentence, mentally placing the missing commas so that it would actually make sense. Then I discovered that the book's co-writer was supposedly a well know author and editor - incredible!
Now to the content. I gave the book three stars because there are some interesting Elvis stories not recorded elsewhere. However, this book gives what I consider a watered-down, whitewashed version of Elvis' life from 1970 to 1977. Now of course, I wasn't there, so I don't know exactly what happened, but it really bothers me that books like this make Elvis appear to be a saint. With the exception of a few details about Elvis' excesses, there is way too much "syrup" in this book for my taste (I much prefer Guralnick's "Careless Love," because it was well researched and gave a seemingly more balanced view of Elvis' life). For whatever reason, people like Ms. Westmoreland seem to feel that the best way to preserve Elvis' memory is to portray him as a nearly perfect, god-like character. I totally disagree. For the record, I believe that Elvis was the greatest entertainer of our lifetime. However, he was just as human as the rest of us, having frailties, weaknesses, etc. How can we learn from his mistakes, if the very people who knew him make it seem as though he rarely made any? They truly do us a disservice, in my opinion. Also, the author totally loses credibility when she makes repeated errors about well-known Elvis facts. For instance, she mentions several times that Elvis' mother Gladys died when she was 42, when in fact she died at 46. Also, Kathy refers to one of the last concerts as being in Rapid City, Iowa...well, it was actually Rapid City, South Dakota. And then there is the ridiculous claim that Elvis suffered from bone cancer, which has been totally disproven by those who had access to the autopsy results ("The Death of Elvis" sheds more light on this topic). Actually, Elvis may very well have allowed himself to believe that he had bone cancer, in order to justify his overuse of prescription drugs...but that's no excuse for someone to write about it as a medical fact, when there is not a shred of medical evidence to back up such a claim. Hopefully, Ms. Westmoreland will hire an editor (or at least a proofreader) for the re-write, and clear up some of the more glaring errors. If so, I might even be tempted to read it.