Customer Reviews

Elvis : Word for Word

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

 

 

What he said, exactly how he said it... From his first minor radio appearance to the last letter he wrote before his death. Verifiable Elvis Presley telegrams, letters to fans, his lovers & friends as well quips with a slew of rare & unknown photographs.

Elvis & Jerry became friends in 1967, when they both lived in Memphis, Tennessee. Jerry was a deejay then & played The King's disks the most. For more than two decades, when someone calls Graceland asking about Elvis collectibles, they are routinely referred to Jerry Osborne & his series of Presley reference books.

Elvis was not noted for his conversational skills however, I have a feeling we didn't know how funny he actually could be. He cracked some deadpan, off-the-cuff quips that you can just hear him drawl

This has to be for dyed-in-the-wool devotees who want to know every "Thank you" & "Oh Yeah!" & "Yes sir" The King ever uttered or his simple, polite Thank You Notes, congratulatory telegrams & holiday greetings. Sometimes I get the distinct impression that The King just didn't understand what all the fuss was about nor why anyone would want to ask some of the innane questions they did. When he was asked about music, however, he waxed positively poetic!

In his letters, Elvis did quite well, even has a lilt that comes through & it's surprising to see just who he wrote to. There is also a fascinating photographic history of this Legend's public life - a who's who of show business & movies!

If you know any Elvis fans & want to give them the ultimate present, then Jerry Osborne's Elvis-Word for Word is as good as it gets! For my full review do check out [my website].

Through the years, lots of books have been published with Elvisquotations such as: "And then he said/He said something like...etc. Never before has there been a book, that wrote exactly what Elvis said about what. No interpretations from writers, friends, family, producers or any other person except than those of Elvis himself.

The book chronologically writes down Elvis' words, from the interviews in Shreveport Louisiana (October 1954), several phonecall conversations while he was in the army (1958-1960), a very long speech from Las Vegas in 1974 (as released at the bootleg CD "Desert Storm") and letters.

About 130 black and white pictures can be found inside this book, including a picture of the last letter Elvis wrote (5 August 1977) and copies of several telegrams. In a way, this book can be considered as Elvis' autobiography, because the main focus of this book is what Elvis thought, said and wrote (and you can trace all the words Elvis said yourself, because every time the source is mentioned---mostly tapes, LPs, CDs, handwritten letters etc.)

The thing about Elvis is he never wrote an autobiography, so for too long "the real" Elvis had to be revealed by "those who knew him."

Finally here's a comprehensive collection of things Elvis really said.

In this book are transcriptions of press conferences, concerts, and letters.

The biggest thrill for me was the publication of the letters Elvis wrote Anita Wood while he was in the Army. As far as I know, she hasn't allowed them to be shown previously (in the P.S.'s Elvis tells her to never show them to anyone).

One of the best insights into the thoughts of Elvis. Painstakingly researched and thoroughly documented. A true treasure!

The Elvis book was received on time, was in good condition, I haven't time to read it at this time.

This was an alright book. I have read others that were better. There was a lot of repeating of the conversations sometimes the wording was a little different. The book was fairly formatted nicely and easy to read but boring. If you are an avid fan, there are other books out there to buy and read. If you are just an average person wanting to read something about Elvis, then this is a good book.

I bought Elvis Word for Word in hopes of getting a somewhat personal insight into Mr. Presley's ambitions and desires in life other than performing. I felt this book made him seem somewhat out of it during his last few years of performing. The book made him seemed like a lonely, angry soul looking for a way out.