ULTIMATE ELVIS [Hardcover]

Patricia Pierce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 16, 1994

Contains everything readers wanted, needed and will ever have to know about the King of Rock n' Roll - Elvis Presley. More than just a biography, this book features an extraordinary calendar that allows the reader to actually witness the triumphs, tragedies, and everyday life of this legend of rock. It includes details of pets and nicknames, loves and hates, albums and singles, TV and movie trivia, impersonators and memorabilia and much, much more - all lavishly illustrated with over 100 photographs of Elvis's personal and professional life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pierce, a self-described "Elvis fanatic," has put together an astonishing compendium of factoids, beginning with pronouncements about her idol from Janis Joplin ("Elvis is my man!") and Jimmy Carter ("He was unique and irreplaceable."). She then introduces the King's mother and father to each other in 1933, and we are off and rolling. Topics exhaustively covered include Elvis impersonators, Elvis's telephone numbers and addresses and women in his life. This last raises a puzzling question because, published almost simultaneously with this title is Don't Ask Forever (Nonfiction Forecasts, June 6), Joyce Bova's account of her three-year (1969-1972) affair with Elvis. Pierce's 12-page list of female companions goes right from Blackwood (Miss Memphis) to Boyd (a secretary at Graceland). How did Bova escape this indefatigable researcher? Oh well, the 49-page bibliography here will doubtless soon swell to twice that length. There are also lists of gold record singles, LPs on Billboard 's Top 10 charts, CD discography, sheet music, LP album releases and, yes, many more categories of lists, plus movie data. The King is dead. Long live the King? Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Pierce has written a comprehensive compendium of Presleyana. In the first two-thirds of the book, she presents a detailed daily account of Presley's life, at times including pertinent social events that had an impact on Presley and rock'n'roll. The author completes the book by compiling amazing Elvis statistics such as lists of Presley's girlfriends, telephone numbers, nicknames, pets, backup singers, television and radio appearances, movie trivia, Elvis impersonators, band members, and memorabilia. She also includes a discography that lists singles, albums, CDs, bootlegs, unreleased tapes, and videos. Though countless Elvis books have appeared during the last three decades, this aptly named work provides fans and researchers with a much-needed resource.
--David Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (August 16, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067187022X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671870225
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,888,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than you might want to know about the King, August 17, 2001

By 

Tom Bruce (East Moriches, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultimate Elvis (Paperback)

If I only could have one fact source book about Elvis, this would be it. It contains the most complete overview of his life I have ever seen, compiled in chronological order and supplemented by detailed lists of Elvis data. A word of warning: If you want to keep your eyes closed to all but the positives in his life, this is NOT the book for you, because it contains the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of his life. I am of the belief he was the greatest popular entertainer of all time, and this book certainly attests to that. But he also had way more than his share of human foibles, and they are included too. I'm glad it's part of my research library, and I have and will refer to it often.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A waste of money to buy, a waste of time to read., December 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: ULTIMATE ELVIS (Hardcover)

I have been an Elvis fan and collector since the fifties. I pride myself on my personal knowledge of and my extensive library on Elvis. If you want a book full of grossly erroneous information, this is it! There is no shortage of readily available data on every aspect of Elvis' life, but this "author" does not know how to do research and, clearly, was herself as ignorent on the subject of Elvis when she finished her book as she was when she started. A waste of money to buy and a waste of time to read! Useless as a reference book because it is full or major errors. I rate this book zero stars.

1.0 out of 5 stars Too many mistakes!, March 14, 2002

By 

"jjjones70" (Georgia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultimate Elvis (Paperback)

This book has literally hundreds of factual errors, and that makes it useless as a reference guide. But those errors are not the worst of it. In the introduction, the author writes, " . . .Elvis was the antithesis of society's morals. His wild performances broke from the bland American mainstream of 'Ozzie and Harriet' or 'Father Knows Best,' and the oppressed, youthful minority went wild over this raunchy, flagrantly sexual boy from the wrong side of the tracks." Of course, none of that is correct. "Morals' or "wild" never entered the picture for Elvis in the 1950s. Kids went to his performances because the music was new and exciting.