Alanna NashElvis and the Memphis Mafia

Quote a review of this book from 2003: "Inconsistent, incoherent ramblings of mere witnesses to a life which even they had no capacity to understand - just because your in the group doesn't mean you know what is going on in the leader's mind"You know, as I read these negative reviews of this and other books on Elvis authored by people related to him and/or employed by him, who actually KNEW him on a personal level, these negative reviews come off the same: "Thats NOT the real Elvis! They know nothing of Elvis!". I cant help but think, "Oh, and YOU do?" I mean, for goodness sake, these people only worked for and WITH Elvis, they slept, drank (well, maybe not drank as Elvis didnt care for alcoholic beverages), ate with him, traveled with him, lived with him (God, how much I would've LOVED to have lived at Graceland all those years when he was still alive! What Elvis fan doesn't?), and played with him, etc, 24/7 till the day he died.Their memories and recollections may be hazy, and may occasionally contradict each other, but I think that can be blamed on the passage of time. I cant even begin to recall with complete accuracy who I talked to about what last week, much less several decades ago. So we're lucky to be told what they do remember. Sometimes the Memphis Mafia guys were misled. In one hilarious instance in this book, one of the Memphis Mafia members recalls something or other about Elvis, something Elvis told him, only to be contradicted by one of the others, making the guy realize that he was lied to by Elvis and still believed that lie all these years, even after his death. They may made a mistake or two in their recollections, but its not out of animosity. Instead, its just common honest mistakes (that is IF there are any mistakes in the book). But again, they were THERE. They were the proverbial fly on the wall during most of Elvis' waking moments. So obviously they can definitely speak with authority as to what Elvis thought, felt, and wanted. A greater authority than what you and I can claim (in my case, WISH I could claim).I never met Elvis, I'm sorry to say (never saw him personally in concert too, unless you count the concert movie/video footage of him I've seen). I was all of 8 years old when he died in August 1977 and grew up in the 70s and 1980s watching his movies on tv. So I have to make do learning all about him by reading all these many books by people who did indeed know him on a very personal level. You get a much more well rounded picture of Elvis once you read alot of these books instead of just one or two. Though I do sometimes get tired of the "I was Elvis' most favorite and trusted person in the whole wide world and everybody else was a leech" theme that is contained in some of these books.As much as I have learned about Elvis from these books, I know it is still not the same as having known him personally. So its for that reason I would hesitate to call myself a better authority on Elvis than those few VERY LUCKY people (relatives, employees, love interests, and close personal friends) who were a part of his inner circle, a part of his life, and proudly so.Long live the King.

I highly recommend this book.This one is well worth the read.

This has to be one of the saddest books I've ever read.For those who were teenagers in the 1950s or who grew up during the 1960s (like I did) even if you weren't an avid Elvis fan, Elvis still held a mystique and an aura that pervaded our consciousness. He was an American icon like no other and I know of no one who wouldn't have been thrilled to have met Elvis Presley. The news of Elvis' untimely death was the shock that was felt around the world...truly, he had been that much of an icon. When the news first leaked that Elvis had died of a drug overdose, most people didn't believe it.But nearly four decades since his death, there has been a lot that has been revealed about the private life of Elvis Presley that must even coerce his most die-hard fans to question the object of their allegiance.Alanna Nash has organized and edited the interviews of three of Elvis' closest friends/bodyguards/family to portray what it was like living with and working for the King of Rock N Roll. Elvis had an explosive talent and equally explosive personality. He could be poignant, kind, generous and protective; yet turn around and become equally abusive, vicious and mean if the mood struck him. I've read many books about Elvis and from what I've read, I'm convinced that he was never the same after his mother died. Elvis was just a young man, raised in the country, poor and hardworking, and seemingly overnight became a rock sensation and legend who engendered praise, wealth and fame beyond anyone's wildest expectations. I think most people would have had a difficult time adjusting to such an astonishing life change and one must realize that it would be extremely unfair to judge Elvis for the choices he made and the lifestyle that he imposed on himself and on those who where closest to him without having walked in his shoes.But in the end, whether rich or poor, unknown or famous, intelligent or ignorant, talented or not, we all must answer for our own choices.And Elvis DID have choices. I'm convinced that he could have kicked the drug habit if he'd really wanted to do it. He may not have understood much about the music business but it would have been in his best interest to have taken the time to learn it (like he'd delved so earnestly into his spiritual quests), especially considering that he'd become so distrustful of the Colonel and those around him. There are certain aspects of Elvis' personality that you can't deny when you start reading the various biographies about him. I'm not talking about the books that only want to tear Elvis down or those that only want to promote the Elvis myth: I'm talking about the thoroughly researched biographies that sincerely desire to understand the man, the human being, behind the myth. The conclusion that I've come to is that Elvis could be extremely self-centered, egotistical, ill-tempered and downright mean. But which one of us doesn't have these same faults? I truly believe that Elvis' problem was the drugs. When you look at the profusion of drugs that he'd ingested over the years, there is no wonder that they had adversely affected his body, his personality, and even his spirit.In Nash's book, it's recorded that near the end of Elvis' life, one of the guys asked him why he was throwing away his talent and Elvis simply replied, "I can't help it." Maybe by then he wasn't capable of helping it anymore. But somewhere along the line, he had to have recognized that he was destroying himself. The fact that he never made the effort to help himself says more about him than any biography can.In the end I find myself feeling so sorry for him, for his family, his friends and his fans.

I am only a third of the way through this book and I can already say that I have a much better understanding of Elvis and why his life went the way it did. I never want this book to end - it's wonderfully put together and fascinating. There is a lot of juicy stuff in here, but it never feels exploitative because the story is told by people who genuinely loved Elvis. While I'm sure Elvis would not be happy about this book, and while they're are some pretty disgraceful things in here, the book humanizes Elvis to an extent that I've never seen before. Highly recommend this book if you're an Elvis fan or even if you're interested in fame, addiction, or the era in which Elvis lived.

Arrivato puntuale e in ottime condizioni. Un libro molto interessante da leggere.... Soprattutto perché c'è anche Bill Smith il cugino di Elvis che racconta e ricorda com'è stato vivere accanto ad un icona come Elvis.

Oh my, I read this book some time back, at a time perhaps when I was naive enough to believe Elvis was some form of deity, to me he still is but in a very different way.The honesty that pervades throughout the book is compelling, harrowing, enlightening, awe inspiring at times but most of all a "Must Read" for anyone who has interest in the life of Elvis, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, believe me, it has it all.Elvis like us all, had his share of issues and sometimes those around felt it and felt it hard but you know their Love for him as Elvis, whether it be as a Friend, Employer, Family, Confidante, Adviser, whatever always won through, the Love was ALWAYS there from both sides.Elvis ain't no saint and god forbid that he was, you gotta enjoy the spoils of what you put in, what he is and will always be is, Supremely Talented, Humble, Beautiful in Spirit and Mind, A Bar Setter and a Bar Raiser and pretty much 1st to do what everyone these days wants to achieve.A wonderful and often sad journey experienced by those closest to him, shared by the excellent Alanna Nash is the greatest, most honest book I have ever read and I have read many on Elvis, I am a fan and will be to my grave and I'm humbled to be allowed to read some of those times.You will not regret reading this book, be open minded and put yourself in their and Elvis place!Unless you walked in that mans shoes.........

I enjoyed reading this book. It told a lot of information that has never been told beforeRecommended reading

Ich schreibe generell alle Rezensionen aus subjektiver Sicht ohne auf die anderen Käufer zu achten. Hier meine Überzeugung: DAS hier ist das ALLERBESTE von allen Elvis-Books, die ich je gelesen habe, und das waren Hunderte, darunter auch solche Perlen wie das Guralnick-Duo (ebenfalls TOP Bewertung, KAUFEN!), aber dieses Interview-Buch ist mit Abstand das beste, und hier ist der Grund:Auf 800 Seiten berichten drei der engsten Elvis-Guys in ihrem ungeschliffenen Dialekt über IHRE Lebenserfahrung und geben dem Lesen absolut glaubwürdigen weil authentischen Einblick in ihre eigene Psyche, d.h., hier lernen wir die Jungs genauso kennen, wie sie waren: ungebildete Nobodies, die völlig ungeniert ihre Sicht der Dinge präsentieren. Der Inhalt wirkt zu Daumen mal Pi, 80% glaubhaft, darum gehts aber gar nicht, sondern um the BIG PICTURE: welches mentale Umfeld um Elvis herrschte, und das wird hier eindeutig demonstriert: oberflächliche Materialisten vom feinsten, jegliche spirituelle Suche wird mit 4-letter-words als Narretei abgetan, also, wer in solchem Umfeld lebt, geht irgendwann drauf. Der immense Vorteil des Buches, daß es in der US-Mundart der Probanden released wurde, somit geht nichts an Gedankeninhalt verloren, wenn es auch für manche schwer zu lesen sein mag, es lohnt sich! Fazit: hier lernt man einiges über Elvis, der einem nach Beendigung der Lektüre noch mehr leid tun muß (aber immerhin hat er selbst das Kommando gegeben, insofern: Mitleid mit beschränkter Haftung, dennoch...), aber man lernt alles über die MemphisMafia, und das ist wirklich harter Stoff. Hat meine Meinung bestätigt, leider....