Elvis Presley

By: Bobbie Ann Mason

Narrated by: Karen White

PEN/Hemingway Award-winner Bobbie Ann Mason turns her acumen on one of twentieth-century America's most mysterious icons, The King himself. This new biography eschews sensational speculation to paint a thoughtfully researched but wholly felt portrait of the man-child who metamorphosed into a hero, one of the most popular and least supported characters in American history. In 1955, at age 20, Elvis provoked his first near-riot when he sang at a baseball park in Jacksonville. Inspired by black gospel quartets and mentored by producer Sam Phillips, Elvis blended hillbilly music with rhythm and blues in a synthesis that defined a new direction for popular music. Mason's book gets at the consciousness of the icon and of the cultural climate that made him one.©2003 Bobbie Ann Mason; (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

If youÆre going to read one book to find out what Elvis was all about, MasonÆs is a good choice. She brings to the task a novelistÆs eye and the sensibilities of a Southern girl who came of age in the 1950s. (The San Diego Union-Tribune)

If youÆre going to read one book to find out what Elvis was all about, MasonÆs is a good choice. She brings to the task a novelistÆs eye and the sensibilities of a Southern girl who came of age in the 1950s. (The San Diego Union-Tribune)

slow but informative

The book srarted slow as I didnt care for the narrator. As I continued listening, the book became a lot more interesting and I forgot about narration n found myself wanting to see what was going to happen next.