Review by Booklist Review
Elvis may have left the building, but interest in his life hasn't waned. This entry in the Up Close biography series records the familiar tracks in Elvis' life, giving slightly more attention to his assent to fame than the tragic descent into narcotics addiction and his extravagant lifestyle in the final years. The strained relationships with wife Priscilla and the controlling Colonel Parker are included, but daughter Lisa Marie is barely mentioned. Hampton provides plentiful examples to back up first girlfriend Dixie's assertion: Elvis was just a nice boy who desperately wanted to please people. The language dealing with Elvis' exploits with girls is genteel as well-- The relationship became passionate very quickly, but both Elvis and Dixie agreed they would not go all the way until they were married. This didn't hold true for women he met on the road, but subtlety reigns there too, suiting this biography to a younger audience than most Presley picks. Source notes and bibliography are appended. --Cindy Dobrez Copyright 2007 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-From the foreword, readers learn that Hampton has an admiration for Elvis that reaches back to his childhood. His enthusiasm and passion for his subject are evident throughout this appealing biography, yet he remains objective about the performer's virtues as well as his tragic flaws. The striking cover photograph complements the lively and accessible text that delves not only into Elvis's life but also his impact on music and American culture. The writing is casual yet authoritative, and includes occasional black-and-white photographs. Readers who can't imagine a world without rock and roll will find this to be an excellent introduction to the man about whom John Lennon once said, "Before there was Elvis, there was nothing."-Marcia Kochel, Olson Middle School, Bloomington, MN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Middle School) This latest addition to a top-notch biography series traces the rise and fall of a shy, polite ""mama's boy"" from Mississippi, a gifted singer who, in his twenty-year career, went from hip-swiveling heartthrob to puffy drug addict. Hampton starts off his account of the man who ""almost single-handedly changed the musical culture not only of America but of the world"" by describing his own memories of hearing Elvis Presley's music for the first time. This initial author-subject connection is a tactic all the Up Close biographies employ, and it works here, too, quickly pulling the reader in. With compelling and thoughtful chapters, Hampton then serves up a wealth of information on Presley's hardscrabble childhood, his skyrocket start in the music business, his brief army stint, his B-grade movie career, and his busy love life. Through no fault of his own, Hampton isn't able to get inside Elvis's head and explain some of the singer's more bizarre obsessions: Why the desire to be an undercover drug agent? Why the attraction to a ninth-grade girl? That said, Hampton's portrait of this rock-and-roll king is never oversimplified, a big plus for his middle-school audience. Source notes, bibliography, index, and black-and-white photographs are included. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A deeply engaging biography, written by someone who clearly loved Elvis and wants to share his story with a new generation. Hampton spins the tale out from the hardscrabble beginnings: a poor boy who once lived in a town called Shake Rag; the gift of a guitar and the power of gospel music; a boy who finds he can move people--especially girls--by singing that rock-'n'-roll. Hampton mentions everything: Elvis as library assistant; Sam Philips and the Grand Ole Opry; how Arthur Godfrey's show was a precursor of American Idol. He tells clearly how influential Elvis's music was, and how boring were the movies he made, and chronicles without sensationalism his decline into drug use, personal disaster and early death. Young people who want to know who the King was will find out, and their parents and grandparents will rediscover their sorrow that "Elvis has left the building." (source notes, bibliography, index) (Biography. 9-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
