Elvis Presley Books: The Complete Guide to Printed Works About The King of Rock and Roll | Music Biography Reference Collection for Fans & Researchers

When was the last time that you could say that you had fun reading a reference book?Well,i had fun reading "The Printed Elvis"and i'm willing to bet that you will too.From the stunning cover photos to the exhaustive material coverage and the intelligent layout,this book aims high and,i think,succeeds admirably.This volume is both descriptive and prescriptive.If only the former,it would be useful but dull.Instead,in addition to presenting extensive bibliographic information,Steven Opdyke is intelligently comparing and reviewing hundreds of books that anyone with an interest in Elvis Presley will either consider buying,collecting or at a minimum,consulting.Will you disagree with some of his judgements?I certainly hope so.That is a large part of the fun here.I have been introduced,within the pages of this volume, to books i didn't know existed and i have been challenged to reassess a few that i was considering seeking out.These processes are extremely valuable to me.I don't have the feeling that Mr. Opdyke is a slavish worshipper or an academic snob(to use an admitted cliche,but one with some truth attached) who is looking down on his subject.I just sense,on just about every page, that i am reading an intelligently written guide on a subject that interests me greatly as an admirer of a most fascinating cultural icon,master entertainer and tragic human being.I am also a collector of his music and the printed words that will not stop flowing.I have owned this book for a couple of months and i still refer to it every few days.I am not a scholar,a reviewer(this is my first attempt at that practice in any medium)or a critic but i believe that i am fairly representative of the general reading public.If you have an intelligent interest in Elvis Presley and/or you are a collector,there is much that you will enjoy and find useful.There is even a section specifically addressing the collector(or would be collector)of books directly relating to Elvis.There is some advise there that could definitely save you both time and money.