Elvis Presley

by Wilborn Hampton

“Elvis left no one indifferent to rock and roll”—so begins award-winning author Wilborn Hampton’s thoughtful account of the beloved and controversial Elvis Presley. When Elvis shook his hips and sang his soulful songs, teenagers screamed and parents fretted. Fans, record executives, movie producers, and even the army wanted a piece of this enigmatic performer and shy boy from Tupelo, Mississippi. What Elvis gave them changed music forever.

This latest addition to Viking’s ongoing biography series, Up Close, includes gorgeous black-and-white photographs and introduces readers to the complicated life of the king of rock and roll.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2007

About the author

WILBORN HAMPTON is the author of four books of nonfiction and one biography for Young Adults. In four decades as a reporter and editor for United Press International and The New York Times he helped cover some of the major news stories of the time. Now a full-time writer, he lives in New York.

Reviews

[Joey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a very good book because of the way Elvis's life was described and all the detail that was put into it. The only thing that I would change would be that the book went over Elvis's childhood more.

[Garret Ault · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was interesting. I learned about Elvis's life.

[Aheem]

Up Close: Elvis Presley (195 pages) by Wilborn Hampton is a biography that tells the story of a boy from a lower class family who had a dream he wanted to pursue. From reading this biography, I learned about the true story behind Elvis Presley and his rise to fame, a life story that I had never paid too much attention to. Everyone knows that Elvis Presley was an admired star, but Wilborn Hampton’s writing showed both the negative and positive sides to him. My opinions of Elvis kept going back and forth due to Hampton’s un-bias writing. The book felt very honest and true to the real events of Elvis’s life because some of the events discussed are not too flattering to Elvis’s image and I hold the writer in high regards due to this. Throughout the book there were references to other musicians and events of that time, which gave me a glimpse into the time that I was reading about, which once again, made me appreciate the writer’s choices for this biography. The only aspect of the book that I did not enjoy was that in every chapter more characters were added to the story. These additions made the book harder to follow and slowed my understanding of the events. But as an overall read, I found Up Close: Elvis Presley to be an engaging biography about one of the most famous musicians of all time. Wilborn Hampton has set the standards high for future biographies about the King of Rock and Roll.

[Steve Indig · Rating 3 out of 5]

My young daughter got this from the library for me since she knew I like Elvis. I've never read a comprehensive biography of the legend, and this seems a decent introduction, linking together many high points in his life that I was familiar with, and filling in many of the blanks, with lots of details that are new to me. It's organized well, and competently written. I don't know how well researched it may be and if there are major points that may be controversial - my guess is there may be. But no doubt the King's life was full of drama and "gossipy" type chapters. This made for some fun and interesting summer reading.

[Anissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My opinion on "Up Close Elvis Presley is ghat I think that Elvis was a hard working person that never gave up on his dreams. He also didn't care what other people think about him. He just wants to be him and not care what other people think and I think that is spontaneous. The writing was powerful because it told us readers that we can accomplish anything if we just put our mind to it. I would recommend this book to a classmate because this book will show them that hard work really does pay off. If this book had a series to it then I would definitely read it because I think that it's interesting to how famous rock legends came to be.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book on the life of Elvis Presley that a lot of people might not know much about.

My sister has been obsessed with Elvis for as long as I can remember. I've learned little interesting bits about his life throughout the years, so I was really interested when I came across this book.

This book follows his life, from all the way back when he was little, all the way through to his funeral. I'm sure that some of it is a "he said, she said" but I enjoyed this little look into the history of the King of Rock and Roll.

[Gabe Sansone · Rating 4 out of 5]

i thought it portrayed elvis very well i learned he had an obsession with guns i didn't know about i like how it showed him from a child being odd and weird and said he didn't have a voice to make it from his music teacher and how his dad got put in jail and how these things affected especially growing up in a black neighborhood if anyone can tell me how he dressed i appreciate it i can't find it in the book i would love to imitated elvis how he dressed i know he liked the color pink

[Daniel Quiroz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot that's why i rated it a 4 star.I learned more and more about Elvis Presley because i never read a Elvis book.In his childhood was not great because he was poor and kids would make fun of him and break his guitar.Then,He signed with RCA.He was one of the best singers in history.He also did service for the military.He was also on films focusing on that.His life time was from 1935-1977.During his final years of his life he had a marriage breakdown.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was never a serious Elvis fan and since most of my knowledge of him came from magazine articles it was nice to hear the story of his life filled in with more details and sympathetic to Elvis as a person rather than an icon.

[Danny Ruano · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is really good I like it a lot , now I know a few things about the king since I haven't finished the whole book yet but so far things are interesting and talks about how things started for Elvis Presley when he became a huge super star.

[BCPL Youth Services Librarian]

Click to see book in BCPL's online catalog

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a balanced, accessible, and highly readable biography of Elvis Presley for young teens. It fits the bill for both school assignments and for kids who have any interest in music history.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read. Informative without being gossipy or dramatic.

[Rcavictory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book! It's a short, fast read but hits on all the important points. If you want a fast history on Elvis Presley and his rise to fame, this is the book.