Book Reviews

He had everything—talent, adoring fans, firearms, cash, cars, and mansions—but most importantly, he had women. Lots of women. In Baby, Let’s Play House, music journalist Alanna Nash uses Elvis’s Bacchanalian appetites as the starting point for an exhaustive look at his psychology. Though not always clinically successful, Nash’s portrayal of the King as a doomed sexual superboy is an enthralling, if guilty, pleasure. Alanna Nash will read from and sign copies of Baby, Let’s Play House at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis in January 7 at 6 p.m.

In Elvis: My Best Man, George “GK” Klein details his long history with Elvis Presley, from their years together at North Memphis’s Hume High School through his acceptance, on behalf of Presley Enterprises, of Elvis’s 1986 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Though Klein’s account is not unbiased, it nonetheless provides fresh insight into one of the greatest careers in the history of show business. Klein will read from and sign copies of Elvis: My Best Man at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis on January 13 at 6 p.m.

In The Wars of Myron King: A B-17 Pilot Faces WWII and U.S.-Soviet Intrigue, James Lee McDonough records what is surely one of the more bizarre of World War II stories—the tale of Nashvillian Myron King, the bomber crew he commanded, and the part they played in the drama not only of World War II, but also the opening moves of the Cold War.

A passionate listener and an erudite chronicler of every style from blues to punk, music critic Robert Palmer was admired by many of the artists he wrote about, and by legions of fans who followed his work in The New York Times and Rolling Stone. In Blues & Chaos, editor Anthony DeCurtis brings together a selection of articles and reviews from Palmer’s 20-plus years as the premier American music writer.

Featuring the work of longtime Nashville photographer Bob Grannis, Historic Photos of Nashville in the 50s, 60s, and 70s documents the city’s dramatic evolution from sleepy town to sprawling Sunbelt metropolis.

As much as passionate readers may hate to acknowledge it, film has usurped the written word as the most popular medium for telling stories. In Life as We Show It, edited by Brian Pera (a Memphis resident) and Masha Tupitsyn, twenty-five writers examine the way films serve as our personal and collective touchstones—and shape our fundamental notions of narrative, as well.