This book is a wonderful tribute to a wonderful man by an extraordinary woman. While working as a tour guide a Graceland I met Mary. She was a wonderfully sweet woman who truly loved Elvis. She knew the man better than most and this book is a great tribute to Elvis' memory.

Memories Beyond Graceland Gates

This is a very positive book about Elvis ... it was wrote by Mary Jenkins ...Mary cooked for Elvis for years ... She loved Elvis dearly and his fans... Mary never said one negative thing about Elvis in her life... In the house Elvis purchased for her Mary would invite the fans in for a visit if she felt good she enjoyed cooking meals like she did for Elvis for the fans I was honored to be among one of the fans she cooked for along with Sharon and Sue...I will always remember the days I spent with her listening to Elvis stories ... the book is a must to any Elvis Fan collections... Mary passed a couple of years back she is missed by all for the love she had for everyone the beautiful smiles she gave everyone she met, the funny stories she would tell about Elvis such a pleasure to be around ... oh yes, she is the one that made the banana sandwiches for Elvis... The first one she made was a flop the next one Vernon stood beside her telling her just how to make it the way Elvis like it ... this book is one ever fan should have in their collection...
Shirley

I read this book about two years ago and thought it was an amazing book wrote by an amazing woman. When I started the book it was so captivating I could stop reading until I had finished the book! I highly recommend that everyone read this whether your an Elvis fan or not, it gives insights into his life that will help you better understand Elvis the man not the entertainer.

My son brought this book home as part of a school project and I absentmindedly picked it up and started reading. It really hooked me from the start and I ended up reading it cover to cover in just a couple of days.

The author has a great way of meandering from subject to subject so that the book encompasses much more than just facts about Graceland. It studies how the houses that we live in represent where we have come from and where we are going, not just as individuals but as a culture and a country.

The book also looks honestly at Elvis Presley's life, without wallowing in the uglier aspects of his life and death.

Elvis was the unique product of a very specific time and place; a cultural expression of that sweaty, hardscrabble slice of Mississippi River Delta biracial culture which has produced so much of the authentic in American music.
The singer's unusual and deep attachment to his context is well understood in this perceptive biography, whose author views and interprets Presley through his homes, from the shotgun shack in East Tupelo to the "Peckerwood Palace" of Graceland. Highly readable and of value to students of contemporary American culture, but committed Elvis fans will not be comforted by this unblinking examination of the King and his world.

(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

Truly great book on the myth of Elvis Presley and also about the history of the past in the United States. We can understand in a better way what Graceland truly mean to Elvis... A superficial time-line concerning his life is also a great source of informations about the man behind the star... Edith Robitaille from Quebec, Canada.

Each recipe we've prepared from this book has been superb--easy to make and delicious! I wish there were more in a series to cover other international cuisines.

My husband is the main cook of our family, but I do try to cook sometimes - I am one that has to have a recipe, and that has to look at several before deciding what to cook. Both of us love this cookbook. It is one of our top 2 (The other is Gracious Goodness, which also happens to have originated in Memphis, put out by the Memphis Symphony.) All of the recipes we've tried have been great,and we frequently get asked for the recipe, especially for the prociutto wrapped asparagas, and I don't really even like plain asparagas but these are a treat! We bought a half dozen of these to give as gifts. The salads I've tried have also been great. Anyone who likes to cook would love this pretty and classy Southern book.

Of the many cookbooks I own, this is my very favorite. I have given it as a gift several times, and everyone I know who owns it agrees that it is great! The recipes are wonderful and most are relatively simple: common, easy-to-find ingredients, reasonably quick preparation, and things that just sound good! I entertain frequently, and this is the first book I go to for ideas. I've often been asked for recipes taken from this book. Additionally, the presentation of the book is pretty and fun--delightful stories and good cooking tips, along with lovely photos. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys cooking or seeks a gift for someone who does. You won't be disapppointed!

This is the kind of book I dream about. When I look for my next read, I look for a book that is 1) passionate 2) not pretentious and not totally mainstream, and 3) about quirky (in a trashy and at least slightly out of control way) people and things. Sounds simple enough, but lord knows it ain't as easy to find a book with those characteristics as you might think. But Robert Gordon has torn it up and come through for us. Really, it's amazing that this book is still in print because it's "target audience" must consist of about thirty people. And therein lies its beauty. Imagine something as idiosyncratic as a zine, but, unlike a zine, not poorly written! Also, it doesn't hurt that a nice sized portion of the book is devoted to the godhead, Alex Chilton, which means a lot to us Chilton-ites since no real definitive bio exists. Of course, there's tons else besides Alex--take for example pro wrestlers, hippie bluesmen, and a cool-as-hell photographer--but if you don't dig Alex, maybe you should pass on this anyway and go and see if Will and Grace is available on DVD yet. Your type sickens me.

Gordon's It Came from Memphis helps to unravel the rich heritage of a city whose musical heritage is largely overlooked save for BB King and Elvis Presley. He succesfullly attempts to expose the politics, racism, and situations of circumstance that fueled Memphis to become what it is today both musically and socially. A young gifted author whose style is both easily readable and profound, Gordon offers a book that is a must read for any fan of modern music. I recommend this one highly.

If you've never been to Memphis, this book will either make you drive straight to the airport or convince you to stay far, far away. Gordon's round-up of Memphis eccentrics, flops, and genuises is short on Elvis and B.B. King, and long on Alex Chilton, Dewey Phillips, Jim Dickinson, and Furry Lewis. An indispensible and hilarious guide to America's deep-fried music capital.

This Book was excellent! I could not put it down! Merrick really describes how life at 25,000 feet can be frightening and exhilirating at the same time. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

I finally got hold of this book a couple of years ago, and just cna'r stop reading it. I love the film to bits (despite its inaccuracies!). I fyou have seen the film, this book will explain amny things which are not immediately obvious in it, if you haven't, it should inspire you to!

Very hard to put down! Graphic details show how it would have been at 25,000 feet in the air trying to stay alive while beig shot at from everuy possible angle.

When I started reading books about Elvis, I began to take notes on where he'd lived, played, recorded, etc., knowing one day I'd travel there. Then I discovered this book! Mike and Cindy had done the work for me. The book is not only well written, but there are informative stories AND they tell you if a place has been demolished, or moved -- information that saved me a lot of time. After reading the book I decided that I HAD to take Mike's tour of Memphis -- it was well worth it. I had a glorious time -- Mike is a walking Elvis-encyclopedia (and fun too!). After the tour, my niece, who was traveling with me said, "well, I think we've done it all and seen it all"! And yes, thanks to Mike and Cindy, we had.

This is the ultimate read for any Elvis fan. Especially if they are going to spend any time in Memphis. It's eerie, even chilling, to walk the grounds where Elvis walked as a teenager, and even during stardom. This is a step-by-step narrative of how to find nearly every address related to Elvis in Memphis, and every one of them with a used-to-be secret. It's really cool!

I had this book on my bedstand for months as a gift from my wife. Once I picked it up and read the first page, I couldn't put it down. Every page is loaded with "Man, If I would've only
known."

But you better hurry! These sites are rapidly falling by the wayside. As we saw in a store window in Memphis, you can contact the authors for a personalized tour. Although we haven't taken it, this would be a way-cool afternoon.

Thank you Cindy Hazen and Mike Freeman,
Dave-n-Tina Campbell
Mt. Vernon, Texas

Memphis Elvis Style Cindy Hazen and Mike Freeman A phenomenal number of books have been written about Elvis. Recently it would seem that ever more such books are being published. Some are just rehashes of the same old story; others are the recollections of a five-minute fling, being as much a flight of phantasy as a worthwhile document; a few, a very few, are really worth buying and can be returned to again and again. "Memphis Elvis Style" by Memphis residents Cindy Hazen and Mike Freeman is most definitely one of the latter. It has not been launched under a blaze of publicity, but it is nevertheless an almost indispensable addition to the Elvis library. "Memphis Elvis Style" is, in fact, a guide book of Elvis related sites in and around Memphis. The no less than 129 sites have been cleverly organised firstly by their chronological relationship with Elvis and then further grouped by type. In addition, maps and an index help searching both in the book and in Memphis itself as simple as possible. And if this wasn't already enough, each entry contains detailed instructions on how to find its site and exactly what to expect, many buildings having been flattened or modified in the course of the years. But the book is also for those who have never been or never will go to Memphis. Cindy and Mike have achieved this by expanding each entry with some background information and an anecdote directly relating it to Elvis. This additional information provides some excellent reading and is sometimes quite amusing - I particularly liked the story of Elvis's visit to his local McDonald's with girlfriend Linda Thompson., but there are lots more stories and Elvis lore to satisfy all readers, even those looking for information about Hi Records, car dealerships, and just about everything else associated with Elvis in Memphis. Definitely a book to get! David Neale September 199

I read about 30 books a year and consider "Pink Cadillac" one of the two or three best novels (of any genre) that I've read in the last half-decade.

Author Dunn cuts through the sickeningly-sweet nostalgia to which rock's first decade has been reduced, and paints a warts-and-all portrait of Eisenhower-era Memphis: the racism and segregation, the subjugation of women, the predatory practices of the music business, the even more predatory practices of the ruling class, and--on the positive side--the energy and exuberance that made early rock 'n' roll and those who created it something truly special.

Dunn also does an excellent job of capturing the music historian's obsessive/compulsive thinking and behavior--a frame of mind that has motivated people such as I to spend our lives researching and writing scholarly treatises on what the people who created the music often disdainfully refer to as "those old things."

"Pink Cadillac" grabbed me from its opening paragraph and still hasn't let me go, some 24 hours after I finished it. Even if you don't like '50s rock 'n' roll, it won't keep you from enjoying this book. And for we who love the music of that period, Dunn's novel serves both as a triumph and as a sad reminder that good novels about rock 'n' roll have been few and far between.

Robert Dunn has given us a bittersweet story that perfectly captures a time when rhythm and blues was giving birth to rock and roll. A modern day record collector/entrepreneur, grief-sticken by his wife's sudden death, is on a healing quest to find a legendary single. He is convinced that "Pink Cadillac" is the greatest song never heard, a disc that may or may not have been recorded by a rag tag group of musical pioneers in the mid-fifties. Through flashback, the reader discovers the secret of the song, and why its origins have been kept hidden nearly half a century. The colorful characters that populate the story are in and of themselves worth the ride. Thomas "Bearcat" Jackson is a particularly vital and heartbreaking character as penned by Dunn. Bearcat is a brilliant self-taught bluesman and record man, imprisoned and haunted by the Jim Crow era into which he was born. Much to the dismay of his long time musical partners, Bearcat hooks up with two young white kids, creating a new sort of sound with their "Pink Cadillac." But was this magical tune ever actually put to wax? And what dreadful price did Bearcat and his friends pay for daring to make such music together? With "guest stars" such as Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips and Elvis himself (who provided the Cadillac the song is named for), this is a rollicking ride that will be a great read for novices and diehard music fans alike.

Pink Cadillac's author, Robert Dunn, knows the stuff of Memphis '55/56 -- the days of blues descending and rock rising, the roadhouses, radio stations, deejays, unscrupulous record label owners and the power of the mojo. He's taken that knowledge and transformed it into a riveting novel. I found myself reading late into the night, needing to know how Thomas 'Bearcat' Jackson's record producing career had been destroyed -- why blues singer Sonesta Clarke loved, but couldn't live with Bearcat -- if Dell Dellaplane's powerful father would smash his son's dreams by bringing down Bearcat's roadhouse -- if Daisy Holliday would ever come to her senses, forsake lounge singing in Buffalo, NY and return to Memphis. Most of all, I couldn't put the book down until the truth of the record -- Pink Cadillac -- was revealed. Had it actually ever been recorded? If so, why did it live in legend alone? Did it hold the answer to a mystery that might've been best left unsolved? Buy this book. Once you begin reading, you won't want to put it down.

This brought back so many great memories of our last trip to Graceland. What a clever book!

If you've been to Graceland, then you've probably written on the wall, and this wonderful book brings back all those good memories! I laughed and cried at the graffiti Wright has collected.

Extraordinary vision as an artist....right along the lines of Eggleston, Winnogrand, and Friedlander. This book is about fine art color photography, not your typical National Geographic obvious photo's. It is about seeing....there is much that is left to be said and done in photography, Huger Foote like his mentor William Eggleston is well on his way to saying things from a different perspective. Huger Foote apparently like many great artists "feeds" off of other great artists to produce a way of seeing that is simply brilliant. He too, like Eggleston, "is at war with the obvious".

I'm not a real art critic and Huger Foote's photography is very difficult to describe, but I'll do my best. The book is a collection of "walking around" images, taken on the streets and back roads of Memphis. These are mostly reproductions of pigment transfer prints, with some conventional color prints as well.

To me, the photographs work on a couple of different levels. In a sense, they are like abstract painting: the idea that the artist is better able to communicate when freed from the constraint that his work must represent anything in the real world. Photography is inherently representational, of course, and these photographs are straight representations of real scenes, but Foote, to paraphrase one of the book's introductions, doesn't so much take pictures of things as he uses things to make pictures.

The photos are mostly taken at odd angles, crop scenes in unconventional ways and generally lack an identifiable primary subject. This is because the print itself is both subject and object, and Foote wants you to judge the image on its own merits, as a two-dimensional color composition, rather than for how well it presents a real-world object.

Still, the real-world scene is there, and your mind can't help but jump back and forth between abstract consideration of the print and interpretation of the photograph. It's this balancing act, this duality that makes Footes images among the best contemporary photography has to offer.

Oh, and yes, the photos are gorgeous.

I read this book right after it came out, and it's still one of the funniest books of 1998!

Hayley Parrish wins an all-expenses paid wedding, but she doesn't have a groom! This is one of the funniest books I've read all year.