Fortunate Son: The Life of Elvis Presley (American Portrait (New York, N.y.).) - Hardcover

Ponce De Leon, Charles L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 080903042X ISBN 13: 9780809030422

Publisher: Hill & Wang Pub, 2006

Synopsis

An account of the final years of the rock-and-roll legend's life discusses how his charismatic, rebellious personality and his firm grounding in conservative, southern working-class morals influenced his persona in the 1950s before his struggles with drugs and shifting pop culture preferences irrevocably shaped his final decade.

About this title

Review

"Charles Ponce de Leon manages in this concise, probing, and extremely readable book on Elvis to accomplish what all historical biographers aspire to: to illuminate the man, the times, and the important relationship between the two. The reader is as fortunate as Elvis." --Lizabeth Cohen, author of "A Consumers' Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America
"
"This smart and engaging biography is the first to understand Elvis as a key figure in the history of recent America. Instead of an icon, both worshipped and mocked, Ponce de Leon reveals a man pulled under by the same celebrity culture that had made him." --Michael Kazin, author of "A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan
"
Praise for "Self Exposure: Human-Interest Journalism and the Emergence of Celebrity in America, 1890-1940":
"A fascinating contribution to one of the most important developments of modern America. One has only to think for a moment about contemporary culture to wish to know where our obsessions with celebrity come from and, more profoundly, what impact celebrating celebrity has had on our civilization."-James B. Gilbert, University of Maryland at College Park
"Self-Exposure fills an important gap in historical scholarship, providing the first sustained consideration of how the notion of celebrity status emerged from the late nineteenth century until the mid-twentieth. It should appeal to those interested in how journalists shaped American culture and the emergence of celebrities."-Daniel Horowitz, Smith College
" A vivid retelling of the Elvis Saga, and a deft assessment of its meanings." -- Richard Wightman Fox " A surprisingly worthwhile addition to the groaning shelf of Elvis books, emphasizing the historical and cultural context for his music and celebrity . . . A thoughtful synthesis of the most intelligent writing on the Presley phenomenon." -- "Kirkus Reviews"
" "
" A brief new life of Elvis Presley emphasizes his conservative political values." "-- The Atlantic Monthy"
"A vivid retelling of the Elvis Saga, and a deft assessment of its meanings." --Richard Wightman Fox "A surprisingly worthwhile addition to the groaning shelf of Elvis books, emphasizing the historical and cultural context for his music and celebrity . . . A thoughtful synthesis of the most intelligent writing on the Presley phenomenon." --"Kirkus Reviews"
" "
"A brief new life of Elvis Presley emphasizes his conservative political values." "--The Atlantic Monthy"

A vivid retelling of the Elvis Saga, and a deft assessment of its meanings. "Richard Wightman Fox"

A surprisingly worthwhile addition to the groaning shelf of Elvis books, emphasizing the historical and cultural context for his music and celebrity . . . A thoughtful synthesis of the most intelligent writing on the Presley phenomenon. "Kirkus Reviews"

A brief new life of Elvis Presley emphasizes his conservative political values. "The Atlantic Monthy""

"A vivid retelling of the Elvis Saga, and a deft assessment of its meanings." --Richard Wightman Fox

"A surprisingly worthwhile addition to the groaning shelf of Elvis books, emphasizing the historical and cultural context for his music and celebrity . . . A thoughtful synthesis of the most intelligent writing on the Presley phenomenon." --Kirkus Reviews

"A brief new life of Elvis Presley emphasizes his conservative political values." --The Atlantic Monthy

About the Author

Charles Ponce de Leon teaches history at the State University of New York, Purchase, and is the author of Self-Exposure: The Emergence of Celebrity in America, 1890–1940.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hill & Wang Pub
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 080903042X
• ISBN 13: 9780809030422
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 242