Want the Books? It’s Now or Never

Here is a sampling of new books timed for release on the 20th anniversary of the King’s death.

“Where’s Elvis: Documented Sightings Prove That He Lives,” authors Dan Klein and Hans Teensma; Penguin Studio Books, $14.95.

Two decades ago, the “experts” declared Elvis Aron Presley dead. Yet, since then, Elvis sightings have been as plentiful as aliens at a barbecue in Roswell, N.M. In “Where’s Elvis?: Documented Sightings Prove That He Lives,” authors Dan Klein and Hans Teensma lampoon the cottage industry of publishing around Elvis. They produce photo after photo that reveal that the King has been present at some of the most memorable moments of the past 20 years. The student uprising in Tiananmen Square, the Million Man March, the funeral of Richard M. Nixon . . . the King was at them all.

But it’s just not the historical Elvis that’s shown: There’s also the everyday Elvis, the one who laughs, loves and cries like we do. We see Elvis running in the New York Marathon in 1988, sunbathing at a nudist beach on the Riviera in 1982, and happily aboard the Gay Mens Chorus float in a Chicago parade in 1991. Are these photos authentic? Have they been doctored? The truth is out there.

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“The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Elvis,” author Frank Coffey; Alpha Books, $18.95.

In the universe of Elvis literature, there are two kinds of books: The King is pushing up daisies or he’s chowing down at a Sizzler somewhere. In “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Elvis,” author Frank Coffey falls into the former category. Elvis may be singing with the heavenly choir, but that’s no reason to ignore the glory of the King.

The 348-page book is as stuffed with information about the kid from Tupelo, Miss., as Elvis was during his “fat” period. From the smorgasbord of facts: His shoe size was 11D, his favorite female co-star was Shelley Fabares and his longest best-selling album was “Blue Hawaii,” which was No. 1 for 20 consecutive weeks. And did you know that an early stage name for Elvis was “Hillbilly Cat”? If you didn’t you must be some kind of Elvis Idiot.

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“Down at the End of Lonely Street: The Life and Death of Elvis Presley,” authors Peter Harry Brown and Pat H. Broeske; Dutton, $25.95.

From the authors of a best-selling 1996 biography of Howard Hughes, “Down at the End of Lonely Street: The Life and Death of Elvis Presley,” an earnest examination of America’s most enduring pop icon. There’s nothing funny about Elvis’ tragic life in this book. The authors interviewed more than 300 people, including the controversial Dr. George Nichopoulos, the Memphis physician who took care of Presley and prescribed him a multitude of medications.

The book provides detailed new information about what really killed Elvis and his earlier brushes with death; the cause of his mother’s death; the verbal and physical abuse in the Presley household; Presley’s impressive military record; his life in Hollywood; his plastic surgeries; and his early use of drugs. Co-author Pat H. Broeske of Santa Ana says: “Our thing was Elvis isn’t just a kitsch joke. His name evokes a sense of Americana to a lot of people, and he embodies the American dream.”