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Elvis in the Morning
- Author
- William F. Buckley
- Narrator
- Lloyd James
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date
- 24 June 2005
- Run Time
- 9 hours 51 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
Orson is a young boy whose mother works at the US Army base in Germany in the 1950s. There, he becomes a fan of a GI stationed at the base, one Elvis Presley, whose music is played over and over on the radio.
When Orson is caught stealing recordings of Elvis’ tunes from the post exchange store, the attendant publicity catches the star’s attention, and he comes to visit his young fan. Thus begins a lifelong friendship.
As Elvis’s career rockets ever higher and his behavior becomes ever more erratic, the two share many adventures. The sixties explode, and Elvis becomes the icon of the nation, while Orson, a college demonstrator, drifts away from regular life looking for something of substance to believe in.
Each man is an emblem of his times, as social conventions crumble, barriers fall, and the cultural landscape changes forever.
Critics Review
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“Lloyd James superbly narrates the story of these two disparate yet bound lives. He doesn’t imitate Elvis’ voice but uses phrasing and tone to suggest it to great effect…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
AudioFile
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“[A] quirky look at the life of Elvis and at an American era.”
New York Daily News
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“Gripping, stylish, funny, and moving.”
Oxford American
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“Fascinating…It reveals…a soul full of longing and sensitivity who believes in the power of popular music to heal damaged lives, in the innate dignity of the common man, and in the ineffable magic of a really deep male friendship.”
New York Times
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“A fanciful yet believable premise—a lifelong friendship that begins when an American teenager living on a military base in West Germany meets Pvt. Presley during the singer’s well-known 1950s tour of duty in the Army…Buckley uses his characters’ lives to illustrate the times in which they lived and events ranging from university protests to the beginnings of the computer industry.”
Houston Chronicle
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“A charmingly sympathetic tale…Buckley captures the hope, the yearning, the magic and pathos of the ’50s and ’60s as few authors have…The well-worn contours of Elvis’ story take on a fresh sharpness when subjected to Buckley’s surprisingly tender treatment…A nostalgic tale that eschews mush and a heartfelt tribute.”
Publishers Weekly
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“[Buckley’s] sympathetic tale of the decades-long friendship between the King and a young man…should appeal to anyone who enjoys a good story.”
Booklist
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“Fresh and amusing…It’d be a shame if a story this unpredictable and fun fell through the cracks.”
Kirkus Reviews
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- William F. Buckley
- Narrator
- Lloyd James
- Duration
- 9 hours 51 minutes
- Release Date
- 24 June 2005
- ISBN
- 9781481579063
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Genre
- Historical fiction, Fiction: general and literary, Historical fantasy
Synopsis
Orson is a young boy whose mother works at the US Army base in Germany in the 1950s. There, he becomes a fan of a GI stationed at the base, one Elvis Presley, whose music is played over and over on the radio. When Orson is caught stealing recordings of Elvis’ tunes from the PX, the attendant publicity catches the star’s attention, and he comes to visit his young fan. Thus begins a lifelong friendship.As Elvis’ career rockets ever higher and his behavior becomes ever more erratic, the two share many adventures. The sixties explode, and Elvis becomes the icon of the nation, while Orson, a college demonstrator, drifts away from regular life looking for something of substance to believe in. Each man is an emblem of his times, as social conventions crumble, barriers fall, and the cultural landscape changes forever.
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