A new book on Elvis' influence on the world - not musically - hit the streets. Is this work by Zoey Goto, a professional journalist, worth buying?
Design
I can only say that it is very professional! The 220 pages are printed on glossy paper. The many pictures certainly benefit from that. The lay-out is clear, and the font-size is great for elderly people; many fans belong to that group now ;).
Content
The book is divided in sections for clothing, hairdo, food, cars and houses, after a foreword by Hal Lansky (indeed, the son of...). A proper bibliography, acknowledgements and index are present too.
The clothing has, understandably, the biggest part of the book. Understandably because that's something that made Elvis partly into what he was and it was mostly his own choice. And yes (of course) the peanut-butter/ banana sandwich shows up too... ah well, I can live with that by now. I still don't understand what the social housing he lived in has to do with the style (other than that it is part of him) or influence he had on other people.
Elvis Style has a serious approach and it is actually interesting to read what people from the "outside world" (read non-fans) think. For us, the fans, these things are not new, but for a general public they might indeed be some eye-openers (beside the sandwich). Anyway, reading the book did not feel like a burden at any time, it was a pleasant way of spending my time.
Conclusion
If there's one point where this issue stands out for us fans it is the price. Between all the expensive books we got the last years this one seems to be almost for free. Without kidding, to answer the question in the opening paragraph: Yes, this book is certainly worth its price-tag! I enjoyed it from start to finish.
