Elvis in Vegas

A smart and zippy account of the watershed moment when the King of Rock 'n' Roll came to Sin City to reclaim his squandered talent... Mr. Zoglin is in his element. --Wall Street Journal Las Vegas is among the most American places in America, Elvis Presley was among the most American Americans ever, and the era chronicled here was the giddiest stretch of the American Century by far. Thank you, Richard Zoglin, for this brilliantly imagined, deftly written, perfectly delicious book about our perfectly weird country. --Kurt Andersen, New York Times bestselling author of Fantasyland Zoglin is such a slick pop writer that his prose goes down like rainwater. --Booklist If you love Vegas-era Elvis -- and who does not? -- you will love this book. It's packed with juicy stories -- about The King, of course, but also about Frank and Dean and Sammy, Wayne Newton, Liberace, Sonny and Cher, Barbara Streisand, Howard Hughes, the mob and dozens of other outsized characters who played roles in the incredible transformation of a sleepy desert town into the glitziest city on Earth. --Dave Barry, New York Times bestselling author of Lessons from Lucy [A] fascinating tale of how the king got his groove back and Las Vegas refreshed its own image... Blending new interviews with top-drawer research focusing on how Las Vegas evolved as the pleasure capital, Zoglin produces a gem of pop culture history. --Associated Press Zoglin perfectly captures a seismic moment in 1969 when Elvis tore the roof off the International Hotel and ended the reign of the Rat Pack. This is the story of a spectacular head-on collision. --Conan O'Brien A fascinating history of Vegas as 'gambling capital, celebrity playground, mob hangout, entertainment Valhalla, ' with cameos by everyone from Abbott and Costello to the Rat Pack, whose boozing excess is chronicled in detail. --Rolling Stone Zoglin sets up what he calls 'the greatest comeback in music history' with the precision of a patiently plotted thriller. --Memphis Flyer We know that Elvis' 1969 Las Vegas comeback began his life's twilight--but from the purple haze of Nevada's western desert, Zoglin recaptures the horizon-filling blast of that spectacular sunset... Zoglin's book does what he wanted--it brings readers all the way back to that last cresting surge in Elvis' mighty career. --Daily Beast Illuminating and absorbing. --People You can tell Mr. Zoglin is extremely passionate about his two main subjects, Elvis and Vegas, and the meaning of their intersection... He delivers the story with great care, the same way Elvis and Sinatra did with a song. --East Hampton Star Pizzazzy... [Zoglin] is among the best showbiz chroniclers... Elvis in Vegas is the story of American industry, but also a canny look at the price of commercial glory. --Shelf Awareness Zoglin's smart and entertaining book... combines genuine affection for its subject with a keen sense of show-biz history and a lively style... [Elvis in Vegas] has snap and verve... This is outstanding pop-culture history. --Newsday