5
1
Hardcover
$24.90
-
PICK UP IN STORECheck Availability at Nearby Stores
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
24.9
In Stock
Overview
In his latest book, the author of Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis recounts his favorite stories of how he started out in life as a rock concert promoter in the late 1960's, became biographer to Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, and ended up as a special assistant to His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama. A magical mystery tour of pop culture spanning the 50's through the 90's, with anecdotes about Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, professional wrestler Harley Race, pornographer Gail Palmer, and the Tibetan Buddhist monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery. Destined to become a modern day classic.
Never before published photographs throughout!
Never before published photographs throughout!
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780972422444 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Continental Shelf Publishing |
| Publication date: | 07/28/2006 |
| Pages: | 370 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d) |
About the Author
Murray M. Silver, Jr., is a fifth-generation Savannahian. He began promoting rock concerts in Atlanta in 1969, bringing many future supergroups to the city for the first time, including Fleetwood Mac, the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, Sonny & Cher, and Paul Simon. Silver parlayed his contacts in the music world into a career as a tour photographer and journalist, covering the greatest acts of the 1970's and 80's, including Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Elton John, and Peter Gabriel.
In 1982, Silver published his first book, "Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis," which was adapted to the big screen by Orion in 1989. In doing so, Silver became the first Savannah writer in history whose first book was an international best seller and subject of a major motion picture.
In 1990, Silver was hired to write the memoirs of Dr. George Nichopoulos, personal physician to Elvis Presley, and the man widely regarded to be responsible for the singer's death. Their book, "Who Killed Elvis Presley?," turned into an international scandal before it could be published, but the revelations therein are now part of Silver's memoirs and will undoubtedly refuel the firestorm of debate over the singer's fate.
In 1988, Silver was introduced to His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama by mutual friend Richard Gere. At His Holiness' request, Silver set aside the business of his life, both personal and professional, to write articles about China's oppression of Tibet, and to sponsor tours of Tibetan Buddhist monks who performed their sacred chants and dances at colleges and museums throughout the United States. Silver was tour managerfor Sacred Music, Sacred Dance, and personally responsible for packing and transporting The Mystical Arts of Tibet Exhibit, which featured personal sacred objects of the Dalai Lama.
Returning to Savannah in 1998, Silver authored "Behind the Moss Curtain and Other Great Savannah Stories," intending to turn them into Savannah movies. He has recently completed documentaries on Shoeless Joe Jackson and the Ghosts of Savannah, and his television series, "Haunted Savannah," will premiere on PBS on Oct 25, 07.
His most recent book is "When Elvis Meets the Dalai Lama." He is currently working on the biography of the "Brazilian Von Braun," father of Brazil's space program and a Society of Experimental Test Pilots Hall of Fame member.
In 1982, Silver published his first book, "Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis," which was adapted to the big screen by Orion in 1989. In doing so, Silver became the first Savannah writer in history whose first book was an international best seller and subject of a major motion picture.
In 1990, Silver was hired to write the memoirs of Dr. George Nichopoulos, personal physician to Elvis Presley, and the man widely regarded to be responsible for the singer's death. Their book, "Who Killed Elvis Presley?," turned into an international scandal before it could be published, but the revelations therein are now part of Silver's memoirs and will undoubtedly refuel the firestorm of debate over the singer's fate.
In 1988, Silver was introduced to His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama by mutual friend Richard Gere. At His Holiness' request, Silver set aside the business of his life, both personal and professional, to write articles about China's oppression of Tibet, and to sponsor tours of Tibetan Buddhist monks who performed their sacred chants and dances at colleges and museums throughout the United States. Silver was tour managerfor Sacred Music, Sacred Dance, and personally responsible for packing and transporting The Mystical Arts of Tibet Exhibit, which featured personal sacred objects of the Dalai Lama.
Returning to Savannah in 1998, Silver authored "Behind the Moss Curtain and Other Great Savannah Stories," intending to turn them into Savannah movies. He has recently completed documentaries on Shoeless Joe Jackson and the Ghosts of Savannah, and his television series, "Haunted Savannah," will premiere on PBS on Oct 25, 07.
His most recent book is "When Elvis Meets the Dalai Lama." He is currently working on the biography of the "Brazilian Von Braun," father of Brazil's space program and a Society of Experimental Test Pilots Hall of Fame member.
Table of Contents
Introduction........................................ viiOne: What's Past Is Prologue ...................... 1
Two: How the Best Book Ever Written
Became the Worst Movie Ever Made:
Not the Typical Insertion Thing ................ 17
Three: When Elvis Meets The Dalai Lama .............. 37
Four: Failing Upwards:
How to Bungle Your Way to the Top ............. 45
Five: Strange Angels ................. ............. 57
Six: Crazy ........................................ 71
Seven: Who Killed Elvis Presley ..................... 87
Eight: Drowning, Not Waving ........................ 101
Nine: Some People Calls It Madness;
I Calls It Hi-De-Ho .......................... 117
Ten: The 10,353
Champion of the World and the
Failure of Perfectionism ....................... 131
Eleven: A Japanese Christmas: April Fools............. 147
Twelve: Pom-Pons To Porn: Gail?s Tale ................ 161
Thirteen: The Doctor Is In ........................... 199
Fourteen: Little White Lies .......................... 217
Fifteen: in the Shade of the Wish-Fulfilling Tree ... 251
Sixteen: Knowledge Ancient and Ever New ............. 273
Seventeen:The Road Goes On Forever ................... 303
Eighteen: Midnight in the Garden of Good
and Getting' Better ........................ 343
Introduction
"Great Balls of Fire, the biopic of rock singer Jerry Lee Lewis, was released during the summer of 1989. The movie was based on the book written by Murray Silver, who spent three years, from 1979 through 1981, documenting the most devastating period of Lewis's life while tracking down dozens of leads for a historical perspective. Many writers had tried but none had succeeded in delivering the goods. Not only did Silver render the definitive work on Lewis, he managed to avoid being shot by his subject and was spared the same fate visited upon so many of Lewis's friends who became addicted to drugs and awash in alcohol. Silver's book and the movie it spawned made Lewis a star all over again, catapulting him into the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So that when Dr. George Nichopoulos finally decided to write a book about his experiences as personal physician to Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis told him that Murray Silver was the best man for the job.
Since Presley's death in 1977, Dr. Nick had been besieged by offers for interviews, books and television appearances, all of which he had refused. The autopsy, which had not been released to the public, had been sharply attacked or inadequacy and inaccuracy, and Dr. Nick's reputation was repeatedly questioned. His silence created an air of mystery and intrigue, leading many observers to surmise that he was responsible for Presley's death, while others thought that the lack of a published finding could only mean that Elvis was alive and living in seclusion. Not even the lure of a $1 million advance from Doubleday associate editor Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis could get so much as a single word out of Dr. Nick.
After a dozen years spent in denial, Dr. Nick realized that the controversy surrounding Presley's death was never going to end – at least, not until he perfected the record. Attempts were made on his life and attempts were made to rid him of his medical license, but it wasn't until Geraldo Rivera ambushed Dr. Nick on national television and accused him of killing Elvis by over–prescribing medications that he was forced to break his silence. While Murray Silver was in Memphis making his movie, Dr. Nick asked him to take up his cause at Silver's earliest convenience. In January 1990, Silver left his home in Atlanta and moved to Memphis to help Dr. Nick write the most explosive story in the history of popular culture.
It didn't take long for word of the collaboration to spread. Once the media got hold of it, there was a mad rush to Memphis to find out if it was true that Dr. Nick was going to reveal the shocking details of Presley's murder by someone in his inner circle. Speculations ran wild as to whom the culprit could be, and before Silver could finish the book it was already being hotly debated on every tabloid television show in America. The situation quickly got out of hand.
And then an odd thing happened: Hounded by camera crews that chased him down the hallways of hospitals, Dr. Nick was forced to fend them off by denying he was writing a book––and if he was writing a book, murder was not his contention. Silver was made to look like a nutcase; Elvis's old cronies came out of the woodwork to denounce Dr. Nick as a quack, and their book has never been published. In a rather bizarre twist, the very same publishers that rejected Dr. Nick's book instead turned out books by other writers who merely guessed at what Dr. Nick's book would've been about had it been published!
As Operation Desert Shield turned into Desert Storm, the storm that swirled around Dr. Nick was pushed off the front pages of newspapers until the Tennessee board of medical examiners lifted his license in 1995, and details of his having improperly dispensed potentially addictive drugs to his patients were a hot topic once again. Dr. Nick tried unsuccessfully to have his license reinstated and would wait three years for things to quiet down before making a renewed attempt. Having nothing else to do, he became Jerry Lee Lewis's tour manager for a while. And when that got old quick, 72–year–old George Nichopoulos worked the graveyard shift in the Federal Express personnel department.
What happened to Murray Silver shouldn't have happened to a dog: his talent trampled upon and his faith belied, he fled Memphis in the dead of night to avoid attempts on his life by any number of shady drug dealers who mistakenly thought Silver had stumbled upon some great plot to kill Elvis Presley which they would be caught up in. The facts of Silver's book may have been questioned but there was no doubt that the threat to him was very real: when the Memphis police could no longer guarantee his safety, he disappeared.
Eight years later, a man who looked very much like Murray Silver was seen moving about the country as the tour manager for a group of Tibetan Buddhist monks who performed their sacred chants and dances before university audiences in an effort to spread their healing energy and draw attention to Tibet's plight at the hands of its Chinese oppressors. If this was the same Murray Silver, this was no longer The Killer's confidant and the man who knew who killed Elvis Presley; this was Tenzin Murray, driver of the Magic Bus.
Graceland is not like Tibet. But when Elvis meets the Dalai Lama, there'll be a whole lotta shakin? going on."
Introduction by Cristina Piva.
Used by permission of the publisher, Bonaventture Books @ Murray Silver, 2003.
Since Presley's death in 1977, Dr. Nick had been besieged by offers for interviews, books and television appearances, all of which he had refused. The autopsy, which had not been released to the public, had been sharply attacked or inadequacy and inaccuracy, and Dr. Nick's reputation was repeatedly questioned. His silence created an air of mystery and intrigue, leading many observers to surmise that he was responsible for Presley's death, while others thought that the lack of a published finding could only mean that Elvis was alive and living in seclusion. Not even the lure of a $1 million advance from Doubleday associate editor Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis could get so much as a single word out of Dr. Nick.
After a dozen years spent in denial, Dr. Nick realized that the controversy surrounding Presley's death was never going to end – at least, not until he perfected the record. Attempts were made on his life and attempts were made to rid him of his medical license, but it wasn't until Geraldo Rivera ambushed Dr. Nick on national television and accused him of killing Elvis by over–prescribing medications that he was forced to break his silence. While Murray Silver was in Memphis making his movie, Dr. Nick asked him to take up his cause at Silver's earliest convenience. In January 1990, Silver left his home in Atlanta and moved to Memphis to help Dr. Nick write the most explosive story in the history of popular culture.
It didn't take long for word of the collaboration to spread. Once the media got hold of it, there was a mad rush to Memphis to find out if it was true that Dr. Nick was going to reveal the shocking details of Presley's murder by someone in his inner circle. Speculations ran wild as to whom the culprit could be, and before Silver could finish the book it was already being hotly debated on every tabloid television show in America. The situation quickly got out of hand.
And then an odd thing happened: Hounded by camera crews that chased him down the hallways of hospitals, Dr. Nick was forced to fend them off by denying he was writing a book––and if he was writing a book, murder was not his contention. Silver was made to look like a nutcase; Elvis's old cronies came out of the woodwork to denounce Dr. Nick as a quack, and their book has never been published. In a rather bizarre twist, the very same publishers that rejected Dr. Nick's book instead turned out books by other writers who merely guessed at what Dr. Nick's book would've been about had it been published!
As Operation Desert Shield turned into Desert Storm, the storm that swirled around Dr. Nick was pushed off the front pages of newspapers until the Tennessee board of medical examiners lifted his license in 1995, and details of his having improperly dispensed potentially addictive drugs to his patients were a hot topic once again. Dr. Nick tried unsuccessfully to have his license reinstated and would wait three years for things to quiet down before making a renewed attempt. Having nothing else to do, he became Jerry Lee Lewis's tour manager for a while. And when that got old quick, 72–year–old George Nichopoulos worked the graveyard shift in the Federal Express personnel department.
What happened to Murray Silver shouldn't have happened to a dog: his talent trampled upon and his faith belied, he fled Memphis in the dead of night to avoid attempts on his life by any number of shady drug dealers who mistakenly thought Silver had stumbled upon some great plot to kill Elvis Presley which they would be caught up in. The facts of Silver's book may have been questioned but there was no doubt that the threat to him was very real: when the Memphis police could no longer guarantee his safety, he disappeared.
Eight years later, a man who looked very much like Murray Silver was seen moving about the country as the tour manager for a group of Tibetan Buddhist monks who performed their sacred chants and dances before university audiences in an effort to spread their healing energy and draw attention to Tibet's plight at the hands of its Chinese oppressors. If this was the same Murray Silver, this was no longer The Killer's confidant and the man who knew who killed Elvis Presley; this was Tenzin Murray, driver of the Magic Bus.
Graceland is not like Tibet. But when Elvis meets the Dalai Lama, there'll be a whole lotta shakin? going on."
Introduction by Cristina Piva.
Used by permission of the publisher, Bonaventture Books @ Murray Silver, 2003.
From the B&N Reads Blog
Page 1 of