The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley
By Alanna Nash

Over the years, Colonel Tom Parker has been both championed and demonized. Some say that without the Colonel's guidance, Elvis Presley would not have never reached the pinnacle of success that he did, becoming the true king of rock 'n roll. Still others point a finger of guilt to Parker for Elvis' early demise, knowing about Elvis' substance abuses but not intervening in the least (once saying, "The only thing that's important is that he's on that stage tonight! Nothing else matters!"). The problem in finding the true story behind Colonel Tom Parker is that he hid his past behind a smokescreen of silence, half-truths and a vague promise of telling his story in an autobiography. The Colonel's book, which he titled How Much Does It Cost If It's Free?, had been promised since 1957. Yet, his book never materialized and Parker never got as far as the first word. Was it a simple ruse to keep his past hidden? What was he afraid of?

In THE COLONEL, Alanna Nash does superb detective work in revealing the secrets that Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk (Colonel Tom Parker's real name) tried so hard to hide. The Colonel even kept the secret of his heritage from his own family - his stepson believed that Parker was a native of West Virginia. The most startling of these revelations is that Parker may have murdered a young woman in his native Holland when he was 20 years old. He disappeared shortly after the murder occurred, abruptly leaving for America without saying goodbye to his family or even taking money, clothes or identifying papers. Nash was also able to find Parker's long-lost military record, which tellingly gives him a discharge "on basis of Constitutional Psychopathic State, Emotional Instability". These are just a few of the stories that Nash uses to make up her psychological profile of Parker. This might sound like the stuff that normally fills the National Enquirer, but Nash tastefully displays a detectives' knack for 'just the facts' reporting.

Nash gives meticulous insight into the possible motivations of Colonel Parker's actions. While she doesn't complete the jigsaw puzzle that is Colonel Tom Parker (Parker himself had well hidden many of the pieces over the years so that nobody could), she has connected enough pieces to get a very clear picture of this carnie/rock 'n roll enigma which played such a key role in rock 'n roll. Is Colonel Parker a hero or a villain? Well, that is up to you to decide after you read this book. All in all, THE COLONEL makes for one fascinating read and is my favorite rock book of the year. I'm already on my second read…