- Table View
- List View
Behind the Smile: My Journey out of Postpartum Depression
by Marie Osmond"I was sitting on the kitchen floor, heaving in sobs, and all I could think was: 'This can't possibly be me.'" In a candid account, Marie Osmond, beloved actress, singing star, and television personality, discloses her heartwrenching battle with postpartum depression and the private pain behind her public persona. Sinking fast into numbing despair after the birth of her last baby, Marie Osmond joined the thousands of women each year who suffer from an illness not often discussed openly. Now she tells her inspiring story...
Behind the Sofa: Celebrity Memories of Doctor Who
by VariousSteve Berry decided to do something a little bit different to raise funds for Alzheimer's Research UK. A life-long DOCTOR WHO fan, he began to interview celebrities, writers, actors and people who had worked on DOCTOR WHO, asking for their earliest memories of the show that sent us cowering behind the sofa. Now he presents the fruits of his four years of labour - a beautiful, touching book containing short articles and touching memories of one of the most successful TV shows ever. 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of DOCTOR WHO - this is the perfect way to enjoy those 50 years!This revised and expanded edition includes over 30 new entries from people such as Sophia Myles, Ben Aaronovitch, John Leeson and many moreContributors include comedians Al Murray, Stephen Merchant, and Bill Oddie; actors Lynda Bellingham, Nicholas Parsons, and Rhys Thomas; writers Neil Gaiman, Jenny Colgan, Jonathan Ross and Charlie Brooker and politicians Louise Mensch and Tom Harris. In addition, there is input from a number of the writers, actors and production staff who were involved in creating DOCTOR WHO stories new and old.
Behind the Throne: A Domestic History of the British Royal Household
by Adrian TinniswoodAn upstairs/downstairs history of the British royal court, from the Middle Ages to the reign of Queen Elizabeth II Monarchs: they're just like us. They entertain their friends and eat and worry about money. Henry VIII tripped over his dogs. George II threw his son out of the house. James I had to cut back on the alcohol bills. In Behind the Throne, historian Adrian Tinniswood uncovers the reality of five centuries of life at the English court, taking the reader on a remarkable journey from one Queen Elizabeth to another and exploring life as it was lived by clerks and courtiers and clowns and crowned heads: the power struggles and petty rivalries, the tension between duty and desire, the practicalities of cooking dinner for thousands and of ensuring the king always won when he played a game of tennis. A masterful and witty social history of five centuries of royal life, Behind the Throne offers a grand tour of England's grandest households.
Behind the Wire: Allied Prisoners of War in Hitler’s Germany
by Philip KaplanPhilip Kaplan presents us here with a riveting account of the Allied experience behind enemy lines, detailing the trials and tribulations experienced by the British and American airmen who were shot down in European skies during World War Two, to be incarcerated 'behind the wire' in enemy camps. With eloquence and a clear enthusiasm for the subject at hand, the author describes how various individuals adjusted to their incarceration. Whilst some set their minds resolutely on escape, and dreamt up plots and plans to achieve this end, others retreated, away from their comrades and into themselves as the grim reality of their predicament pushed them ever deeper into debilitating depression. Others were determined that they would not waste their time; affected by the quick and brutal deaths they had witnessed during their wartime careers, they were unwilling to sit idle. Theatres, recreational areas, and other camp facilities were designed and built a creative spur that made their time behind the wire, and the quality of life of their fellow comrades, infinitely more bearable. These small acts of enterprising heroism, alongside the harrowing tales of those who crumpled under the weight of their prison reality, combine to create a complete picture of this collective experience. Kaplan's skill lies in informing the reader of the facts of this history with both honesty and reverence.
Behind the Yoi: The Life of Myron Cope, Legendary Pittsburgh Steelers Broadcaster
by Dan Joseph Elizabeth CopeMyron Cope was the color commentator for Pittsburgh Steelers radio broadcasts from 1970 to 2005, the second-longest-serving team broadcaster in NFL history. At the peak of his popularity, an estimated 50 percent of Steeler fans turned down the volume on their TVs so they could listen to the radio as Cope, in his one-of-a-kind scratchy, raspy voice, barked out phrases like &“Yoi&” and &“Okle-dokle,&” often fueled by bursts of excitability and his own beautiful brand of homerism. About his voice, Cope said, &“Mine isn&’t a broadcaster&’s voice; it tends to cut through concrete.&” Cope helped forge the unbreakable bond between the city of Pittsburgh and its football team. His evening talk show, one of the first sports talk programs in the nation, dominated its time slot for more than twenty years, and he became the first pro football announcer elected to the National Radio Hall of Fame. Born in Pittsburgh to parents of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry, Cope attended the University of Pittsburgh and became a journalist. Though he forged a successful career writing for magazines like Sports Illustrated, football fans grew to know Cope far more through the airwaves. Co-namer of the Immaculate Reception, he also created the Terrible Towel, the flag of Steelers Nation, when in 1975 he urged fans to bring gold towels to wave at a playoff game against the Baltimore Colts. Behind the scenes the Terrible Towel took on a deeper personal meaning, as Cope eventually assigned all royalties from the towels to the facility where his son, who was born with brain damage and never learned to speak, still resides. Throughout his life Cope, who passed away in 2008, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for children with disabilities. Using Cope&’s own papers, correspondence, and tapes, plus interviews with friends and family, Dan Joseph and Elizabeth Cope, Myron&’s daughter, paint the first three-dimensional portrait of the creative, many-faceted man whom Pittsburghers still hold in high esteem and close to their hearts.
Behold This Heart: The Story of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
by H. HeagneyThe very popular and not always understood devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was revealed to a cloistered Visitation nun in France during the very trobled seventeenthcentury. Although the book is writtenas novel, French and English history is accurate. The book moves quickly along and the story should hold the interest of anyone committed to his devotion.
Behold the Monster: Confronting America's Most Prolific Serial Killer
by Jillian Lauren'Fearless and fierce ... transcends a crime story to be a story that threatens social order' - Michael Connelly'Bewitching . . . a tale of horror that is also humane and self-aware' - Jennifer Egan'Wildly original... true crime fans will find this a unique and disturbing thrill ride' - Publishers Weekly'Blending gruesome forensic details with tender domestic moments . . . a panoramic tale of America's worst serial killer' - Daily TelegraphJillian Lauren set out to research a serial killer for a novel. Instead, she put one at the centre of her life.Months of exchanging letters with Samuel Little in prison landed her a face-to-face meeting - and the trust of a monster. In the hours of harrowing interviews that followed, Little confessed to the murders of ninety-three women, making him America's most prolific serial killer. As the investigations escalated, the disturbing relationship took its toll on Lauren, both psychologically and legally - but she couldn't stop.Conversations with a psychopath, intertwined with intensely personal experience and the stories of those killed told for the first time, result in an unforgettable true crime account. Behold the Monster is a journey into a mind and murderer that shocked the world, but one that ultimately lifts the lives of the victims with such grace that we cannot look away.
Behold the Monster: Confronting America's Most Prolific Serial Killer
by Jillian Lauren'Fearless and fierce ... transcends a crime story to be a story that threatens social order' - Michael Connelly'Bewitching . . . a tale of horror that is also humane and self-aware' - Jennifer Egan'Wildly original... true crime fans will find this a unique and disturbing thrill ride' - Publishers Weekly'Blending gruesome forensic details with tender domestic moments . . . a panoramic tale of America's worst serial killer' - Daily TelegraphJillian Lauren set out to research a serial killer for a novel. Instead, she put one at the centre of her life.Months of exchanging letters with Samuel Little in prison landed her a face-to-face meeting - and the trust of a monster. In the hours of harrowing interviews that followed, Little confessed to the murders of ninety-three women, making him America's most prolific serial killer. As the investigations escalated, the disturbing relationship took its toll on Lauren, both psychologically and legally - but she couldn't stop.Conversations with a psychopath, intertwined with intensely personal experience and the stories of those killed told for the first time, result in an unforgettable true crime account. Behold the Monster is a journey into a mind and murderer that shocked the world, but one that ultimately lifts the lives of the victims with such grace that we cannot look away.
Beijing Bastard: Into the Wilds of a Changing China
by Val WangA humorous and moving coming-of-age story that brings a unique, not-quite-outsider's perspective to China's shift from ancient empire to modern superpower Raised in a strict Chinese-American household in the suburbs, Val Wang dutifully got good grades, took piano lessons, and performed in a Chinese dance troupe--until she shaved her head and became a leftist, the stuff of many teenage rebellions. But Val's true mutiny was when she moved to China, the land her parents had fled before the Communist takeover in 1949. Val arrives in Beijing in 1998 expecting to find freedom but instead lives in the old city with her traditional relatives, who wake her at dawn with the sound of a state-run television program playing next to her cot, make a running joke of how much she eats, and monitor her every move. But outside, she soon discovers a city rebelling against its roots just as she is, struggling too to find a new, modern identity. Rickshaws make way for taxicabs, skyscrapers replace hutong courtyard houses, and Beijing prepares to make its debut on the world stage with the 2008 Olympics. And in the gritty outskirts of the city where she moves, a thriving avant-garde subculture is making art out of the chaos. Val plunges into the city's dizzying culture and nightlife and begins shooting a documentary, about a Peking Opera family who is witnessing the death of their traditional art. Brilliantly observed and winningly told, Beijing Bastard is a compelling story of a young woman finding her place in the world and of China, as its ancient past gives way to a dazzling but uncertain future.
Being (Sick) Enough: Thoughts on Invisible Illness, Childhood Trauma, and Living Well When Surviving Is Hard
by Jessica GrahamWise, visceral essays on navigating pain, sex, trauma, spirituality, addiction, recovery, and grief from queer, neurodivergent trauma-resolution guide Jessica GrahamIn an unapologetic look at living well with trauma and chronic illness, writer and meditation teacher Jessica Graham offers smart, funny, raw, and mindful insights on untangling—and embracing—the messy realities of being a human alive on this planet today.Graham gives us permission to accept care—and accept that it&’s okay to want care. They weave together personal stories and practical wisdom, offering their take on managing symptoms, getting creative, setting boundaries, and healing from ableist tropes like &“you don&’t look sick&” and &“we&’re all a little ADHD.&”Graham also shares vulnerable personal history: The adverse childhood experiences that wired their body and brain. The workaholism and addictions that kept their pain lying just below the surface. How illness and trauma intersect to obscure the knowledge that we&’re each enough, wholly as we are.This memoir explores the parts of chronic illness life that don&’t get enough airtime: How can we center sex and pleasure when pain gets in the way? How can we live well while living through late-stage capitalist hell? How can we come into relationship with our pain without falling prey to self-blame, magical thinking, or toxic positivity?Wise and embodied, fearless and necessary, Being (Sick) Enough is both a wild awakening and a love letter to your whole self: the pains and suffering, joys and brightness, and vital connections that hold each of us as we navigate what it means to be here, like this, right now.
Being Adam Golightly: One man's bumpy voyage to the other side of grief
by Adam GolightlyThe cruel early death of his beloved wife Helen tears up the script of Adam Golightly’s middle-class, middle-aged existence. Miserably single, outnumbered by his kids and haunted by life’s screaming fragility, he recounts his fight back against the crappy hand of fate.This irreverent and frank memoir follows Adam’s snakes-and-ladders journey through his grief in the year following his wife’s death, as he struggles with small town tongue wagging, the trauma of teenage bra shopping and online dating anarchy. Adam’s is the biggest mid-life crisis anyone could face and as he starts to build a new, alternative life for himself and his children, he shows not just how to survive bereavement but how to be transformed by it.
Being Ana: A Memoir of Anorexia Nervosa
by Shani RavivShani Raviv is a misfit teen whose peer-pressured diet spirals down into full-blown anorexia nervosa—something no one in her early-nineties, local South African community knows anything about. Fourteen-year-old Shani spends the next six years being &“Ana&” (as many anorexics call it), on the run from her feelings. She goes from aerobics addict to Israeli soldier to rave bunny to wannabe reborn, using sex, drugs, exercise and, above all, starvation, to numb out everything along the way. But one night, at age twenty, Shani faces the rude awakening that if she doesn&’t slow down, break her denial, and seek help, she will starve to death. Three years later, her hardest journey of all begins: the journey to let go of being Ana and learn to love herself. Being Ana is an exploration into the soul and psyche of a young woman wrestling with anorexia&’s demons—one that not only exposes the real horrors of a day in the life of an anorexic girl but also reveals the courage it takes to stop fighting and find healing.
Being Bad: This book is for anyone who has decided the rules don't apply.
by Arielle EgoziWhat happens when you stop giving a f*ck about what your parents, partners, and society expect of you and ask yourself what you really want?Salon’s inaugural sex and love advice columnist and author of the viral LinkedIn sex work post, Arielle Egozi, shares their journey as a queer, neurodivergent, child of immigrants who never quite fit into the social roles she was supposed to, instead choosing to embrace their multiple dimensions, and eventually discovering freedom—and true power—by being “bad” in a world that kept trying to force her to be “good.”What if sex positivity wasn’t about having sex at all? What if you ditched relationship hierarchies and explored relationship anarchy? How can everyone get in touch with their inner domme? Using frameworks and philosophies cultivated from years of living, writing, speaking, and educating on sex, relationships, and identity through a queer and decolonizing lens, Egozi offers questions, practices, and tools to help you find your own power, and step into it—creating space for you to dream far beyond what your family, society, or capitalist culture expects. Being Bad offers you the permission to become who you are, however you choose to be.
Being Berlusconi: The Rise & Fall from Cosa Nostra to Bunga Bunga
by Michael DayPeople from all walks of life are appalled and fascinated in equal measure by the stratospheric political career of the tycoon and three-time Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.Michael Day provides an in depth look at the life and crimes of the shameless media mogul until his nine lives ran out and he faced definitive conviction which signaled his irreversible decline. He tells the story of a bright and ambitious man from a lower-middle class family who shook off his humble origins and rose to become rich and powerful beyond most people's dreams—a multi-billionaire whose Mediaset company remains one of Europe's largest television and cinema conglomerates. Along the way, amid the election victories, business triumphs, and womanizing, he became bogged down by his hubris, egotism, sexual obsessions, as well as his flagrant disregard for the law.And yet how and why did Italy and Italians put up with him for so long?With the 78-year-old's legal woes ongoing, including further trials for bribery, after a recent nine-month community service stint, Being Berlusconi: The Rise and Fall from Cosa Nostra to Bunga Bunga is well-timed to mark the final chapters of a notorious—and astonishing—life and career.
Being Binky
by Binky FelsteadWelcome to the glamorous life of Alexandra 'Binky' Felstead, original cast member and star of the hit TV programme, Made in Chelsea. In this tell-all account she reveals what it's really like BEING BINKY and what it takes to be a real Chelsea Girl. When the show launched in 2011, Binky was catapulted from a nine to five job as a receptionist at a hedge-fund into the limelight of reality TV fame. She's experienced many ups and downs on the show, from feuding with best friend Cheska and a failed romance with Jamie Laing to her new found friendship with Lucy Watson and being swept off her feet by Alex Mytton, the impact of Made in Chelsea on her life was immediate. Charting her overnight rise to fame and exploring her life outside of Made in Chelsea, for the first time, Binky opens up about her childhood, the bullying she was victim to at school and the difficulties of dealing with her parents' divorce. She talks candidly about body image, and dieting, and shares her beauty regime top tips. BEING BINKY lifts the lid on one of the series' favourite characters and provides a backstage pass to the secret and exclusive world of Chelsea.
Being Black in America's Schools: A Student-Educator-Reformer's Call for Change
by Brian Rashad FullerA leading educator, writer, and strategist sheds a timely and powerful light on American public schools, their miseducation of marginalized students of color and the action required to make tangible changes and reforms to a failing and racialized educational system. In a polarizing and racially divided America, what do children of color learn about themselves before they even go to school? How do they see themselves and is that image only exacerbated by spending twelve years in a public education system that perpetrates negative stereotypes? Brian Rashad Fuller personally knows that the impact of low expectations can be devastating, as proved by the &“school to prison&” pipeline that so many students have experienced. He aims to make a difference in this humanizing and very personal portrayal of what it means to be Black in America&’s schools. As a Black man who has spent his life as a student and educator, Brian shares his own story of navigating the world, overcoming his family struggles, and eventually entering an educational system that he believes is inherently racist, damaging, and disserving. He exposes the challenges Black students face in elite and predominantly white universities and spaces, dissects &“Black exceptionalism&” in the schooling experience, and offers a firsthand account of the emotional and psychological impact made by teachers, administrators, policies, practices, lessons, and student interactions. Most Americans are looking for answers on how to improve our education system—as illustrated by the critical race theory debate—but have not fully understood the lived Black experience, until now. With powerful insight into a thoroughly American institution, Brian offers present-day solutions, and liberating hope, for a centuries-long issue, as well as a galvanizing and radical step forward. It is a book essential to our challenging times.
Being Brown: Sonia Sotomayor and the Latino Question (American Studies Now: Critical Histories of the Present #9)
by Lázaro LimaBeing Brown: Sonia Sotomayor and the Latino Question tells the story of the country’s first Latina Supreme Court Associate Justice’s rise to the pinnacle of American public life at a moment of profound demographic and political transformation. While Sotomayor’s confirmation appeared to signal the greater acceptance and inclusion of Latinos—the nation’s largest “minority majority”—the uncritical embrace of her status as a “possibility model” and icon paradoxically erased the fact that her success was due to civil rights policies and safeguards that no longer existed. Being Brown analyzes Sotomayor’s story of success and accomplishment, despite seemingly insurmountable odds, in order to ask: What do we lose in democratic practice when we allow symbolic inclusion to supplant the work of meaningful political enfranchisement? In a historical moment of resurgent racism, unrelenting Latino bashing, and previously unimaginable “blood and soil” Nazism, Being Brown explains what we stand to lose when we allow democratic values to be trampled for the sake of political expediency, and demonstrates how understanding “the Latino question” can fortify democratic practice. Being Brown provides the historical vocabulary for understanding why the Latino body politic is central to the country’s future and why Sonia Sotomayor’s biography provides an important window into understanding America, and the country’s largest minority majority, at this historical juncture. In the process, Being Brown counters “alternative facts” with historical precision and ethical clarity to invigorate the best of democratic practice at a historical moment when we need it most.
Being David Archer: And Other Unusual Ways of Earning a Living
by Timothy BentinckTimothy Bentinck has played the part of David Archer in BBC Radio 4's The Archers since 1982. He is also the Earl of Portland and the voice of 'Mind The Gap' on the Piccadilly Line. Aimed primarily at the five million regular Archers listeners, Timothy takes the reader behind the scenes of the longest running drama series in the world, a British institution with a theme tune that Billy Connolly wants to be the National Anthem. But that's not all. With wry, self-deprecating humour, Timothy recounts his enormously varied life - a successful actor in TV, film and theatre, a voice specialist working in every vocal medium. He's also been an HGV truck driver, a US tour guide, a computer programmer and website designer, an inventor with UK and US patents, farm worker, house renovator and he sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords for three years.Unlike many acting memoirs, this isn't a succession of thespian tales of freezing digs, forgotten lines and name dropping. This is an articulate, funny and thoughtful account of how to survive an insecure life.
Being David Archer: And Other Unusual Ways of Earning a Living
by Timothy Bentinck'Hilarious' Mail on Sunday'Stylish, very funny memoir' Daily MailTimothy Bentinck has played the part of David Archer in BBC Radio 4's The Archers since 1982. He is also the Earl of Portland and the voice of 'Mind The Gap' on the Piccadilly Line. Aimed primarily at the five million regular Archers listeners, Timothy takes the reader behind the scenes of the longest running drama series in the world, a British institution with a theme tune that Billy Connolly wants to be the National Anthem. But that's not all. With wry, self-deprecating humour, Timothy recounts his enormously varied life - a successful actor in TV, film and theatre, a voice specialist working in every vocal medium. He's also been an HGV truck driver, a US tour guide, a computer programmer and website designer, an inventor with UK and US patents, farm worker, house renovator and he sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords for three years.Unlike many acting memoirs, this isn't a succession of thespian tales of freezing digs, forgotten lines and name dropping. This is an articulate, funny and thoughtful account of how to survive an insecure life.
Being David Archer: And Other Unusual Ways of Earning a Living
by Timothy BentinckTimothy Bentinck has played the part of David Archer in BBC Radio 4's The Archers since 1982. He is also the Earl of Portland and the voice of 'Mind The Gap' on the Piccadilly Line. Aimed primarily at the five million regular Archers listeners, Timothy takes the reader behind the scenes of the longest running drama series in the world, a British institution with a theme tune that Billy Connolly wants to be the National Anthem. But that's not all. With wry, self-deprecating humour, Timothy recounts his enormously varied life - a successful actor in TV, film and theatre, a voice specialist working in every vocal medium. He's also been an HGV truck driver, a US tour guide, a computer programmer and website designer, an inventor with UK and US patents, farm worker, house renovator and he sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords for three years.Unlike many acting memoirs, this isn't a succession of thespian tales of freezing digs, forgotten lines and name dropping. This is an articulate, funny and thoughtful account of how to survive an insecure life.
Being Dead Is Bad for Business: A Memoir
by Stanley A. WeissMost of us spend our lives talking ourselves out of things. But what could you accomplish if you never held yourself back?What if, despite your fears, you went for broke every time? You might live a life as extraordinary as the one Stanley Weiss has lived for nearly a century.A skinny Jewish kid from Philadelphia training to fight and likely die in the U.S. invasion of Japan in 1945, Stanley Weiss came home to the death of his loving but weak father, who left his mother penniless. Inspired by a Humphrey Bogart movie, Weiss moved to a foreign country to hunt for treasure—where Rule Number One was ''Don't Die.'' Along the way, his zest for living has taken him from the company of legendary artists and poets in Mexico, to writers and beatniks in 1960s San Francisco and Hollywood; from drunken nights with a notorious spy to friendships with three of the men who played James Bond; from glamorous parties in Gstaad and Phuket to power politics in London and Washington, DC. For those who believe the world is shaped by ordinary people who push themselves to do extraordinary things, Stanley Weiss's story will inspire and surprise while reminding us all that being dead is bad for business—and being boring is bad for life.
Being Direct: Making Advertising Pay
by Lester WundermanLester Wunderman created the business known as direct marketing. He conceived and refined its basic strategies, and he gave it a name. Today, he is Chairman of Wunderman, Cato, Johnson, the largest direct marketing organization in the world.
Being Elvis: A Lonely Life
by Ray ConnollyOn the fortieth anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death comes this rocking biography of an iconic artist who fundamentally transformed American culture. Elvis Presley is a giant figure in American popular culture, a man whose talent and fame were matched only by his later excesses and tragic end. A godlike entity in the history of rock and roll, this twentieth-century icon with a dazzling voice blended gospel and traditionally black rhythm and blues with country to create a completely new kind of music and new way of expressing male sexuality, which simply blew the doors off a staid and repressed 1950s America. In Being Elvis veteran rock journalist Ray Connolly takes a fresh look at the career of the world’s most loved singer, placing him, forty years after his death, not exhaustively in the garish neon lights of Las Vegas but back in his mid-twentieth-century, distinctly southern world. For new and seasoned fans alike, Connolly, who interviewed Elvis in 1969, re-creates a man who sprang from poverty in Tupelo, Mississippi, to unprecedented overnight fame, eclipsing Frank Sinatra and then inspiring the Beatles along the way. Juxtaposing the music, the songs, and the incendiary live concerts with a personal life that would later careen wildly out of control, Connolly demonstrates that Elvis’s amphetamine use began as early as his touring days of hysteria in the late 1950s, and that the financial needs that drove him in the beginning would return to plague him at the very end. With a narrative informed by interviews over many years with John Lennon, Bob Dylan, B. B. King, Sam Phillips, and Roy Orbison, among many others, Connolly creates one of the most nuanced and mature portraits of this cultural phenomenon to date. What distinguishes Being Elvis beyond the narrative itself is Connolly’s more subtle examinations of white poverty, class aspirations, and the prison that is extreme fame. As we reach the end of this poignant account, Elvis’s death at forty-two takes on the hue of a profoundly American tragedy. The creator of an American sound that resonates today, Elvis remains frozen in time, an enduring American icon who could “seamlessly soar into a falsetto of pleading and yearning” and capture an inner emotion, perhaps of eternal yearning, to which all of us can still relate. Intimate and unsparing, Being Elvis explores the extravagance and irrationality inherent in the Elvis mythology, ultimately offering a thoughtful celebration of an immortal life.
Being Elvis: A Lonely Life
by Ray ConnollyThe perfect companion to Baz Luhrmann's forthcoming biopic Elvis, a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks and Austin Butler.What was it like to be Elvis Presley? What did it feel like when impossible fame made him its prisoner? As the world's first rock star there was no one to tell him what to expect, no one with whom he could share the burden of being himself - of being Elvis.On the outside he was all charm, sex appeal, outrageously confident on stage and stunningly gifted in the recording studio. To his fans he seemed to have it all. He was Elvis. With his voice and style influencing succeeding generations of musicians, he should have been free to sing any song he liked, to star in any film he was offered, and to tour in any country he chose. But he wasn't free. The circumstances of his poor beginnings in the American South, which, as he blended gospel music with black rhythm and blues and white country songs, helped him create rock and roll, had left him with a lifelong vulnerability. Made rich and famous beyond his wildest imaginings when he mortgaged his talent to the machinations of his manager, 'Colonel' Tom Parker, there would be an inevitable price to pay. Though he daydreamed of becoming a serious film actor, instead he grew to despise his own movies and many of the songs he had to sing in them. He could have rebelled. But he didn't. Why? In the Seventies, as the hits rolled in again, and millions of fans saw him in a second career as he sang his way across America, he talked of wanting to tour the world. But he never did. What was stopping him?BEING ELVIS takes a clear-eyed look at the most-loved entertainer ever, and finds an unusual boy with a dazzling talent who grew up to change popular culture; a man who sold a billion records and had more hits than any other singer, but who became trapped by his own frailties in the loneliness of fame.