Paul Bélard: An impressive publishing record.
EIN Book Spotlight by Nigel Patterson - July 16, 2025
With 37 Elvis books already published, prolific author-researcher, Paul Bélard, has established a cult following with his mix of "day-by-day" photo-books and subject specific releases.
The graphic “day-by-day" books are chock full of contextual narrative and hundreds of photos and rare archival material, while the “subject specific” books are important records of each topic.
Already in 2025, Paul has released seven titles (and he has nearly 10 other books at an advanced stage). The seven latest books are:
**Elvis June-July-August 1958 **
His basic training completed on Saturday May 31st, Elvis left Fort Hood early in the morning on his way to Memphis where he would spend a two-week leave. On June 10th, he went to Nashville for a recording session. It would be his last session for nearly two years.
After his return to Fort Hood, Elvis was allowed to live off base because one of his parents was classified as dependent. He rented a house in Killeen, a town close to Fort Hood.
On August 8th, Elvis' ailing mother was moved to the Methodist Hospital in Memphis. The 12th he was granted an emergency leave and flew to Memphis. His mother passed away on August 14th. The funeral took place the next day. On the 24th, a devastated Elvis returned to Fort Hood.
See > AmazonUSA - - - AmazonUK
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**Elvis April – May 1958**
In Elvis April - May 1958 Elvis is inducted into the U.S. Army on March 24, 1958, and taken to Fort Chaffee in Arkansas where he undergoes early processing.
On the 28th, he is transferred to Fort Hood in Texas, where he is assigned to the Second Armored Division, General Patton’s former “Hells on Wheels” outfit.
Three dozen or so newsmen and photographers await Elvis’ arrival. After a press conference and his first meal, he is declared off-limits to the media. From that point on, he would be “just another soldier”. Basic training started immediately and would last for the next two months.
Read EIN's full review of 'Elvis April – May 1958'
see > AmazonUSA - - - AmazonUK - - - Amazon.Australia
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**Marion Keisker: The Woman Who First Recorded Elvis Presley**
This is the first (and long overdue!) detailed account of Ms Keisker’s storied life.
It records an incredible portrait of a woman who not only recorded Elvis, but was also a pioneer in women's radio broadcasting, served as a captain in the US Air Force, and was also Memphis chapter president of the National Organisation for Women.
The book has a strong balance between narrative and many rare photos and fascinating archival material.
Read EIN's full review of Marion Keisker: The Woman Who First Recorded Elvis Presley
See > AmazonUSA - - - AmazonUK |
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**Elvis October 1958 Volume 1**
Book description: After nine days at sea, the USS Randall docked at Bremerhaven, in Germany, on October 1st, 1958. It was welcomed by hordes of fans and reporters waiting for its most famous passenger, Elvis Presley. Once on land, Elvis took the train to Friedberg, then reported to Ray Kaserne where he would spend the rest of his military service. This day was somewhat similar to his induction day in Memphis in March. The next day, the army had arranged a press conference for about 150 journalists. Afterwards, followed by the press, he collected his new uniform and equipment at the distribution room and moved into his quarters for about four days until he got the authorization to live off base with his father and grandmother.
See > AmazonUSA - - - AmazonUK |
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**Elvis October 1958 Volume 2**
Book description: When all his soldier's duties were completed, Elvis got a three-day leave and joined his father, his grandmother, Red West and Lamar Fike at the Ritters Park Hotel in Bad Homburg. Being Elvis, he started to date as soon as he arrived in Germany. This time, it was Margit Buergin, a typist. They saw each other for a few months. At the end of the month, Elvis and his dependents left this hotel for a health spa located in Bad Nauheim, the Hotel Grunewald.
See > AmazonUSA - - - AmazonUK
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**Elvis November 1958**
Book description: The second month of Elvis in Germany was spent at the U.S. Army Training Area in Grafenwohr, Bavaria, in winter maneuvers. Grafenwöhr is a town in the district Neustadt, in the region of the Upper Palatinate in eastern Bavaria, Germany. Effective on November 27, 1958, Elvis was promoted to Private First Class. This rank was symbolized by one chevron on each sleeve.
See > AmazonUSA - - - AmazonUK
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**Elvis The King of the Rings Volume 1** (reissue with new cover)
The reprint of the 2020 published Elvis The King of the Rings Volume 1 (a second volume was published in 2022) offers a sumptuous visual and narrative record of many of Elvis’ rings, pendants and heavy gold chains. The items on display include huge, lavish ruby ring sets; sapphires; lapis lazuli; emeralds; and bracelets of gold or precious gems.
Read EIN's full review of Elvis The King of the Rings Volume 1
See > AmazonUSA - - - AmazonUK
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The COMPLETE list of Elvis books by Paul Bélard (many of which are available on Amazon sites):
With links to over fifteen EIN in-depth book reviews..
Special Subject series…
Graphic Day-By-Day series…
Also, Memphis Mansion in Denmark has the following three books for sale:
Note: All of Paul Bélard’s Elvis related books are available only in “softcover” format.
About Paul Bélard
Paul Bélard was born in 1944 in Nouvialle, a small village in the Haut-Cantal region located in the commune of Narnhac, in the canton of Pierrefort in France. He studied engineering and after a stint in the Armée de l’Air (the French Air Force), and started a career at Michelin Tire Corporation. There, he met his future wife. An American, she was working at the time for the same company. She came to France on a business trip. Following a two-year trans-Atlantic courtship, they married in New York and Paul made the US his new home. He worked for a giant telecommunications company as a project engineer and retired in 2008.
About his earlier years Paul said:
“As a young engineer, I went to work in the R&D Department of the Michelin tire company in France. Part of my first paycheck was spent having some of my "flea market acquisitions" properly bound. At Michelin, in 1972,
“ I met a Brooklyn-born young woman who worked for Michelin in Long Island and was in France on a business trip. It was the beginning of a trans-Atlantic romance for a couple of years. We were married in 1974 and settled in Paris for a while.
“Even in the City of Light, I found myself at loose ends in the evenings. I decided to explore the possibility of binding books myself. Soon I was studying with Paule Ameline, a celebrated master bookbinder. For three years, two or three times a week, I attended her evening workshops. I loved it. You smell the leather, the paper, you touch and feel them, you use your hands and mind, and you’re alive. I loved those hours.”
A lover of books, Paul learned how to bind them and restore them as a hobby. He teaches his craft to children in a local school and gives talks on the subject at several universities.
Visit Paul’s business site
“A book collector bound to his hobby”
Paul has another passion: Elvis Presley, whom he discovered in 1958 while listening to the radio, perhaps when he came back on holiday to his uncle's house in Cantal? He became passionate about the artist to the point of publishing many self-published books , limited to about fifty copies each.
In order to set the record straight, Paul said, "The first one, I decided to write it because I was starting to get tired of hearing ignorant people say that Elvis was racist and stole black music". And Paul Bélard quotes B.B. King: "If someone says that Elvis Presley was racist, then he knows nothing about Elvis Presley or the history of music."
Through my books I want fans to be able to follow Elvis day by day, sometimes hour by hour. It's a thrill every time I discover an Elvis picture that I had never seen before, even if the quality isn't perfect. There are so many pictures taken of the man that, in some cases, there are photos for every day of a month. These books are historical documents, a scholarly study of Elvis’ career. Contemporary articles add to the sense of being there....
EIN interviews with Paul Bélard:
The King & the Jester (2023)
Paul Bélard (2018)
Book Spotlight by Nigel Patterson.
-Copyright EIN July 2025
EIN Website content © Copyright the Elvis Information Network.
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