Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley

I love biographies and, in recent years, have really enjoyed biographies from the music industry. Elvis was a little before my time so his music wasn't "my" music. I appreciated the impact that he had on rock and roll but I didn't really appreciate his music.

Much of what I knew about his was from the later part of his career. I knew nothing about his early years in the business. Mr. Guralnick did a great job of telling that story. The book was interesting from the first word to the last. It also prompted me to YouTube where I was able to see some of his work from his early years.

Now I understand what it was all about and I have a new appreciation for the man and his work.

This book is heavy on the details - reading the researched minutia might have been a little bit overwhelming. The performance of the reader, combined with an incredible biography, made me listen to this book non-stop. It was incredible.

All of it was wonderful, but the reader clearly understood where to put the emphasis and inflection. He was wonderful. I loved hearing him pretend to cheer like a teenage girl! The ending was heartbreaking, and he used the power of his dramatic pause very effectively.

His portrayal of Elvis was wonderful - capturing the slight drawl and accent without going overboard was wonderful.

As previously stated, when Elvis' mother passed away. It was heartbreaking. I was weeding in the garden and started to cry. Ha!

Very informative and it held my attention for 22 hours.

Of coarse, Elvis. I was never crazy about him in general growing up, but I now have a new opinion of him as a very geniune person.

He made you believe he was actually there with the characters.

What you never knew about Elvis, the person.

I lived right behind Graceland from 1975 to 1978. I remember being unable to get home on the afternoon of August 16, 1977 due to the tens of thousands of people who filled the streets around Graceland after Elvis Presley was pronounced dead earlier that afternoon from a "heart attack". Two days later, since my husband and I were still not able to get near our complex, so we chose instead to stand in the sweltering Memphis, TN heat with that great mass of people - both rabid fans from around the world and just the merely curious - on what is now Elvis Presley Blvd., as the hearse carrying the body of "The King", followed by a dozen or so white limos with his superstar mourners, made its mournful way to nearby Forest Hill Cemetery.

Many books have been written about Presley since that day, most of which I have read. Each account has a different view of this man's life - some factual, some more fiction than truth, some vindictive, some self-serving. But, combined, one can get a pretty good idea of Presley's life and music. In my opinion, the best of the lot is "Elvis" by Albert Goldman (1981). But I still wanted to know more. So I bought Peter Guralnick's book. I couldn't be more disappointed!

After 22 hours, I still no idea what this book is about. It claims to chronicle the early years of Elvis Presley, yet there is very little about the REAL man in this book. The author writes like an 8 year-old doing a book report on a book he didn't read. The story is all over the place, his thoughts unfocused, no sense of chronology or local flavor. He will start telling us about an event or person but then not finish his point. The story is told in some weird, sometimes first-person manner, but you never know who is talking at the time. The narrator doesn't help, sounding bored, with no change in his voice for each person. He has a non-regional, generic voice, attempting to narrate a book about people from the seriously southern Mississippi and Tennessee!

Save yourself some time and money. Guralnick's effort is lazy, amateurish and superficial. Buy the Goldman biography on Elvis Presley. Some critics called it controversial at the time, but at least it's INTERESTING! At the very least, you will get great insight into the King and his huge "posse" (second only to the Disciples).

Long as hell which is good. Great value for money. Nice narrator. Intimate details I never knew about and overall fascinating.

Narrator was monotone. Story jumps around. Slow n unenthusiasicly read. More emphasis on who quotations needed.

A most satisfying portrait of a young man lost. It has changed my perspective of the human being behind the music, and has inspired a greater appreciation for the singer's less well-known recordings.

If you consider yourself an Elvis fan, this is a must. Great book with so many details of his life I didn't know. I could listen to the narrators voice all day. 10/10

awesome book we miss and love you Elvis youll always be the king my friend

Guralnick gives us a thorough accounting of Elvis' life up to his induction into the Army and basic training, death of his beloved mother, and his last press conference before heading to Germany, where he was stationed. Wonderfully written and painstakingly thorough. The author spoke with family, friends, girlfriends, acquaintances, fellow soldiers, actors, just about anyone who spent time with his subject. He knits together all of these varying accounts into a seamless story. Despite his fastidiousness I still don't feel like I know Elvis. Part of the problem is people's tendency to read more into their encounters with him. But I suspect the larger part is that he is just one of those elusive people that can't ever be truly known. He liked to please people and to feel he was liked, and he became who he had to in order to accomplish this. The narrator spoke clearly if a bit slowly. I eventually played it at 1.25x speed. Highly recommended if you are an Elvis fan or a music fan in general.