Customer Reviews

Last Train to Memphis: Rise of Elvis Presley

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a book for those who love American music, not those looking for lurid scandal. Guralnick's respectful yet honest history of Elvis's rise to fame is endlessly engrossing. Not only do we meet Elvis, Gladys, and Vernon in the years before the myths took over, we meet lesser-known yet facsinating characters as Sam Phillips, the idealistic founder of Sun Records, and Dewey Phillips, the eccentric DJ who first played Elvis on the air. As Guralnick presents Memphis in the 50's, it seems so real one almost feels as though it could be visited today.

You don't have to be an Elvis fan to enjoy this biography.

One of the best biographies I have ever read. Detailed, sensitive, written with just the right mix of empathy and detachment a biographer needs. I know two people who are about Elvis' age and grew up with him. Both of them say that the chapters dealing with the King's upbringing in Tupelo and his years at the Lauderdale Courts read like they have been written by someone who grew up with him. If you have only the slightest interest in Elvis, Memphis, Southern history, or American popular culture, buy this book.

This is one of those rare biographies that transcend its subject. The rise of Elvis is fascinating and true Elvis fans will find a wealth of information in the book, but there is also much more to take from this well researched tome. The discussion of the music of Memphis, the sources that influenced Elvis and the rise of rock and roll make this book a terrific addition to anyone's library who is interested in music or the south.

The relationship between Presley and his many women is discussed here and so is the complex interaction between him and his family. Perhaps his most interesting relationship is with his manager, Colonel Parker. How that relationship shaped his career certainly makes for an interesting read. The author does as fine a job as I have ever seen of documenting his sources and treating his subject with respect, but not awe. This is one of the best bio's I have ever read. I highly recommend this book to students of Elvis, pop music, the south or to anyone looking to be exposed to a world that no longer exists.

This book is one of the best, if not the best, I've ever read about Elvis Presley. It is very well written in an original way. I'm almost through reading it for the second time. To be able to get all of the information in this book, it is a must read more than once! You won't be able to put it down. Not only is it a great book for Elvis fans, but also for the avid reader. It describes Elvis' influences and surroundings and people in his early life and career in an accurate, yet exciting, way. This insightful biography of Elvis will open your eyes to more than just his image. It will help you understand the "real" Elvis. Emotions run high as you read about his first gigs, girlfriends, frenzied fans, Hollywood life, army concerns and his Mother. To own "Last Train to Memphis" is an inspiration.

I found this book a fascinating & riveting read. Of the two biography books of Elvis Presley by this author I think I prefered this one the best, possibly because in the second book you already knew of the ultimate ending and with each page you could see it coming. This first book was especially interesting I found because it was a social history of the American 50's as well. All credit to the author for such an incredibly well researched and thoroughly enjoyable read. I believe Elvis himself would have given this 5 stars!!

This volume puts Elvis' life in perspective. He was the right person at the right time. The creation of rock 'n' roll at Sun studios in Memphis was an experimental, yet calculated, event that took off and left no prisoners. Rock 'n' Roll, as we know it, would not have been what it is, for better or worse, without Elvis. He was a musical prodigy that knew what he wanted from his music and tried desperately, especially later, to encompass all of 20th century American music. Yet, we also see the human side--the poor country boy, embarrassed by his lack of education, yet supremely confident in himself and proud of his accomplishments. This book was engrossing and I am currently reading the second volume.

These books (this one and "Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley") are the best books I have ever read about Elvis. I am a huge fan, and I read so many things, but I learned so much more with these books. It's the first time I felt "close" from Elvis. He's described as the human being he was. And he was even more extraordinairy than I thought. He was such a great artist, so sensitive, generous.

Peter Guralnick -- with both love and meticulous scholarship -- has written a supremely ethical work of cultural archaeology.

With meticulous care and fairness -- but with no sugarcoating whatsoever -- he excavates Elvis out of the layers of rumor, innuendo, and mystery that have conspired over the years to make him a caricature and a joke rather than a human being.

Gurlanick gives us back the artist (who first thrilled me on 78s) and exorcizes so much of the snobby and dismissive trashy gossip (Goldman) that has obscured Elvis for almost 40 years.

I don't mean that a saint emerges. No way. But in Guralnick's telling, a brilliant musician and excruciatingly vulnerable human being pushes aside the fat guy in the gold Vegas suit.

The result? The music -- in all its glory and raw excitement -- returns to take its rightful and deserved place.

The best books (with Guralnick's 2nd volume) about rock and roll ever written.

Guralnick writes an amazingly detailed account with deep insights into the feelings and motivations of Elvis and the people who surrounded him. I was left with the impression that his first objective was a quality product, not financial gain. I could envision him pouring over piles of newspaper clippings, photographs, and earlier biographies, and diligently interviewing a host of people, one after the other. His attention to detail does not destroy the book's read-ability. In fact, it reads easily, almost like a novel. It is a must-read for anyone wanting to know the real story of Elvis's life.

All my life I stayed away from Elvis Presley & his music as I just could not warm up to the whole paradoxal celebrity-myth about him.It took me 30 years to finally listen carefully his gospel albums which I found beautiful and start to wonder was I wrong,after all.The gospel albums were the reason why I pick up Guralnick book again,after I find it too detailed the first time around.I still think it's overwhelmingly detailed and it could have been half as long if Guralnick was not tempted to squeeze years of research on every page - description of every single concert Presley ever had,his dinner menu,every one of his girlfriends or wanna-be girlfriends left me with the same headache.Guralnick did a good job of not trying to make his subject God-like (I actually liked the character of Colonel much more than Presley himself) and he was relatively objective in his desciption of madness around big rock star.It's a looong book that left me with apetite for more - I am reading a sequel right now,but I am already prepared that along the way I have to deal with description of every time Presley looked through the window.