Rating: 
Summary: Get on board! Elvis Presley is unbelievably great.
Review: I first read this while working as a convenience store clerk, and Guralnick's stories were so powerful that I hardly wanted to stop and sell lottery tickets! "Last Train to Memphis" shows the vulnerable, insecure Presley who transformed his wide musical background into a tsunami of energy. The book also focuses (justifiably) on Scotty Moore, Bill Black and DJ Fontana, the band members who made the music swing behind their whirling frontman. Just thinking about this book makes me want to swivel my hips too! Swivelling like Elvis, I am.
Rating:
Summary: FASCINATING!
Review: 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!!
Rating:
Summary: FASCINATING!
Review: 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!!
Rating:
Summary: THE best Elvis biography written to date.
Review: I have been an Elvis fan and collector since the fifties, am active in the "Elvis world" and have an extensive Elvis book collection. Without question, "Last Train to Memphis" is far and away THE best Elvis biography written to date. Not only is it extremely well written (reading the author's words made me feel as though I was actually there), I know for a fact that it is extremely well researched (Peter Guralnick does his own research as opposed to using information from other books, and he does not include a fact unless it is verified by a second source). If I am asked to recommend one book to read to learn about Elvis -- this is the one!
Rating: 
Summary: The Heart of the King
Review: I have just completed Peter Guralnick's wonderful biography of Elvis' early life and can say that it is a refreshing insight, not to the hype or myth of Elvis but, to the heart of who he was.While not a big fan of Elvis' music I am a fan of biographies, both in print and on film and found this one reaches into it's subject like none I have read or seen previously. It is rare that a biographical piece ventures further than a list of fact and "almost facts" tied together in a loose story, however Guralnick has allowed us to get to know Elvis in a way that even some of the so-called "Memphis Mafia" never really did I look forward to picking up the story in volumeII Rob Earnshaw
Rating:
Summary: The story of a man, a place and a time
Review: I have read "Last Train" cover to cover probably 15 times in the past two years. It is without a doubt the best biography I have ever read, period. It is also the best bio of Elvis Presley ever written in this reviewer's opinion. Guralnick's tale has essentially three main characters: Elvis Presley, the city of Memphis and the 1950s. "Last Train" is the story of how those three characters affected and interacted with one another and makes the reader feel he is standing on Beale Street or on the concrete outside Sun Studio watching this man's life unfold. Guralnick's detail-obsessive research, far from being tedious, provides a sense of place and time for the story of Elvis Presley -- something often lacking in biographies that simply list the highlights and important dates of a person's life. In fact, the map of 1955 Memphis inside the hardbound volume can still be followed by visitors to Memphis today on a pilgrimmage to Elvis sites.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Of The Elvis Bios
Review: I read this about 3 years ago & it is the absolute best of all the many books out on Elvis. In fact, this is probably one of the best rockstar biographies I have ever read, and I've read most of them. Peter Guralnick interviewed close friends & family members who bring back memories of Elvis' growing up and how he got started in music. I anxiously await the second part of this book that Mr. Guralnick is supposedly working on, which brings us up to date from where this book leaves off. Highly recommended for all Elvis fans.
Rating:
Summary: Objectively good, although I didn't like it
Review: I was a little disappointed with this. The author has clearly put a lot of effort into it, and a lot of people like it, but I find it to be one of those things that I can respect, without necessarily liking it very much. Don't get me wrong - it's big and detailed, and treats Elvis respectfully, as a human being - but it's very slow. Reading about one of the most vibrant times in modern history seemed dull, as the author concentrates exclusively on Elvis alone, with very little about the changing times around him. We are told that his singles sell over a million copies in three weeks, but we are not told whether this is a monumental achievement, or merely good, or whether this is unique or not; other emerging rock musicians are only mentioned in passing, as indeed is rock music in general; there are lots of dull descriptions of Elvis going out to restaurants or on holiday or to the beach, and then coming back again; facts and names and dates seem to blur together, and he doesn't attribute a lot of quotes; but in the end it's the lack of context that gets to me. And it's very clinical - although we learn a lot about the details of recording sessions, the songs themselves, songs which have since become standards, are barely mentioned. Despite all this, I can appreciate that it's still a great book, it just left me cold.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely readable!!
Review: I was born the year Elvis hit it big, and I have heard his music all my life. Now, I got a chance to get into what Elvis was about, and how his music, his fame, affected him and others. It was wonderful reading..... a bit slow at times, but over all, it made me feel I got to know Elvis as a person, which I had never felt before. I definitely recommend this book, and am going to buy the next one as well!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy the abridged tapes!
Review: I was stuck on a long car ride with the abridged version of this book. In order to get it down onto two cassettes, the abridgers consistently managed to suck every bit of life and color out of the story, producing the Monarch Notes equivalent of the story. You could tell where the interesting quotes would have gone. I've learned my lesson; I'll only listen to unabridged tapes from now on.
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