Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick
Nonfiction
What it’s about: While many of us know a thing or two about Elvis, this immersive biography is a meticulously researched and compelling look at his young life that reveals the vulnerability—and eventual triumph—of his early years. In 560 pages that fly by, Guralnick gives us the young Elvis Presley in vivid technicolor.
Why you might like it: For rock & roll enthusiasts, this book is a treat: it’s the first of two volumes considered the definitive biography of Elvis. Readers who love biographies will appreciate the in-depth research combined with sparkling writing about larger-than-life personalities against a lovingly depicted backdrop of 1950s America.
Reviewers say: “A serious, musically literate, and historically attuned biography. An American epic that belongs on every bookshelf” (Kirkus Reviews).