Meh. I’m not really sure why all the high marks on this one. I really felt it was detailed in all the wrong places, ended in a weird spot, and just lacked an overall ‘interesting’ quality.

I’m sure it’s taste but the stories that sounded interesting to me, got very little write up. Then others seemed to ramble on with just constantly flowing facts and nothing other than it was In Elvis’ world to tie it all together. Maybe that’s all it needed. But I wanted more.

Reading this was fascinating. As the author highlighted different songs I listened to them on Alexa and definitely developed an appreciation for his broad talent. That said, he was probably bipolar either by nature or drug induced. Had a weird whore-Madonna complete, was stuck in early adolescent attraction to 14 year old girls, was debilitatingly insecure, demanding and profligate and suffocatingly needy while also strangely, deeply religious and spiritual.

He had a twin who died at birth which added a pall and mission to his life. He may have been two people on one.

Fascinating. Read both volumes. Review reflects opinion after completing second book. Elvis in Part 1 is the child-father of the “mature” ( grown older, still childlike in man’s body) man in Part 2.

Compelling, riveting, thoroughly researched. Reading this was fascinating. As the author highlighted different songs I listened to them on Alexa and definitely developed an appreciation for his broad talent. Having come of age 60s/70s I was brought up on folk music and post-Elvis rock. He was not popular among my influencers: too flashy and a “greaser.”

Learning of his spiritual and gospel foundation and his impoverished background in segregated Tupelo and Memphis was new info for me. His beginnings were so inauspicious and his relationship with his mother quite unnerving. The loss of his twin at birth sets the stage for intense pressure, duality in persona and an unhealthy Oedipal complex.

Gorgeous voice, music in his soul, deeply spiritual, trapped forever in troubled adolescent urgings and ambivalence.

Read this. Then read the second volume.

This is just an amazing book that details the early years of Elvis Presley. This book shows just what an awesome talent he was and how his genius was formed in spite, or maybe because, of coming from such an impoverished background.

I thought this book was interesting but very very very detailed. I really enjoyed the beginning but I felt a little bogged down by the end. I’ll for sure read the sequel but I’ll need to take a break first.

This is a great detailed biography covering his life from birth to his time in the army. It does portray him as a homey, naive kid who sort of stumbles into fame, but the interviews from childhood friends, his band and Elvis himself make this a fascinating listen. Highly recommend for Elvis lovers. #audible #audiobooks #elvis

Extensive, exhausting, and surprisingly depressing. Guralnick's twin mammoth Elvis bios (I'm reviewing them as a whole) give you the whole bloody story, more Elvis background and detail than you ever wanted to know. It reads like a factual novel, and the amount of research that went into this is literally breathtaking.

It's almost too much. The first volume (covering up until his army stint) rattles along as Elvis grows up, gets his first break, the early recordings and starts on the journey to superstardom. The second volume, when he retreats into a life of drugs, hotel rooms and tormenting his long suffering entourage drags - much as Elvis's life drags I guess.

Still, I knew what I was signing up for when I started reading. Guralnick's Elvis Bios are the definitive article. Recommended for diehard fans.

Wow. I’m already a huge Elvis fan, but reading this book just made me love him even more. Guralnick fit so many details and anecdotes into the 500 pages that by the end of it I really felt like I had experienced all of those things with him and his family and friends. At the end of the day isn’t that everything and more you could want out of a biography? “Last Train to Memphis” is a beautifully told account of Elvis Presley’s early life and rise to stardom, and I cannot wait to read “Careless Love” next!!

A very unbiased and respectful (and SO thorough) biography on Elvis. This paints him as a man, with both confidence and insecurities, strengths and weaknesses. True accounts and debunks of myths, told in an engaging and educational way. I feel so much more enlightened on his early history now.

At times, it did feel as though there was a bit too much information than necessary that bogged down the flow of reading. Because of that and the 500pgs, it took me a few months to finish. You can bet I tagged a whole lot of sections to look back on though!

This is probably a top book of mine on Elvis, and I'd recommend it to anyone curious on the music history of the time and/or the man himself.