Last Train to Memphis is a success in that it has completely opened me up to Elvis's humanity—that he was really just a sweet, gentle-natured kid who got chewed up by fame (and it's actually heartbreaking to see what happened to him in the end)—but the reader has to work for it in this dense biography. Details are good, but this book takes that to the extreme, and it trudges along as a result.

In the Rodin room at the Met (the one with the Munch Vampire), there's an "Orpheus & Euridice" sculpture that is Elvis Presley. I swear it. This should be required reading in some class somewhere, along with Careless Love, the second volume. Even if you don't like non-fiction, this is more important than any other 20th century American History textbook, except maybe Ellison's Invisible Man and Catch-22.

A fine, well documented biography.

This is one of the best biographies I have ever read. So well researched, but reads with the flow of a novel. Guralnick makes you feel like you were there with Elvis from the beginning, lots of detail but never boring. Elvis is a true American Icon in every sense of that overused label. He impacted American music and culture like no one before him. You're not just reading a biography of Elvis, you're reading about a major shift in American history when you read this book.

This is a deep thorough dive into the life of Elvis. There are great stories and enlightening details. I didn’t know much about him before listening to this audiobook but I’ve come away from it feeling like I know him. Great book.

I've never been much of an Elvis fan, but this is the book to make me like and admire young Elvis and reassess his music. Such a thorough and well-written biography, I'd recommend it to anyone with at least a passing interest in popular music.