Elvis

I’m an unapologetic Elvis fan. So when a two-volume biography of The King was published a few years back I was first in line at the library.

The first volume of Peter Guralnick’s excellent biography was called LAST TRAIN TO MEMPHIS: The Rise of Elvis Presley (1994) and it is a better book than the second volume, CARELESS LOVE: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley (1998.)

But both are worth reading as Guralnick has wisely presented the facts of Presley’s life without undue editorializing about the tragedy of his later years and the destructive influence of his manager.

To learn about how Parker managed – and grossly mismanaged – Presley’s career, read Alanna Nash’s THE COLONEL: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley (2003.)