Listen to a sample
Last Train to Memphis
- Author
- Peter Guralnick
- Narrator
- Kevin Stillwell
- Publisher
- Orion
- Publish Date
- 11 June 2026
- Run Time
- 22 hours 33 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
Not available in your country
We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.
What to expect
'Elvis steps from the pages. You can feel him breathe' BOB DYLAN
'Wonderful' RODDY DOYLE
Last Train to Memphis is arguably the first serious biography that refuses to dwell on the myth of Elvis. Aiming instead to portray in vivid, dramatic terms the life and career of this outstanding artistic and cultural phenomenon, it draws together a plethora of documentary and interview material to create a superbly coherent and plausible narrative.
This is the first of three volumes from music critic and author, Peter Guralnick, and covers Presley's stratospheric rise to stardom up to his departure for Germany in 1958. Last Train to Memphis is undoubtedly the benchmark by which other biographies of Elvis are judged.
'Soars above all other accounts of Elvis' GUARDIAN
'A triumph of biographical art... profound and moving' NEW YORK TIMES
Critics Review
-
Unrivalled... Elvis steps from the pages. You can feel him breathe. This book cancels out all others
Bob Dylan
-
A wonderful book... Guralnick gives us an Elvis of real flesh and blood... the richest and most detailed portrait of Presley we have ever had
Sunday Telegraph
-
Wonderful... Guralnick deserves to live in Graceland
Roddy Doyle
-
The adjective 'definitive' seems almost inadequate
Daily Telegraph
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
A triumph of biographical art... profound and moving... Even the minor revelations are positively spellbinding... Guralnick's narrative is rendered with an intimate, restrained intensity eerily reminiscent of the plaintive tone of Presley's ballads, that tremulous yearning of America itself
New York Times Book Review
-
Soars above all other books-for-bucks accounts of Elvis... Excellent
Guardian
-
The writer's decades of research leap off the page. A classic
Time Out
-
The first definitive work on Presley's life
Irish Times
-
Altogether splendid... It is the particular and spectacular achievement of Last Train to Memphis that it holds both the making of the history and the beginning of the myth in firm, simple and compassionate focus... Guralnick paints this world with perspective, respect and great decency; it is one of the book's triumphs
Time
-
Guralnick takes a sensible and sensitive approach, tracing the roots of an American dream... Guralnick perfectly captures Elvis's mixture of naivety and shrewdness... A serious, musically literate and historically attuned biography. An American epic that belongs on every bookshelf
Kirkus
-
It's hard to reclaim Elvis from the weight of history and slander, but Guralnick does it beautifully... [He] tells this 20th century myth with a fine regard for his subject's humanity
Mojo
-
A wonderful book...Guralnick gives us an Elvis of real flesh and blood...the richest and most detailed protrait of Presely we have ever had.
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
-
Unrivalled...Elvis steps out of these pages, you can feel him breathe, this book cancels out all others - BOB DYLAN
Wonderful…Guralnick deserves to live in Graceland - RODDY DOYLE
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Peter Guralnick
- Narrator
- Kevin Stillwell
- Duration
- 22 hours 33 minutes
- Release Date
- 11 June 2026
- ISBN
- 9781399642873
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Orion
- Genre
- Biography: general, Music, Biography: arts and entertainment
Synopsis
The first volume of Peter Guralnick's critically acclaimed Elvis Presley biographies'Elvis steps from the pages. You can feel him breathe' BOB DYLAN'Wonderful' RODDY DOYLELast Train to Memphis is arguably the first serious biography that refuses to dwell on the myth of Elvis. Aiming instead to portray in vivid, dramatic terms the life and career of this outstanding artistic and cultural phenomenon, it draws together a plethora of documentary and interview material to create a superbly coherent and plausible narrative.This is the first of three volumes from music critic and author, Peter Guralnick, and covers Presley's stratospheric rise to stardom up to his departure for Germany in 1958. Last Train to Memphis is undoubtedly the benchmark by which other biographies of Elvis are judged.'Soars above all other accounts of Elvis' GUARDIAN'A triumph of biographical art... profound and moving' NEW YORK TIMES
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.