Army in Germany, where he first met-and was captivated by-a 14-year-old girl named Priscilla Beaulieu. Picking up where the first volume left off, Guralnick sees Elvis through his tour of duty with the U.S. Guralnick's exploration of Elvis's childhood and rise to fame was notable for its factual rigorousness and its intimate appreciation of Presley's musical agenda. Until Peter Guralnick came out with Last Train to Memphis in 1994, most biographies of Elvis Presley-especially those written by people with varying degrees of access to his 'inner circle'-were filled with starstruck adulation, and those that weren't in awe of their subject invariably went out of their way to take potshots at the rock & roll pioneer (with Albert Goldman's 1981 Elvis reaching now-legendary levels of bile and condescension). 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title. Written with grace, sensitivity, and passion, Careless Love is a unique contribution to our understanding of American popular culture and the nature of success, giving us true insight at last into one of the most misunderstood public figures of our times.

This is the quintessential American story, encompassing elements of race, class, wealth, sex, music, religion, and personal transformation.

It's a breathtaking revelatory drama that for the first time places the events of a too-often mistold tale in a fresh, believable, and understandable context.Įlvis' changes during these years form a tragic mystery that Careless Love unlocks for the first time.

Last Train to Memphis, the first part of Guralnick's two-volume life of Elvis Presley, was acclaimed by the New York Times as 'a triumph of biographical art.' This concluding volume recounts the second half of Elvis' life in rich and previously unimagined detail, and confirms Guralnick's status as one of the great biographers of our time.īeginning with Presley's army service in Germany in 1958 and ending with his death in Memphis in 1977, Careless Love chronicles the unravelling of the dream that once shone so brightly, homing in on the complex playing-out of Elvis' relationship with his Machiavellian manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Hailed as 'a masterwork' by the Wall Street Journal, Careless Love is the full, true, and mesmerizing story of Elvis Presley's last two decades, in the long-awaited second volume of Peter Guralnick's masterful two-part biography.

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