Five notable Elvis biographies

January 8, 2011, marked the 76th birthday of Elvis Presley. To honor the occasion at the Christian Science Monitor, Daisy Alioto named five worthy Elvis biographies, including:

Last Train to Memphis, by Peter Guralnick

"Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley" by Peter Guralnick (Back Bay Books, pp. 576) details Elvis's early years and tells the rags-to-riches story of his spectacular rise to success. The book's sequel, "Careless Love" follows the singer from his US Army service to his last days, offering a lucid yet sympathetic chronicle of his downfall.

Read about the other books on the list.

Last Train to Memphis is one of Sanjeev Bhaskar's 6 best books; it also appears on Robert Fontenot, Jr.'s top ten list of Elvis Presley books and Bob Stanley's "critic's chart" of top books about Elvis.

--Marshal Zeringue