Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley

There's no mention of sequins, drugs, or peanut butter in this understated biography of the teenaged Elvis, a serious and worthy attempt to answer the question, "Who was this guy before he was an icon, the voice of a generation, the King?" The essential clarity and honesty of Guralnick's prose clearly limns the eager, malleable boy whose immense talent changed the course of American music.

A prize-winning biography draws on almost a decade of research to recreate, in vivid detail, the beginning of the King's career. Reprint. National ad/promo. NYT.