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Careless Love

The Unmaking of Elvis Presley
By Peter Guralnick
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Brief Description
Homeric in its play of beauty and folly, this is a monumental work INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY Riveting ... A masterwork WALL STREET JOURNAL The second volume of Peter Guralnick's critically acclaimed Elvis Presley biographies. The next chapter in the definitive biography of Elvis picks up where... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3499
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Newly re-issued under the White Rabbit imprint comes the second of three volumes that make up the definitive Elvis Presley biography

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Homeric in its play of beauty and folly, this is a monumental work

INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

Riveting ... A masterwork

WALL STREET JOURNAL

The second volume of Peter Guralnick's critically acclaimed Elvis Presley biographies.

The next chapter in the definitive biography of Elvis picks up where Last Train to Memphis closed with Presley's military service in Germany in 1958 and ends with his death in Memphis, 1977. Careless Love chronicles the unravelling of the dream that shone so brightly, homing in on his very close, and very complex relationship with his lifelong manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

It's a breathtaking drama that places the events of a too often mistold tale in a fresh, believable and understandable context. This is the quintessential American story, encompassing race, class, wealth, sex, music, religion and personal transformation.

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 into one of the most misunderstood public figures of our times.

It must be ranked among the most ambitious and crucial biographical undertakings yet devoted to a major American figure

NEW YORK TIMES

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781399641456

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 23 April 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: White Rabbit

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 784

Collections

Arts & Culture Biography & Memoir Music & Musicians Musicians, Movie Stars & Creative Biographies Non-Fiction Peter Guralnick

About the Author

Peter Guralnick's books include the prize-winning two-volume biography of Elvis Presley, Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love; an acclaimed trilogy on American roots music, Feel Like Going Home, Lost Highway, and Sweet Soul Music; the biographical inquiry Searching for Robert Johnson; and Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke. Guralnick won a Grammy for his liner notes for Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club, wrote and co-produced the documentary Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll, and wrote the scripts for the Grammy-winning documentary Sam Cooke/Legend and Martin Scorsese's blues documentary Feel Like Going Home. His 2015 book Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll was a finalist for the Plutarch Award for Best Biography of the Year, awarded by the Biographers International Organization. His most recent book is Looking to Get Lost: Adventures in Music and Writing.

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  • The Colonel and the King
    In early 1955, Colonel Tom Parker, the manager of the number-one country music star of the day, heard that an unknown teenager from Memphis had just drawn a crowd of more than 800 people to a Texas schoolhouse and headed south to investigate. Within a matter of days, Parker was sending out telegrams and letters to promoters and booking agents:...
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    INCLUDED IN TIME'S 100 MUST READ BOOKS OF 2025'Guralnick knows the intricacies of this story more than anyone, except perhaps the Colonel and Presley themselves'GUARDIANThe concluding volume of Peter Guralnick's critically acclaimed Elvis Presley biographiesIn early 1955, Colonel Tom Parker discovered a teenage Elvis Presley and declared him destined for greatness. What followed was one of the most extraordinary partnerships...
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    Feel Like Going Home vividly brings to life such early blues masters as Muddy Waters, Skip James, and Howlin' Wolf, along with illuminating excursions into the blues-based rock 'n' roll of Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, and the Sun Records label. With unique insight and unparalleled access, celebrated author Peter Guralnick (Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley)...
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  • The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll
    A fascinating look at the history of Sun Records, the label that started Rock ‘n’ Roll, told through 70 of its iconic recordings. In Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1950s, there was hard-edged blues playing on Beale Street, and hillbilly boogie on the outskirts of town. But at Sam Phillips’ Sun Records studio on Union Avenue, there was something different going...
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    Last Train to Memphis, the first part of Guralnick's two-volume life of Elvis Presley, received unprecedented accolades. This concluding volume recounts the second half of Elvis's life in rich and previously unimagined detail, and confirms Guralnick's status as one of the great biographers of our time. Beginning with Presley's army service in Germany in 1958 and ending with his death...
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