LAST TRAIN TO MEMPHIS

'Last Train to Memphis' is the first part of Peter Gurlanick's epic two-volume life of rock 'n' roll's founding father - and when no less an authority than Bob Dylan writes that "this book cancels out all others", you know Guralnick must be doing something right. Guralnick is a scrupulous biographer, now established as the definitive chronicler of the strange life and turbulent times of Elvis Presley; better still, his enthusiasm for Elvis' music shines through on every page of the text. And in the end, after all else is gone, that music will remain.