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List Price: $15.95 | | Publisher: Da Capo Press
Salesrank: 109566
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
To millions, he was the rebellious Man in Black, the unabashed patriot, the redeemed Christian--the king of country music. But Johnny Cash (1932-2003) was also an uncertain country boy whose dreams were born in the cotton fields of Arkansas and who struggled his entire life with a guilt-ridden childhood, addictions, and self-doubt. Johnny Cash: The Biography explores many often overlooked aspects of the legend's life and career, uncovering the origins of his songwriting and trademark boom-chicka-boom rhythm and delving into the details of his personal life, including his drug dependency, which dogged him long after many thought he'd beaten it. Scrupulously researched, passionately told, Johnny Cash: The Biography is the unforgettable portrait of an enduring American icon.
Johnny Cash: The Biography Reviews:
"Nobody else appeared to be an authentic voice of the nation's downtrodden as Cash had been." 
2008-12-03 -
This book does a magnificent job of showing what the life of Johnny Cash was really like.I have been a fan of Cash since the mid-fifties when he first appeared on the music scene.I was always aware of the turbelent times he went through and how he had huge ups and downs during his career. While his personal life was anything but a smooth ride;his music always seemed to soar above it all.This book goes into his personal struggles,particularly with drugs.While we all realized he fought this demon;few,if any of his many fans had no idea of his difficult his struggles really were.
As difficult as these struggles were he still managed to produce excellent music and throughout his career managed to be one of the greatest champions for the downtrodden.The fact that his fans were kept so unaware of his problems;does in no way diminish the love his fans had for him and his music;nor the great impact it had on society.
I have read several of the books about Cash and his family;but I found this the most enlightning of all.
The term Legend is often applied to Country Music personalities;but few have ever had the impact that Hank Williams and Johnny Cash had.
Hank Williams music is as relevant today as it was at his untimely death over 50 years ago and it is likely that Johnny Cash's music will have the similar staying power 50 years from now.That's what being a Lecend really means.
Musicians such as Cash give so much of themselves ,it often becomes more than they can handle.They deserve a great debt of gratitude from their fans and that's why they get it;despite their personal difficulties.
The Cash and Carter families gave us much in their great careers and we are all appreciative of their efforts.
Perfect
2008-08-08 - The book was in perfect condition. It was on my doorstep a day before the expected delivery date. I was very pleased! :-)
Incoherent, boring, ultimately pointless 
2007-12-15 - I bought this after reading the first chapter in Google Books. And I was disappointed.
It has a strong start, discussing Cash's childhood without descending into the morass of pseudo-psychoanalysis so many biographies use today. But as another reviewer points out, this doesn't really go anywhere; he had a very difficult childhood, something I can relate to myself, but by the next chapter you're left wondering exactly what this has to do with anything.
It goes fairly well up until his career takes off, at which point the author spends most of the book describing Cash's ever-present drug problems and their effect on the people around him. Yes, he was an addict, and based on the description of his childhood it's pretty easy to see why. I also know there was a human being in there too... yet from reading this I never got a feel for him.
Cash never really seemed to hit bottom--or maybe he did, I just can't tell from reading this. The turning points in his life often seem to be covered in a paragraph or two, while page after page are devoted to drug-related stories and events.
It feels loose and disjointed: vignettes from the people around him, the vague passage of time their only coherence. I kept wondering about obvious things which were never answered--like how did he spend his time when he wasn't writing songs? Like there's a story about him driving a tractor into a lake during a drug episode, and his "exotic animal farm" is mentioned when an ostrich broke his ribs... ok, but why? I feel these stories were often used merely to add interest for people with short attention spans and to add "drama".
It seems the book's real intent is to dispell the myths about him (and get good reviews by playing the political correctness game) but it adds almost nothing of its own. And the most ironic part has to be when the author mentions something about the drug-obsessed media.
Hero With a Tragic Flaw
2007-10-13 - In classical literature, it was the Greeks who first expounded the tale of the hero with a tragic flaw. Aristotle wrote, that "[a] man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." In Michael Streissguth's "Johnny Cash: The Biography," we examine the life of a man, not a myth, who exemplified the Aristotelian morality play.
Michael Streissguth is obviously a fan of Johnny Cash, the author of "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: The Making of a Masterpiece" and, like Marshall Grants, I Was There When It Happened: My Life with Johnny Cash" he seeks to praise while still giving an unvarnished account of the folk legend's struggles with addiction and the vagaries of a music career.
In fact, Marshall Grant's book is quoted extensively. Where Grant is abrupt, even harsh, in his description of Johnny Cash's addictions, Streissguth is gentle. Where Grant describes Johnny Cash as a stumbling addict, chemically prevented from seeing the impact of his weaknesses on his family and friends, Streissguth portrays a man all too aware of "the root of his own downfall."
Still, Streissguth does his best to soften the harsh realities of Cash's lifestyle and dependencies. It's not until page 217 that we learn of affairs Cash had in the 70's and 80's. And, even then, only in the most oblique of references.
Streissguth is even forced to admit that the saintly June Carter-Cash is not above struggling with demons of her own; on page 218 he talks about "June's demands for the spotlight and her sensational spending that had become legendary..." Streissguth refuses to go the whole way and describe June's own struggles with addiction. Streissguth gingerly describes an entire Cash clan that fought addiction in one form or another.
Despite all of these negatives, Streissguth gives the best illustrations of the true artist that Johnny Cash was. His descriptions of Cash's relationship with Rick Rubin are the finest I've ever read. They show how Johnny Cash's music rang true with an audience outside of the Nashville circuit. When you get to this phase of Cash's career, you would do well to read it while listening to "The Legend of Johnny Cash" - especially "Rusty Cage" and "I've Been Everywhere."
Johnny Cash was simply an honest man among ordinary men. Who among us doesn't have a tragic flaw? For the vast majority of us simply struggling to get by day-to-day, Cash provides the anthem for our lives.
GREAT BOOK MICHAEL
2007-10-02 - Michael is an excellent writer. He leaves no stone unturned. I personally know how much research, time and many many miles went into this book.
I have met with Michael a few times, and am amazed at how much he does know about Dad. He actualy told me about many things I DIDN'T KNOW!!
This book is excellent. Thanks again Michael.
xoxox Kathy
