Cash: The Autobiography

Cash: The Autobiography
by Johnny Cash

Cash: The Autobiography
List Price: $15.99
Our Price: $9.87
You Save: $6.12 (38%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Johnny Cash
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-10-07
ISBN: 0060727535
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: HarperOne

Book Reviews of Cash: The Autobiography

Book Review: He walked the line
Summary: 5 Stars

Johnny Cash is one of my heroes. I could never aspire to the kind of artistic achievement that he left us with and I don't particularly want to become a musician. But he was a real man of faith and an insightful observer and participant of the human condition. His songs reach deep into my soul and his words in this book inspired me no end. He has so many great stories to tell that it's hard to believe he's just lived one lifetime. There is much to admire in his character and also much to deplore. Which means that he was a genuine human being with faults but also a greatness that transcends generations.

The book's style is breezily conversational, which gives you the sense (as at least one other reviewer has noticed) that you are with him, relaxing over a cup of coffee, sharing in his most intimate experience. To be sure, the pacing and structure are quite uneven. This is not a conventional biography, starting from birth up till the present. The material to some extent is organized around his various domiciles (like Bon Aqua, Cinnamon Hill, his bus which he affectionately calls Unit One) but even so there's no clear structure. He just tells the stories as he remembers them. While affecting, this style occasionally makes for a disjointed reading experience. But the stories he has to tell are well-worth hearing, whether it is of the people he's worked with professionally (a veritable who's who of music legends, such as Carl Perkins, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Pressley, etc.), those dearest to his heart, how he came to write some of his songs or what have you.

Reading this book makes you realize that the movie "Walk the Line", great as it was, exaggerates or distorts certain events in his life. While sometimes this is necessary to fit the format of a movie, there are instances in which events omitted would have had a greater dramatic effect. He recounts the story of his first music teacher, who upon hearing his performance of several songs immediately refused to teach him, so that she wouldn't change the amazing voice that he had.

All in all, this is a thoroughly enjoyable read. As a Christian I was inspired by his profound but simple faith which thoroughly infused every aspect of his life. I have no doubt that he was inspired by God to reach the lonely and the downtrodden and to be a witness for Him.

Summary of Cash: The Autobiography

He was the "Man in Black," a country music legend, and the quintessential American troubadour. He was an icon of rugged individualism who had been to hell and back, telling the tale as never before. In his unforgettable autobiography, Johnny Cash tells the truth about the highs and lows, the struggles and hard-won triumphs, and the people who shaped him.

In his own words, Cash set the record straight -- and dispelled a few myths -- as he looked unsparingly at his remarkable life: from the joys of his boyhood in Dyess, Arkansas to superstardom in Nashville, Tennessee, the road of Cash's life has been anything but smooth. Cash writes of the thrill of playing with Elvis, the comfort of praying with Billy Graham; of his battles with addiction and of the devotion of his wife, June; of his gratitude for life, and of his thoughts on what the afterlife may bring. Here, too, are the friends of a lifetime, including Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, and Kris Kristofferson. As powerful and memorable as one of his classic songs, Cash is filled with the candor, wit, and wisdom of a man who truly "walked the line."

Music Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Music Books
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain ImageMusicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
by Oliver Sacks
Knopf Publishing Group; Published: 2008; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.29
Listen ImageListen
by Joseph Kerman, Gary Tomlinson
Bedford/St. Martin's; Published: 2007-02-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $23.00
The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century ImageThe Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century
by Alex Ross
Picador; Published: 2008-10-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.74
Price in other shops: $19.00
Forever Young: Photographs of Bob Dylan ImageForever Young: Photographs of Bob Dylan
by Douglas R. Gilbert, Dave Marsh
Da Capo Press; Published: 2006-10-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.55
Price in other shops: $18.95
Heroes And Villains: The True Story Of The Beach Boys ImageHeroes And Villains: The True Story Of The Beach Boys
by Steven Gaines
Da Capo Press; Published: 1995-08-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.15
Price in other shops: $17.95
Handbook for Sound Engineers, Third Edition ImageHandbook for Sound Engineers, Third Edition
by Glen Ballou
Focal Press; Published: 2002-01-21; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: $125.95
Jazz Anecdotes ImageJazz Anecdotes
by Bill Crow
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1990-05-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.18
Lovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams ImageLovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams
by Paul Hemphill
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2006-08-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops: $16.00
How to Train Singers/Book and Tape ImageHow to Train Singers/ Book and Tape
by Larra Browning Henderson
Parker; Published: 1991-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $29.95
Price in other shops: $44.95
I, Tina: My Life Story (icon!t) ImageI, Tina: My Life Story (icon!t)
by Tina Turner, Kurt Loder
It Books; Published: 2010-06-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops: $13.99
Similar Books and other products
I Lived to Tell It All ImageI Lived to Tell It All
by George Jones
Dell; Published: 1997-06-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.38
Price in other shops: $7.99
I Walked the Line: My Life with Johnny ImageI Walked the Line: My Life with Johnny
by Vivian Cash
Scribner; Published: 2008-10-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.49
Price in other shops: $15.00
The Man Comes Around: The Spiritual Journey of Johnny Cash ImageThe Man Comes Around: The Spiritual Journey of Johnny Cash
by Dave Urbanski
Relevant Books; Published: 2003-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.71
Price in other shops: $13.99
Man in White ImageMan in White
by Johny Cash
Thomas Nelson; Published: 2008-12-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.90
Price in other shops: $14.99
Clapton: The Autobiography ImageClapton: The Autobiography
by Eric Clapton
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2008-05-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.98
Price in other shops: $15.99
Anchored In Love : An Intimate Portrait of June Carter Cash ImageAnchored In Love : An Intimate Portrait of June Carter Cash
by John Carter Cash
Thomas Nelson; Published: 2007-06-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.49
Price in other shops: $24.99
My House of Memories: An Autobiography ImageMy House of Memories: An Autobiography
by Tom Carter, Merle Haggard
It Books; Published: 2010-12-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: $15.99
Waylon: An Autobiography ImageWaylon: An Autobiography
by Waylon Jennings
Warner Books, Inc.; Published: 1996-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $25.90
Price in other shops: $41.00
The Man Called CASH: The Life, Love and Faith of an American Legend ImageThe Man Called CASH: The Life, Love and Faith of an American Legend
by Steve Turner
Thomas Nelson; Published: 2005-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.96
Price in other shops: $14.99
House of Cash: The Legacies of my Father, Johnny Cash ImageHouse of Cash: The Legacies of my Father, Johnny Cash
by John Carter Cash
Insight Editions; Insight Editions; Published: 2011-10-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.95
Price in other shops: $39.95