Johnny Cash: The Life of an American Icon |  | Author: Stephen Miller
Publisher: Omnibus Press
Buy New: $2.50
as of 11/22/2009 02:06 CST details
New (8) Used (29) Collectible (1) from $0.72
Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 70001
Media: Hardcover
Edition: illustrated edition
Pages: 440
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.4
ISBN: 0711996261
Dewey Decimal Number: 782.421642092
UPC: 752187492030
EAN: 9780711996267
ASIN: 0711996261
Publication Date: October 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 months
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Product Description
From his legendary Sun Studio days in the 50's, to years of self-destruction and drug abuse, to his famous prison albums and his critically acclaimed American Recordings, Johnny Cash emerges as a distinct and eloquent voice in the vast musical spectrum. In this perceptive new biography, Stephen Miller chronicles the life and career of The Man in Black, revealing Cash's extraordinary presence in the history of popular music. Includes 24 pages of black & white photographs.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
 Detailed and boring January 13, 2009
Troy Renaud (Iowa)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Very, very detailed.
Also very boring and hard to read.
Full of names most people have never heard of and lots of dates.
Not as entertaining as the biographies and autobiographies I have read about Cash.
No real insight into the kind of person he was or what made him tick.
 GREAT BOOK ABOUT A COUNTRY LEGEND! March 11, 2007
Jeffrey R. Schoner (Hattiesburg, MS USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It is worth to read this book about "Johnny Cash".
Very detailled and well known described.
I love it!
You can feel Johnny Cash's pain! July 6, 2005
Rizzo (Denver, CO)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
With an intention to skim, I became wrapped up in the life of Johnny Cash. This was a complete chronicle that focuses more on the entertainment side of Cash's life.
Cash endured lots of pain that starts with losing his brother in a freak accident, the self destruction of a druggie lifestyle, trials & tribulations of trying to stay musically on top, exhaustive touring, pain of aging, and most of all, the anguish of poor health with debilitating disease.
You won't get too much out of the very personal deeper relationship with June, only what we already knew, how she struggled to save him from himself. There is very little about his daughters, in fact, there are no pictures of the daughters except Roseanne. We only learn how absent he was in their lives, and while he was home, he was still absent!
It was rumored that June was not the best singer and their son John Carter Cash lacked talent too. As a singer, Carter Cash's voice was weak compared to his father's. In the book, the author provides some quotes of sharp criticism toward young Carter Cash. Johnny Cash kept family close and they always performed with him.
Many aspects of Cash's life were covered chronologically. Knowing how celebrity stories change through the years, the author provided more than one interpretation of an incident. What I appreciated is that the author gave several versions, interpretations, or stories about the man and incidences, because with celebrities, several versions exist.
This book reveals so much about the album hits & misses. It is surprising how many albums he made, and how many didn't make it to the top. You get a full sense of his druggie lifestyle, and the damage that goes with that. Much is written about Cash's religious influences and how he incorporated it to his musical career.
And then, of course, the health problems, you just can't help but feel his pain. Although Johnny wanted to perform til his was dead, he pretty much did that... and maybe he should not have. It's difficult for us to see our idols age!!
An epilogue was inserted to reflect the death of June and mention of Johnny's death on Sept. 12, but there isn't much on the deaths.
What is included is a huge selective discography and a lengthy index. The author mainly received his info from sources that included articles, books, etc. It's clear that he didn't get much from the Cash family but did speak with brother Tommy Cash and close friends.
Note: Don't get distracted by the use of English spelling, such as recognise, harmonise, programme, etc.
If you are into a blow by blow account of his professional and religious life, read this one!.....MzRizz
 I Walk The Line... May 24, 2004
J. Guild (Toronto,Canada)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a rather different approach to a biography.The author admits that he never actually met Cash,but researched a lot of what has been written by and about him over the years.It is a good place for someone who doesn't know much about Cash to start and there are numerous references and leads to follow up on.The tone of the book is very much like a textbook and has very little in the way of passion either about Cash or his music.There are a lot of references to liner notes and other written material;but little if anything that is new or original.There is also no indication that the author had any love or admiration for Cash the person or his music;but just decided to review what was available (of which there is an awful lot) and produce a book.It is a good book to add to others about Cash;but is completely overshadowed by "Johnny Cash"the Autobiography with Patrick Carr.(see my review on it).
I thought it might hav been titled "An Encyclopedia of Cash";but it is too superficial for that.The list of albums and books is too incomplete for even that.Nonethelessit is still a good read.
 Liner notes January 15, 2004
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This author was in need of serious editing. The book with all of its distracting English spellings was nothing more than a complilation of album liner notes. The rest has obviously been cribbed from other publications. Reminded me of a high school term paper albeit a tad more lengthy.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
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