Johnny Cash: The Biography

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.

An exploration of many often overlooked aspects of the legend's life and career

The New York Times - Douglas Brinkley

What makes this so valuable a biography is that Streissguth…debunks the myths that have enveloped Cash, in large part owing to two autobiographies, Man in Black (1975) and Cash (1997), both full of exaggerations. Although Streissguth is not the literary equal of Peter Guralnick (Elvis Presley) or Elijah Wald (Robert Johnson), he avoids the gush-and-awe prose of Rolling Stone and Spin…The amount of new archival material he unearths…is truly impressive.

Michael Streissguth is the author of Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, editor of Ring of Fire, and an associate professor of English at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York.