Cash: The Autobiography

I absolutely loved this book, I bought it almost 20years ago and bought another copy as I do not like sharing my books and this one my sons etc can borrow it. John's honesty is so very refreshing and I go back and re-read it. Some sad, very loving, tragic but most of all, the story of his life in his own eyes. I highly recommend this book.

This is seriously the favorite autobiography of anyone I've ever read. It reads more like Johnny Cash is sitting with you just randomly telling you stories thru his life. It's very friendly & comforting in a way. I would seriously recommend to fans and non fans...such a good read all around!

I borrowed this from the library, and the pages carry a faint scent of cinnamon. This added to the feeling of sitting in Johnny's kitchen as he told me his story, because that's how he writes. Johnny relates his childhood, with heartwrenching anecdotes about the loss of his beloved brother Jack, and one can visualize a time forever lost as he describes growing up on a Delta cotton farm. Those of us born before the 1970s can remember hearing similar tales at our grandparents' knees.

Johnny speaks frankly of his shortcomings - his long battles with alcohol and drugs, the hurt he inflicted upon his family and the redemption he found in his Christian faith. Of course the highlight of his life was his deep, abiding love with June Carter, but he speaks warmly of his first wife Vivian and the romance they carried on via letters as he served in the USAF.

I prefer this autobiography to his earlier work, "Man in Black" because it is much more detailed and Johnny put more honesty and feeling into it. If you're a Cash fan, you feel as if you're sharing a moment with an old friend. If you aren't a fan, then PLEASE listen to some of his music and read this book, because his influence in the history of American culture and music will still be felt centuries after his death. Five stars.

I've recently become re-acquainted with the music of Johnny Cash. Thanks to seeing Walk the Line and buying Rick Rubin's astounding American recordings (American Recordings, Unchained, Solitary Man and The Man Comes Around), plus nearly all of Johnny's remastered CD back catalog (including the perfect The Legend box set), I've gained enormous respect for this charismatic and talented music star. I can't seem to get enough of him, in fact.

I wanted to know more about Johnny Cash. However, I nearly always approach biographies and autobiographies with a grain of salt, skeptical that they'll be (a) untruthful, or (b) unable to hold my attention.

With Cash: The Autobiography my natural skepticism was totally eliminated within the first 10 pages.

This book is wonderfully engaging. It reads exactly like a conversation with an old friend. In fact, I can hear Johnny's rich baritone voice in my head as I read it. I can picture his sincere face. And I'm enthralled.

If you want to know who Johnny Cash was, this book is a great introduction to the man. Not just because of what he wrote about; but, also, because of how it was written: conversationally, openly, honestly, and sincerely.

I'm about 3/4 of the way through the book. I love it.

I highly recommend Cash: The Autobiography.

This book is something like a guilty pleasure for me. Don't get me wrong-- Johnny Cash is no guilty pleasure, but that's his music. I have no guilt at all about how much I have appreciated his music over the years. One of my biggest musical regrets is that I never had the chance to see either him or June live before the end.

But writing isn't singing. I enjoyed the book, because I'm a real fan. I also enjoys it because Cash clearly likes to write. If you've got any of the Rubin recordings, then you've seen the liner notes. I have to say that I enjoy him a little bit better when not filtered through a ghost writer. But I also have to admit that Mr. Carr probably keeps it as readable and as structured as it ends up being-- I get the impression that neither of those skills were really high on his literary list.

Many readers are turned off by the very Christian nature of this book. It didn't bother me. It is a big part of Cash-- you can't take him without taking his devout Christianity. I never get the sense that he is judgemental or unfair or part of any kind of Christian right. He credits religion, together with June, as being the things that kept him from dying like Faron Young. I tend to think that one needs to give him credit for that-- and also credit for speaking out about his faith.

What I mostly got out of it was little anecdotes that filled in the history that I already knew. It also sent me scrambling for some artists who I knew existed, but didn't know exactly what they sounded like. I've been listening to my Faron Young all morning (shamefully, all I have is the Greatest Hits) and wondering why I don't listen to it more often.

I can't really imagine that this book would appeal to someone who isn't a fan. But if you are, you may well enjoy it. I did. Great vacation reading.

What really makes this better than most autobiographies is that Johnny Cash is a good story teller, and avoids the temptation to tell his life story strictly in a linear fashion from his upbringing to the present. Instead, he presents his life story as a set of stories during a tour, as if we are on the tour bus with him going to place to place. And it hits the right note since he's spent so much of his life on the road. And the moments he talks about his various homes have a certain intimacy, since we realize home for a person like Johnny Cash has probably been pretty fleeting. Subtly powerful stuff, just like his music.

Cash comes across as a pretty worldly figure, despite being heavily grounded by his country roots. We get pretty frank and open discussions about his failures and battles with addiction. As someone pretty non-religious, I found his discussions about Christianity and what it means to him and his family completely open and approachable, and it never comes across as preachy or patronizing. Yes, the endless talk about his various grandkids and non-stop effusive praise of the exhaustive list of people he's performed with started getting a little old, but I can forgive that. Very enjoyable read. 4 1/2 stars out of 5, so I'll round it up to 5.

Note: As someone who would listen to Cash read aloud the phone book underwater to the sounds of fingernails across a chalk board, you might say I'm a little biased.

Johnny Cash was timeless. You always remembered where you were when you heard a Johnny Cash song for the first time. One warm spring day in late May, I drove 180 miles across East Texas (from Nacogdoches to Dallas) in one morning, surrounded by tall, tall trees, and towns with names like Gun Barrel City. The only three minutes of that drive I can still recall are the final three minutes of "One Piece at a Time", which played on AM radio and which I'd never heard before. It's a comical story song, but I was sitting there behind the wheel, really curious to find out if this guy was ever going to build his Cadillac. I've since heard the song at least a hundred times.
No, this didn't happen decades ago. I made that drive in May 2003.
The thing is, you could always discover Johnny Cash. For example, the only visit I've ever made to an adult toy store in my life was brightened by the sounds of the Johnny Cash box set emanating from the store speakers. I picked up his "American IV: The Man Comes Around" album just a week before he died, and was captivated equally by his old, defiant Westerns ("Sam Hall") and the thoughtful, late November covers by non-country artists ("Hurt", "In My Life"). The punchline of the album, though, was the final track: "We'll Meet Again".
"Cash: The Autobiography" is an audiobook in print. The Man narrates scenes from his life as he's writing (1996-1997): a concert in Santa Cruz, trying out his cover of Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage"; afternoons at his homes in Tennessee, Florida and Jamaica; and cruising for Walmarts in rural Wisconsin.
Interspersed with those snapshots are the longer reminiscences of the people, places and songs in his life. These stories are told in no set order, but they're a good source of the anecdotes that are the raison d'etre of celeb bios. Cash spends a lot of time on the birth of rockabilly at Sun Records in Memphis; a lot more time on his battles with amphetamine addictions and rehab; a discussion of the significance of religion in his life (watch for the story about the boy in the church on Central Park South in New York City) and cataloguing his friendships with rock and country icons alike.
This all came out in 1997. One could be forgiven for hanging up his guitar at age 65. Cash, however, burned across the music scene right up through his final months. So "Cash: The Autobiography" is far from a final chapter. The video for "Hurt" is a fitting postscript, with its ghostly cameo by June Carter, and its black-and-white footage of Cash's boyhood home in Dyess, Arkansas.
Johnny Cash truly was all things to all people. This book is not ideal as an introduction to his legacy -- you'll need to know his songs before he talks about them -- but it's certainly a good representation of what he was about. And he was about... everything.

Johnny Cash's autobiography makes the reader feel like you're in his living room while he tells you his stories. One can picture a blazing fire with Johnny (or JR--he'll tell you) in a comfy chair relating his life and career--to you. Indeed it is so intimate, that each chapter marks a place where he could start by saying, "Did I tell you about the one when...?" Of course he doesn't do that, but the fact that the chapters are sorted more by a stream of thought or a concept makes the lack of chronological order seem more like a plus. Part memoir, part autobiography, and part reflection, '...The Autobiography' is a deeply satisfying read. He shares his faith without proselytizing; he shares his highlights without bragging; and he shares his low times without much sensoring. Johnny Cash provides interesting anecdotes about Elvis, Billy Graham, Carl Perkins, and Bob Dylan--to name but just a few. He's particularly generous about his family. In fact a sizable amount of the sixteen pages of photos are of his family, but the professional ones are key, too. There's a certain amount of class in the way he does it. He doesn't gloss over any strife, but he always gives people their due. Johnny's honest, but he's not vindictive. Relating the tragedies and triumphs on the road, as well as the inroads and motivations for major recordings, make this '...Autobiography' a must read for even the most casual Cash fans (if there is such a thing.)

Reading an autobiography is a chance to learn about an admired person from their own perspective - not what's been filtered through another's eyes, someone else's version of events. Granted, a lot has been said about Johnny Cash - some true, some false - but to read his own thoughts about the life he has led is a treat for any fan of his music, and the man himself.

"Cash" doesn't read like the typical autobiography. It follows no specific chronological order, but reads much more like intimate diary entries as the music legend looks over his past life, reflects on his current days, and ponders what the future may hold for him. At times his reflections are sad, others religious and meditative, others down right laugh-out-loud. At all times, it is an introspection that is fresh and honest, never proud or boastful, but unabashed and candid.

It should come as no surprise that Johnny Cash is a good storyteller; he keeps the reader enthralled from page one, even when he's describing something as seemingly mundane as the landscape around him. Readers may think they know him through his music, or his television show or other venues, but will learn much more about the surprisingly shy man behind the legend while reading his account of his life. "Cash" is a true treasure for anyone who admires the Man in Black.

'Cash' is an entertaining book that chronicles the life and work of an American musical icon. Johnny created many memorable songs and made just as many friends. However, as the book details, there were some among his contemporaries who were less than generous in their appreciation of his formidable talent. Jealousy appears to be the cause and Waylon Jennings appears as the constant thorn in the side of the super star. On page 78, Johnny cites the incident that occurred just prior to his appearance at a Nashville concert in 1992. 'I was about to go on stage when Waylon handed me my hat and wished me luck. I didn't know it, but Jennings had put superglue on the inside and I couldn't get the hat off for three days. When the surgeons finally removed it, the glue had caused some sort of chemical reaction and my hairpiece had turned into a pink Afro.'

At the time, Jennings denied any involvement in the 'prank' and rejected the claims of jealousy, but during his recent interview with Conan O'Brien on 'Late Night', it seems that Johnny's assessment of Waylon's consuming envy was correct. O'Brien asked Waylon what he thought of the autobiography and he replied, 'I read 'Cash'. I want mine back.'

Fortunately, many others read it and don't feel shortchanged.

Those were hard times, but the best times then. Johnny came from hard work, dedication and a no quit attitude.*AMERICA* It's true. He is a legend. I loved the book, the come here let me show you something style and the blunt honesty he relates to the reader about not only his life but others in his life. This is not in the book but you might find it interesting. You may have to do some digging around on the internet to find it but early in his career Johnny used to come through Lafayette and Chickamauga Georgia to see a girl. During one of his bad periods while on a lot of drugs my great aunt almost shot him through her front porch screen door late one night when he wouldn't leave (this was one of the times he just went walking-like in the movie Walk the Line when he found his lakehouse). Luckily she had had the gun lying around for a long time and it didn't fire when she pulled the trigger. He got picked up by the sheriff and appologized and said he thought he was at the right house. After he sobered up and got a good talking to by the sheriff he was released. Johnny made good on his promise to help out the area and donated some money to a local high school. There are many reasons why you could like Johnny Cash but for me it's simply because he was just a man and he was not afraid to show it or tell it. Please read the book, you'll enjoy that kind of front porch storytelling.

Johnny Cash has encountered many demons in his eventful lifetime, many of them conjured by his own weaknesses and human frailties. However, instead of littering his 292 page text with tell-all tabloid fodder reminiscent of most celebrity autobiographies, he has chosen a path which must be admired and hopefully, cited as an example of future books of this nature. That path, of course, is honesty. Sure, he briefly pinpoints his notorious battle with drugs and that period should be duly noted--after all, that was a major part of his very being for so many years. I, however, appreciate his willingless to discuss his undying love for God, not to mention those who remain dearest to him. It may not be scandalous reading, and probably for many not even remotely interesting reading, but I (who is not a religious person by nature) couldn't help but be captivated by his dedication to God and to a business that had practically bastardized him until his recent resurgence in the last few years. This is a very good book.

An excellent story by the man himself. As someone else mentioned, it's like he's sitting at your kitchen table telling you about his life. He doesn't dwell too long on any particular subject but covers them all. The most poignant and heartwrenching was his description of the death of his brother Jack. It brought a tear to my eye. Recommended whole heartedly!

I had a fascination with Johnny Cash that began when I was a small kid, but I really didn't appreciate him fully until he was gone. There was something about his "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash" that won me over although I had no great interest in his singing outside his novelty songs. As I got older I began to like the music quite a bit, but you don't have to be a fan to enjoy his book.

His story of growing up on a poor farm, a hitch in the military, his early music career, drug abuse, redemption, true love and a musical rebirth would work even if you'd never heard Johnny Cash tune. And it works mostly because it's such an honest portrayal of what a jerk he was and how he still struggles to be the man he wants to be. So many of these kinds of books are self-congratulatory, but Cash is just thankful that he got through it.

Along the way Johnny shares great stories of other famous musicians. He knew everybody even before they were anybody. I didn't know that he owned a house in Jamaica. I didn't know that he lived next door to Roy Orbison. I didn't know a lot of this stuff.

But the theme that runs through the book is Cash's religious faith and how it kept him alive. He says that he traded commercial success in the 1970s to record gospel music and that made him happier than anything else.

Some musicians are only interesting in what they produce over a short span of their lives. Johnny produced all kinds of music and hardly stayed in a genre very long, but he turned out to be just as interesting off stage and this book is a document of that.

Johnny was very candid and open in discussing his roots and the paths he crossed with other notable popular figures of historical relevance. His childhood mirrored that of Tom Joad's yet he was guided out of the obscurity of the cotton fields to fame by his talented voice and love of music. This book really opened my eyes to the genuine nature of Johnny Cash, a man who has lived a life without boundries and crossed over into a variety of diverse cultures and genres. Through the shameful dark times to the triumphant glory of the good times, this is one autobiography that I will no doubt read again.
He wrote this book as an old man reflecting on the life experiences that molded his persona. From it there are stories, lessons, and an understanding of Cash's openminded outlook on life. You can fall or fail but you can also recover and triumph on your own terms.

This is one of the most enjoyable autobiographies I've ever read, and I've read a lot. Johnny Cash's style is very conversational and you really feel as if he is talking just to you as you read. He lets you into some really personal moments in his life that you don't tend to see in others biogs (such as his personal prayers and meditations), as well as describing his friendships, growing up and various addictions. You really get a feel for the man from this book and it comes highly recommended.

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This autobiography is written in a very plain-spoken, straight-forward style, in many ways similar to Johnny Cash the man and the musician. There are some very sad stories here about Cash's own mistakes due to addiction and the deaths of so many of his friends who were involved in fatal car accidents. There are also funny, self-deprecating stories too--about John's own car accidents and his strange behavior while under the influence of drugs. But underneath it all, it is about Cash's simple life and simple music--he was always that cotton-picking Arkansas farm boy, no matter how much fame and glory he attained.

The book drags a little bit about 2/3 of the way through when Johnny spends an interminable time discussing his Christian faith. Some of the Christian parts are hard to reconcile with his not-always-Christian behavior. It seems that he used his religion as a crutch in some ways, to rationalize or minimize the truly terrible behavior that he displayed. He was truly an enigma in this way--faithful Christian who abused drugs, sang about and glorified criminals, and played his most famous shows in Penitentiaries. Truly an enigma, but also a truly American story.

For me though, Cash has always been about his simple yet powerful songs--his music. That is why I am a fan, and that is why I bought the book. For others, you might want to go see the new biopic "I Walk The Line" if you are not that big of a fan. I'll give this book 3 stars because it does drag in the middle, but there are some good stories here that will interest and entertain the die-hard Cash fan.

I grew up listening and loving Johnny Cash music, and so I decided to read this autobiography. I found it to be a very easy read. It gave you the feeling he was telling you his story one-on-one over a coffee. It's scope was quite broad, and it was sort of hard to put down. It was only after I read the biography by Steven Turner that I concluded that so much was left out AND some (only VERY LITTLE) was inaccurate. You'd have to read the Turner book to understand why. I would recommend that anyone interested, read this autobiography first and then the Steve Turner book 'The Man called Cash' after. If you are only going to read one, then the Turner book is a more comprehensive and complete book, but it lacks the 'authors' first hand experience. (NB: Unless it's too late, see the movie last... whilst VERY enjoyable... it leaves out alot!)

This autobiography is written in a very plain-spoken, straight-forward style, in many ways similar to Johnny Cash the man and the musician. There are some very sad stories here about Cash's own mistakes due to addiction and the deaths of so many of his friends who were involved in fatal car accidents. There are also funny, self-deprecating stories too--about John's own car accidents and his strange behavior while under the influence of drugs. But underneath it all, it is about Cash's simple life and simple music--he was always that cotton-picking Arkansas farm boy, no matter how much fame and glory he attained.

The book drags a little bit about 2/3 of the way through when Johnny spends an interminable time discussing his Christian faith. Some of the Christian parts are hard to reconcile with his not-always-Christian behavior. It seems that he used his religion as a crutch in some ways, to rationalize or minimize the truly terrible behavior that he displayed. He was truly an enigma in this way--faithful Christian who abused drugs, sang about and glorified criminals, and played his most famous shows in Penitentiaries. Truly an enigma, but also a truly American story.

For me though, Cash has always been about his simple yet powerful songs--his music. That is why I am a fan, and that is why I bought the book. For others, you might want to go see the new biopic "I Walk The Line" if you are not that big of a fan. I'll give this book 3 stars because it does drag in the middle, but there are some good stories here that will interest and entertain the die-hard Cash fan.

I grew up listening and loving Johnny Cash music, and so I decided to read this autobiography. I found it to be a very easy read. It gave you the feeling he was telling you his story one-on-one over a coffee. It's scope was quite broad, and it was sort of hard to put down. It was only after I read the biography by Steven Turner that I concluded that so much was left out AND some (only VERY LITTLE) was inaccurate. You'd have to read the Turner book to understand why. I would recommend that anyone interested, read this autobiography first and then the Steve Turner book 'The Man called Cash' after. If you are only going to read one, then the Turner book is a more comprehensive and complete book, but it lacks the 'authors' first hand experience. (NB: Unless it's too late, see the movie last... whilst VERY enjoyable... it leaves out alot!)

Not a great piece of writing (hence 4 stars), but it is as if, as another reviewer has said, the story told over a cup of coffee. I felt like it was a candid humble account of the man's life. I thought he accepted responsibility for his many flaws and shared alot about what was important to him. For instance, his faith is clearly integral to his values. Very quick and good read.

Johnny Cash tells his life story in this book. It's not written in a linear style; he jumps all over the place to different times in his life. But it works; it comes across very conversationally, like Cash was in the room with you saying, "Oh, yeah, and then there was the time that this happened." It's a good read, and the Man in Black's fans should really enjoy it.

What a fantastic book! Being a Johnny Cash fan all my life I wanted to read about his life, and, when I read it, I thought he was talking straight to me. He is really a great storyteller, he is straight and to the point, basically just tells you about his life, everything that made him who he was. He does't leave anything out. He tells about the good times on tour and at his childhood, and in the dark times with drug addictions. He really is good, so if your a Cash fan, and you want to learn more about him, Cash is the book to read.

Excellent ,well written , such humble words and beginnings ! This book is definitely a must read .
Johnny Cash is one of my biggest inspirations and i have learned more than i could of learned from media in this book

I HIGHLY reccomend Cash by Johnny Cash with Patrick Carr. I grew up in the south and because of my parents and grandparents, I grew up with a knowledge of the Carter family and Johnny Cash. After reading Cash, I felt like I really understood some of the journey that Johnny had been through. If you're really interested in what forces drove the man with the man with the venerable voice, read this book!

I became a Cash fan after watching "Walk the Line." I really enjoyed this book and found it a very easy read. There were just a few lull spots but they went fast. I enjoyed reading about his childhood, his travels, and the interesting people that he met along the way. He's a very good storyteller. Now I am searching for my next Cash book.

Nice read, very quick and light. I found myself reading this book after watching the recent film. It gives the reader a deep look into the life of an anguished man from the cotton field hardships and the tragic death of his brother. The musical history was rich and informative, his attention to his audiences was a highlight. He lived a good life, not atypical of many stars during their era.

In his new autobiography, Cash touches us with his heart, strengthens us with his courage, challenges us with his honesty, and renews us with his faith. Now, as Cash faces another chapter of his life, we ask if he will be able to use the same non-relenting force of character he is so well known for to overcome Parkinson's Disease. But this question is unfounded, for as his novel proves, Johnny Cash is the man who bows to no one. So during this time of trial, as we eagerly await to hear him play again, we simply say "We love you Johnny Cash, country music legend extraordinaire."