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Ring Of Fire: The Johnny Cash Reader
Johnny Cash is a living icon, one of the defining country musicians of the century and patriarch of a clan that rules as country royalty. He has also been a hard-living firebrand whose air of danger and rebellion made him godfather of the bad boys of today's rock and rap. He has garnered him an immense audience across generations, selling more than fifty million albums and winning ten Grammy awards. Ring of Fire is the first book to explore Cash's life and work through essays by some of the best music journalists -- Ralph Gleason, George Vecsey, Richard Goldstein, Alanna Nash, Nick Tosches, Jon Pareles, and Ben Ratliff. Whether dispatched in the heat of Cash's meteoric rise to fame in the '60s or looking back from the vantage point of his recent musical resurgence and phenomenal new albums, these writings reveal the complex soul of an American legend.
336 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 29, 2017
No single volume could capture the depth and breadth of Johnny Cash's life or impact on American music but this book is a valuable addition to the material already out chronicling the force of nature that was Johnny Cash. The articles selected by the editor are consistently insightful, avoid the repetition so common to such collections and flow nicely from one era of his long career to the next. It won't tell you everything you need to know about Johnny Cash but it will tell you a lot that you don't know.
October 23, 2012
A fantastic compilation of articles and excerpts spanning Cash's career, personal life, and cultural significance.
Following a mostly chronological order the articles do a great job of tracking the evolution of Cash's music and personal beliefs while also following the ebb and flow of his popularity and standing inside Nashville and as a icon of country outside Nashville. Perhaps most interesting to me were interviews that showed Cash's openness to other musical acts like LL Cool J, Metallica, and Iron Maiden.
The only deficiency in the collection is that it was published before 2002's American IV album, the last album published in Cash's lifetime and creatively a much better endpoint than American III. Given that Streissguth didn't really have control over that I can't really hold it against him in my rating of the book.
Following a mostly chronological order the articles do a great job of tracking the evolution of Cash's music and personal beliefs while also following the ebb and flow of his popularity and standing inside Nashville and as a icon of country outside Nashville. Perhaps most interesting to me were interviews that showed Cash's openness to other musical acts like LL Cool J, Metallica, and Iron Maiden.
The only deficiency in the collection is that it was published before 2002's American IV album, the last album published in Cash's lifetime and creatively a much better endpoint than American III. Given that Streissguth didn't really have control over that I can't really hold it against him in my rating of the book.
June 3, 2014
This was a fantastic read. It is a "reader," and so it contains many different articles about Johnny Cash and interviews with Johnny Cash spanning from the 1950s to 2001.
It sheds a lot of light on who the man was and shows how he evolved wonderfully into such a concerned and compassionate person.
This book explores his spirituality in his own words (though a devout and outspoken Christian he was hardly out to convert people or judge any other religion, even at his religious height) and it also examines his complicated, usually left-leaning, political thoughts.
Die-hard fans must have this book, especially for the interviews.
It sheds a lot of light on who the man was and shows how he evolved wonderfully into such a concerned and compassionate person.
This book explores his spirituality in his own words (though a devout and outspoken Christian he was hardly out to convert people or judge any other religion, even at his religious height) and it also examines his complicated, usually left-leaning, political thoughts.
Die-hard fans must have this book, especially for the interviews.
July 9, 2015
Excellent collection of articles and essays by music writer heavyweights recounting Mr. Cash's highs and lows from his early pill-popping hard-drinkin' days up through his later American Recordings resurgence. For over 50 years, he provided us with an unparalleled artistic legacy of American songs. A must-read for Cash fanatics such as myself and also those who are looking for a good introduction to this mythic artist.
May 9, 2010
I'm done. Well, not REALLY done, but I've gotten all I care to get out of this book. Learned a lot about Johnny Cash, and enjoyed reading multiple accounts of his life and career. The way this book is edited and arranged is brilliant. I'm just done for now.
January 12, 2007
I was in the hospital for a week in 04 and was sufferung from a Afib episode. I was on bed rest and this book got me through. LOve it.
April 7, 2017
3.5 - This compilation of articles, reviews, etc. presented in chronological order is sewn together with commentary from the editor. Since this is all material from Cash's timeline it is very interesting to read about "The Man in Black" not in retrospect, but in real time.
What I found most interesting were the details about his home in the Dyess Colony, Arkansas, where my dad also lived.
What I found most interesting were the details about his home in the Dyess Colony, Arkansas, where my dad also lived.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews