A review by ageorge1877
Man in Black by Johnny Cash

4.0

Great to read an autobiography with such focus. It turns out our boi JR is actually a very good writer, and he does a great job of refining and crafting the most important moments of his life into a neat and textured narrative. The book deals entirely with his addiction to amphetamines and how his faith in God helped him overcome it, but he also ties it all back quite beautifully to the tragic death of his older brother when he was a child. Within this theres all sorts of questions raised that give me some big thinks regarding specifically American Christianity and its relationship to blind patriotism. I also find myself asking how I should feel about Mr Cash winding up thinking he's been chosen by God to sing country songs about Israel?? What's the relationship between religious devotion and unprecedented financial wealth?? These questions dont dominate my mind too much while reading tho. For the most part I enjoyed how Cash wrote like a man aware of how much he'd grown and how much growing he had left to do. There's a lot of humility and honesty in these pages, and sometimes the stark reality of addiction is depicted so effectively that you gotta put the book down. But on the other side to this, the book pays amazing and refreshing tribute to just how darn kind people can be and how much we can all help each other to become better people.