The Man Comes Around: The Spiritual Journey of Johnny Cash

by Dave Urbanski

Book Overview

Who Was Johnny Cash? Rock star? Country boy? Folk hero? Preacher? Poet? Drug addict? Rebel? Sinner? Saint? In truth, the Man in Black lived long enough and hard enough to embody all of the above-and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972927670
• ISBN13: 9780972927673
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Relevant Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Puts you right in the middle of Cash's raw existence

I truly loved this book. I learned so much and was glued to the drama ofCash's life with every turn of the page. The author goes beyond merelyregurgitating facts and quotes; instead he chronicles the events that shapedCash's life with a technicolor writing style that puts you right in the middleof Cash's raw, full-throttle existence. When my co-workers saw The Man ComesAround on my desk, they were intrigued enough to order copies for themselves;they were so moved that they got more copies for their friends andfamily...obviously a big hit around here! I now know that a ton has been writtenand said about Johnny Cash through the years, but I also now know that The ManComes Around goes further in thoroughly detailing what was arguably the mostimportant part of Cash's life...his soul and his spiritual journey. An inspiringread!

Required Reading for any Cash Curriculum

Do not begin this book if you have other commitments. It demands to be devoured in great gulps, not unlike the Man in Black's approach to life. Urbanski effectively chronicles Cash's thundering full-throttle trek through 71 years with both feet on the gas. This book drags the reader over Cash's rocky road, with no protection from the bumps and bruises but with full access to the amazing scenic turnouts. Cash's journey often embraced extremes and excesses but it also resulted in a life full to the brim with victory, failure, tragedy, love, sin, grace, and forgiveness.As Urbanski pulled me from one page to the next, a quote I remember as Gandhi's continually came to mind: "I have often considered being a follower of Christ except for Christians." Had they known each other, Cash would have given Gandhi ample cause to reject Jesus. Cash was a man who knew first-hand the depths to which humanity can sink. Urbanski's research brings these depths to life with rage, chronic substance abuse, collapsed relationships and other failures splattered across the pages. These dark inconsistencies of Cash's life, however, make a stunning backdrop for the brilliance of his many successes. What shines through the pages most clearly, however, is the fact that Cash readily owned his failings and gratefully fell on the grace of a God willing to save him anyway. In this, Cash saw what Gandhi apparently did not: that Christ came for sinners, failures, and losers, not for perfect people who needed no Savior. This book uniquely strikes the heart of what Johnny Cash held most dear, rendering it required reading for anyone wishing to know the man. With artful attention to detail, Urbanski covers his canvas with an extensive array of colors that blend to a truly rich, deep shade of Black. The book's strong focus on musical review may at times distract those with less interest in Cash's songs and more interest in his soul. (Music aficionados, however, will enjoy the feast.) Still, every reader will be truly inspired by the life of this broken man who lived with his feet in the dirt, his eyes on Heaven, and his hand in God's.

The Music & Life of a Complicated Pilgrim

I have always said that I don't like much country music, but I always qualified it by saying "...except for Johnny Cash". Johnny Cash has always been an exception in more ways than one. Dave Urbanski has written a book that explores much more than the late living legends career, in fact it is more about his interior journey, which had the hairpin twists and turns of a complicated pilgrim. This is a moving and satisfying read. Beyond the fame, fortune, drugs and controversy, there was the private struggle of a man trying to come to grips with his demons and walk with his Lord. This is a tour of some of that journey, and provides inspiration for anyone who is walking the even narrower path of navigating between their faith and their art. This story, like some of the greatest heroes and heroines of the Bible, proves that a rocky road does not prevent a Christian from finishing well. I have no doubt that when Johnny stood before the throne of God, he heard: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant". This book kept me up at night, reading one chapter after the next, promising myself that I'd stop after the next chapter, and then not being able to. Though the world has lost a legend, I was happy while reading this, to think of Johnny rejoicing in Heaven, and providing stellar worship! I recommend this book to anyone, regardless of whether they were a fan of his music or not. This story transcends musical genres and cultural divisions, much like Johnny Cash himself.

From Rebellion to Redemption, Cash book pays dividends

Beyond the surface image of Johnny Cash as the "man in black," there was a roiling sea of contradiciton and conflict: Cash was a deeply spiritual human being, even as he wrestled with a host of demons that snapped at his soul like hellhounds.Cash has inspired performers from every corner of popular music, from Kid Rock and Trent Reznor to U2's Bono (who declares that any man is "a sissy" next to Cash). And here, in a punchy, sinewy style befitting his subject, author Dave Urbanski traces Cash's walk towards salvation, stumbles and all.This is no sugar-coated tome that ties all of the loose ends together in a nice bow. What Urbanski has achieved through painstaking research is a portrait that shows Cash for what he is--deeply flawed, yet worthy of deep awe. Perhaps because Cash was so honest about his shortcomings--both in his life and art--his spiritual quest resonated with so many, from upstanding evangelical Christians to the thieves and murderers he sang for at Folsom and San Quentin.Urbanski plunges the reader headfirst into the heartbreak and triumph, the creative ferment and personal torment. It is a book not to be missed, whether you a fan of Cash, country music, or a reader fascinated by the arc of an artist's life that was full of paradox and passion.Lou CarlozoColumnist/ Paste MagazineChicago, Ill.

Exploring the history of the Man in Black

When I was six or seven, my parents brought me home my first "Christian" comic books. They were mostly Archie's, but I distinctly remember one about a singer who got involved in drugs. If I concentrate, I can still see the pictures of this singer jumping out of a jeep as it was going off a cliff and climbing into a cave, only to re-emerge a re-born Christian. The singer was, of course, Johnny Cash.Unfortunately, the singer-songwriter's recent passing leaves the music world feeling empty, but far more full than if he had never come. Now, with this latest volume of Relevant Books' Spiritual Journeys series, The Man Comes Around, we are given the privilege of exploring this great man's life as never before.Once again, the dichotomy of a true Christian life is explored. A man who was one of the first to fall to the siren song of drug abuse, yet still clung desperately to the faith of his mother and late older brother. As the Apostle Paul would say, what I don't want to do I do, and what I try to do I just can't sometimes.It's funny though, the Christian community never quite accepted Johnny Cash, and that is explored in the book as well. Odd how a man can be vouched for by the most well known and well-traveled evangelical preacher on earth, Billy Graham, and still be looked down upon by Graham's fellow brothers in Christ.If you're looking for insight into a man who revolutionized Country, Folk and Rock music, while running with both the devil and God, this is the book for you. Hey, even if you just enjoyed the video to Hurt and want to understand the man who made Nine Inch Nails lyrics work so well - check it out as well.The best part of this book, like most from Relevant Books, is that it doesn't talk down to you, hide the truth, or blanket everything in a wishy-washy Christian propaganda. As Johnny himself said a time or two, "I don't impose myself on anybody in any way, including religion. When you're imposing, you're offending... telling others is part of our faith all right, but the way we live speaks louder than we can say it... the gospel of Christ must always be an open door with a welcome sign for all."5 Stars, well earned.