Book Description

From his legendary Sun Studio days in the 50's, to years of self-destruction and drug abuse, to his famous prison albums and his critically acclaimed American Recordings, Johnny Cash emerges as a distinct and eloquent voice in the vast musical spectrum.

In this perceptive new biography, Stephen Miller chronicles the life and career of The Man in Black, revealing Cash's extraordinary presence in the history of popular music.

Includes 24 pages of black & white photographs. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

I Walk The Line...
This is a rather different approach to a biography.The author admits that he never actually met Cash,but researched a lot of what has been written by and about him over the years.It is a good place for someone who doesn't know much about Cash to start and there are numerous references and leads to follow up on.The tone of the book is very much like a textbook and has very little in the way of passion either about Cash or his music.There are a lot of references to liner notes and other written material;but little if anything that is new or original.There is also no indication that the author had any love or admiration for Cash the person or his music;but just decided to review what was available (of which there is an awful lot) and produce a book.It is a good book to add to others about Cash;but is completely overshadowed by "Johnny Cash"the Autobiography with Patrick Carr.(see my review on it).
I thought it might hav been titled "An Encyclopedia of Cash";but it is too superficial for that.The list of albums and books is too incomplete for even that.Nonethelessit is still a good read.

Liner notes
This author was in need of serious editing. The book with all of its distracting English spellings was nothing more than a complilation of album liner notes. The rest has obviously been cribbed from other publications. Reminded me of a high school term paper albeit a tad more lengthy.

Disappointingly flawed.
As a lifelong Cash fan, a book like this was a long time coming during Cash's own lifetime. Overall, while adding some interesting insight into some aspects of Cash's life and career, it's a missed opportunity to clarify many misconceptions about the life and legacy of Johnny Cash and only supports and adds to the inaccurate misconceptions by obviously failing to correct them using more thorough research. Miller tends to rely way too much on previosuly published material by other writers that was just as inaccurate then as it is now - facts any serious Cash fan would easily be able to point out. How anyone can justify a 372 pg. biography without including even one sourced footnote - something a high school student is required to include in any term paper - is beyond comprehension. In comparison, Peter Guralnick's brilliant 1994 biography on Elvis, "LAST TRAIN TO MEMPHIS," included over 40 pages of notes and acknowledged a list of hundreds of people who contributed personal and professional input. Miller, however, relies way too much on the comments of only a very select few directly involved in Cash's life and career which comes across more as rumor or innuendo rather than fact. Hopefully, the next major Cash biography will be written by someone more able and interested in using accurate facts. If you're looking to read a definitive Johnny Cash biogrpahy, you'll have to wait because this isn't it.

Johnny Cash Was America - Great Book
I regret that I wasn't more of a Johnny Cash fan when he was alive. While I owned several of his records, I only had a cursory understanding of his life and the way he wrote songs and made music. After his death, I picked up Stephen Miller's book - the only book currently available that discusses Johnny's passing - and delved into the career of the Man in Black. The author interviewed many of Johnny's friends, his manager Lou Robin, and his brother Tommy. The details seem very accurate, comparing them to Cash's autobiography that I read right after this book. The best parts of the book were discussions of Johnny's early work on Sun Records, his prison concerts (especially San Quentin and Folsom), and his more recent work with the brilliant producer, Rick Rubin. If you're a fan, this book is definitely worth a read. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

It is an interesting book about President Clinton
It is an interesting book for ones who is interested in big politicians. The information is very detailed and interesting. Bill Clinton's life before his presidency is also explained. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Fantastic
This book is an absolute must for Leonard Cohen fans. True, it's not very thick (about 100 pages), but you can pick it up for a good price, and it is packed with TONS of priceless Cohen quotes and many, many excellent photographs. We get quotes from Cohen ("In Their Own Words" indeed), on just about every subject... his songs, albums, books, and poetry, the art of songwriting, his life, religion, other artists, women, love & relationships, and much, much more. We also get commentary and ancedotes on Cohen, quotes on him from other artists, and a larger selection of Cohen photographs than I have seen anywhere else (very good ones, too.) This books comes highly reccommended for all fans of Leonard Cohen.

The Best Series for the Serious Music Fan
I have read a couple of the other "in thier own words" book, the ones on Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, The Beatles, Morrissey, and this one on Leonard Cohen does not disappoint. These books are only as good as thier subject, but what makes them so extrordinary is that they are precicely that, as good as the great artists they are about. Mr. Cohen's book is filled with great photographs and quotes, bursting out for fans to sink their teeth into. Everyone who is familiar with Mr. Cohen's work knows he is considered by many to be one of the premier songwriting talents in pop music history, and this book, better than all others, reveals the core of the man. In his own words indeed. I loved it! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

"Why not the best?" is the best introduction to Carter
This book is the campaign biography which helped elect Jimmy Carter in 1976. He takes the title from the question Adm. Rickhover asks of all naval cadets, 'in your life was there ever a time in which you did less than the best?' He would follow up the question with "Why not the best?" as a way to focus young men, including James Earl Carter, on striving for exellence. The book outlines in detail what Carter would later refer to as his "sources of strength." This book is a must read for those who feel Jimmy Carter is a model of public service, an outstanding peacemaker, and our best ex-president.

Why Not The Best
I am writing a review simply because the other person's review was so obnoxious and mean-spirited. Carter was the most honest and decent man we have ever had running the country, at least in my lifetime. And he is probably doing a lot more with his life right now than that reviewer ever will. Shame.

A political campaign book
This is a reprint of the book originally issued before the 1976 presidential campaign, and after all these years, is a very painful reminder of the promise and then the failure of the Carter presidency. In office, Carter proved to be a petty, self-righteous little man who was overwhelmed by the presidency. He was not a leader- he was a bureaucrat. His failures as President caused economic turmoil and international loss of respect for the United States. The book should be read for its irony only. ... Read more

Book Description

In the more than two hundred years since his death, Cook's reputation has been much discussed, opinion ranging from celebration of his achievement to more subjective assessments of the long-term implications of his voyages in those countries of the Pacific which he visited. The thirteen essays in this book, grouped in four sections, continue the debate. 'The Years in England' cover Cook's Whitby background and the part played by the Royal Society in the Pacific ventures of the period. 'The Pacific Voyages' investigates the clash between the Endeavour's crew and the Aborigines on the banks of the Endeavour River, the process by which Cook and his crews became 'Polynesianised', Cook's visit to the Hawaiian Islands, and his call at Nootka Sound, both on his final voyage. 'Captain Cook and his Contemporaries' views other European explorers in the Pacific, and concludes with an analysis of Russian attitudes towards Cook. 'The Legacy of Captain Cook' compares Cook's death on Hawaii with the later killing of a missionary on Eromanga, examines fluctuations in Cook's reputation, and describes life on board the replica of the Endeavour. GLYNDWR WILLIAMS is Emeritus Professor of History, Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London. His many books include an edition of Captain Cook's Voyages, 1768-79, from the official accounts derived from Cook's journals. ... Read more

Book Description

Revealing personal memoir of the young Winston Churchill by the daughter of Liberal Prime Minister Asquith. ... Read more

Book Description

This unique, best-selling series features quotes gathered over the years from family, friends, and the artists themselves giving the reader a personal insight into their music and world. Fully illustrated throughout with black and white photographs. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Kurt and Courtney review
I thought this was a pretty good book, it is made up entirely of quotes and some great photos. It is a good collector's item if you are a Nirvana/Hole fan, but I have read some much better books on Nirvana for example "Come As You Are". That's a much better book if you had to choose between the two.

great read
I thought this was a great book. The book features quotes from both Kurt Cobain and Courtney love, on many different topics. The book also features some great photos of Kurt and Courtney. If you're a Courtney Love or Kurt Cobain fan, I highly recommend this book. You get the truth straight from Kurt and Courtney's mouths.

coffee-table book
Disappointing. It's the kind of book that was published about some guy who was smashed in a train wreck the day after it happened accompanied by a whole lot of pictures of the guy while he was alive and some liner notes and that's about it. No insight to be derived from here.

fascinating, useless, riveting...
They said it, do we believe it? Who cares! This book is for the die-hard Kurtney fan who wants to read every crazy morsel that ever dripped from their lips. The photos are great, there is an especially appalling photo of Courtney that is not to be missed...I personally can't get enough of either one of these punk rock cartoon characters and this book is a keeper!

well for the most part
i completely adore this book, but all the pics are black and white and the above shown "cover" is not really that (I guess it was reprinted?) cover (The one you will get, the reprinted one's cover is not nearly as stimulating) , it really wouldnt be that big a deal, exept that i was expecting something different. the quotes are nicely chosen in a wonderful format and they are the epitome of quotes, because its them. the quotes are equally distributed, even though there are maybe a few more of kurts, its not too obvious. get this book if you love or agree with their opinions. ... Read more

Book Description

This delightful book collects 25 stories about dogs accompanied by playful, cartoon-like drawings from gifted artist and animal lover Emily Carr.Dividing her tales into calendar months, she describes the joys as well as the challenges of raising Old English Sheep dogs, especially Flirt, Punk, and Loo.In her appealingly direct, honest, and witty style, she writes of her decision to start a kennel to the sad day when she had to close it.With each story Carr brings the affectionate and loyal nature of her canine companions to life, making this book an ideal choice any dog lover, child or adult. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Chances are, Tipper Gore would have had a difficult time finding a publisher for this book if she were not married to the vice president of the United States. In all fairness, however, she was an experienced photojournalist long before she took up residence in Washington, D.C. This "diary" is a compilation of pictures taken during the first four years of the Clinton-Gore administration. They run the gamut from unusually intimate coverage of White House activities--and occupants--to a variety of people and places she has experienced in her recent international travels. If there are too many images of a family album-type nature, Gore reveals a keen eye for "the defining moment"--especially in her photographs of Rwandan and Haitian children. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A great pictorial with striking innocence
Tipper Gore provides a very unique perspective on life in the public eye through this pictorial. Her simple comments and striking pictures tell a story about the Gore family, public affairs in the U.S., and people in general. There is an innocence of the pictures, they present themselves at face value and are very real. Perhaps having someone like Mrs. Gore nonchalantly taking pictures of some of the most powerful and important people from around the world when they least expect it would solicit such simplicity. The photographs are very professional as well. A good gift book for anyone interested in politics or anyone looking for a unique book about family life in the public limelight with a clever twist.

a good gore picture book
What a wonderful book Tipper wrote. I love the photos she took. She is a very professional photographer. She and Al Gore are my biggest admirers in Washington. Though, it was sad to see them leave the White House. But guys, keep democracy alive! Good book, Tipper! And Al, I'm voting for you for president in 2004! See you then!

Surprisingly good photographs - a visual treat
I wasn't expecting much from this book. I assumed it was the vanity project of a second lady with time on her hands. What I found, instead, was an incredible collection of excellent photographs from a talented and experienced photojournalist. Skim past the family pictures (except for the one of Al as Frankenstein!) and concentrate on the pictures that document some of the most important people and places of our day. I'd recommend this book to any photographer who wants to be inspired by fine work. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Personal & Musical Understanding
I am amazed that there wasn't more buzz about this truly insightful account of the final tour of the great Maria Callas. Robert Sutherland is a first rate musician and accompanist with an insider's view to the struggle that plagued Maria Callas during those turbulent and triumphant concerts(44 in all)worldwide. He ate, slept, and lived with Callas and DiStefano through the agony and ecstacy that each performance heaped on this trio, soprano, tenor, and accompanist. I read the entire book in 24 hours, I could not put it down.
My supreme satisfaction came when I finally got to meet Robert Sutherland at the moving tribute that was staged at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on the anniversary of Maria Callas' death.For Callas fans, opera fans, and those interested in the backstage goings on of singer's tours, this is a "must". ... Read more

Amazon.com

When Bill Clinton nominated University of Pennsylvania Law School Professor Lani Guinier to the position of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in 1993, she was immediately beset upon by right-wing critics of the president. Taking her writings on cumulative and proportional voting out of context, they branded her a "quota queen." Guinier, on instructions from administration officials, made almost no effort to defend herself against this public smearing of her work and reputation. Then, to her surprise, Clinton himself withdrew her nomination, stating in a press conference that her views were "undemocratic."

The Tyranny of the Majority reprinted the articles that were the source of this controversy. Now, in Lift Every Voice, Professor Guinier explains the principles underlying those writings in layman's terms and offers her personal perspective on what happened in the spring and summer of 1993, taking us behind the scenes to meetings with Clinton, Attorney General Janet Reno, and other Washington officials. But perhaps more importantly, she writes about how, after she was cut loose by an intimidated White House, she regained her confidence in the civil rights movement. Recalling the activism of ordinary people like her father and the clients she represented as a lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Guinier reminds us that a better society cannot be built by governmental edict alone, but requires commitment on the part of the citizenry. A recent book on mathematics, K.C. Cole's The Universe and the Teacup, vindicated Guinier's theories on proportional representation at the statistical level. The debate sparked by Lift Every Voice may, in the long run, end up vindicating her at the political level as well. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

wonderful book
lani guinier's story marks the beginning of the awful, underhanded politics of smear that have only gotten worse in recent years. she is wise and resilient. it's a reminder that we all have to stay engaged to rescue the American process, no matter what the mudslinging.

dangerous woman abandoned by fair weather friends
In an irony that neither would be likely to appreciate much, Lani Guinier's account of being nominated and then unnominated for the position of head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is reminiscent of Robert Bork's Tempting of America (see Orrin's review). Both quickly came to be perceived more as symbols than human beings and, as such, ended up being subjected to really unfair personal attacks and having their philosophies caricatured. But what is really instructive about the two cases is the differences rather than the similarities.

Robert Bork's nomination split the Congress and the punditry on strictly party lines and it just so happened that the Democrats controlled the Senate at that point in time, so he went down to defeat. However, he did get to have nomination hearings where he was questioned about his views however ineptly by the members of the Senate Judiciary committee. [Personally, I learned more of value about constitutional law by watching the hearings than I did in my law school class.] Despite the fact that his nomination was clearly doomed, President Reagan stood by him and insisted on putting the matter to a vote, allowing Bork to lose honorably and granting him a sense of closure, albeit mixed with disgust, at the end of the ugly process. Bork later wrote his book in order to explain and amplify his views on the constitution and the legal system and, to a lesser degree, to give his perspective on the nomination fight. The result is a vital and readable contribution to our understanding of the degree to which our jurisprudence has become politicized and of the dangers it entails, as well as a resigned, but bemused, look at the Senate by someone who ran afoul of the institution.

Lani Guinier's nomination, on the other hand, split the nation along racial lines, with even traditional white allies abandoning black civil rights organizations to oppose her. Ultimately, even Bill Clinton, her longtime friend, repudiated his own nominee and withdrew her name before she got to the hearings stage. This, understandably, left Guinier frustrated and humiliated, feeling that she had been denied the opportunity to defend her views and her own good name. In the most affecting passages in the book, she describes how she was about to appear on Nightline when Ted Koppel told her that the next day's New York Times and Washington Post announced that the White House had decided to pull her name, a fact of which she was unaware at the time. She also describes having old pal Hillary walk right past her at the White House with a wave and a "Hey kiddo", obviously unwilling to stop and discuss the fiasco and she details her meeting with a dewey eyed President Clinton, who moments after telling her that the meeting was one of the most difficult of his life went before the White House press corps and denounced her as "antidemocratic". Guinier has written another book, Tyranny of the Majority, which I honestly haven't read, but in this book she whines on ad nauseum about how the failure of her nomination was a catastrophe for the cause of civil rights in America. In the strangest maneuver of the book, she introduces herself early on as someone who was forced to write controversial articles in order to win tenure, then laments how those views were twisted by the press and hostile politicians, then returns at the end of the book to a defense of them as her true beliefs. The result is an enormously self-indulgent vanity piece, with insufficient consideration of, and a marked lack of honesty about, the controversial theories that ultimately sank her nomination. The book spreads more noise than light on the issues.

The most serious flaw of the book, narrowly outweighing her egomaniacal catalogue of what appears to be every compliment that she was ever paid in her life, is the disingenuous treatment of the implications of her view of democracy. The essential fact is that Ms Guinier does not believe that the United States Constitution, with it's system of representative democracy, adequately defends the rights of minorities. Therefore, she proposes adoption of schemes like cumulative voting, geared towards allowing the losing minority to win actual representation regardless of their election loss. For instance, if a school board district voted 60% Republican and 40% Democrat, they would send three Republicans and two Democrats to the board. Now you could discuss the merits and drawbacks of these types of Rube Goldberg mechanisms until you were blue in the face, but the primary point here is that they represent a radical departure from our current constitutional regime and are a fundamental attack on representative democracy. There is no reason that we should not consider and debate these types of measures, but intellectual honesty requires that their advocates describe them accurately. Guinier's refusal to do so casts a shadow of deception over the book.

In the final analysis, where Judge Bork's book stands out in particular for the intellectual rigor of his arguments and analysis, Guinier's is merely interesting as a portrait of the shallowness and duplicity of her friends the Clintons.

GRADE: D+

Visionary, Hopeful, Stragetic: Mandatory Reading
Professor Guinier has seen beyond the veil which seems to have fallen over the civil rights movement for the past thirty years. Guinier uses the story of her dis-appointment (her phrase) by the Clinton Administration to expose the inner workings of the political system and clarify her views. In so doing, she lays out a strategy that is simple, obvious, and doable. While so many "leaders" have been busy listening to one another, Guinier has been able to hear a still, small, powerful voice. This book is a must read for anyone who cares about democracy.

While reading this book, outstanding black women ...
who come to mind include... Barbaara Jordan, Angela Davis, Represtntative Jackson (Texas)... especially when support for outstanding people like Lani Guinier is needed. "Where were they (those so-called black influential leaders) when their help was needed ... probably doing the Ostrich thing, along with the usual commenusrating that can always be expected in those little private circles. The ones we respected and would be guided by in the 60's are yet to be developed for the 21st Century. Lani's book is a classic that I will pass on.

Excellent look at post-Selma Civil Rights in America.
This book is an fine discourse on what America has - or should have - learned about the search for social justice in the quarter century since the Civil Rights marches of the 1960s. Lani Guinier is best known for her ill-fated candidacy to become the first African American and female Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. She provides a spell-binding blow by blow account of what it was like to be nominated, then cast aside in the political jockeying that followed the 1992 election of Bill Clinton to the presidency. It is a poignant tale of how ordinary people on the fringes of her battle to get a hearing in Congress stepped in to insure that she never lost her sense of professionalism, her commitment to the truth, or her right to be treated with dignity. Her ideas on reforming voting procedures, the very ones that foiled her nomination in Congress, are well worth reading, and clearly worth implementing in an age of voter apathy and political gerymandering. The theme is broader, however, and in this book she demonstrates how thoroughly she has paid her dues over the years laboring for justice in America. As a civil rights lawyer in the 70s and 80s she went back to Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and other southern states to pick up where the civil rights movement of the 60s left off. Her talent for getting people to listen to the messages embodied in unfamiliar language and cultural expression is a gift to us all. Her story is full of important new insights into the nature of cross-cultural communication. She proclaims from her own experiences a critical need for wide-open discussion of social issues. Lawyers, she asserts, cannot win civil rights cases without the active participation of the public, and she calls for a return to grass-roots activism as a means to achieving social justice. Guinier is superbly analytical, a true listener, and a fine writer. ... Read more