Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash was a man both extraordinary and ordinary. Every man could relate to him, no man could be him, and only one man could get inside his head: Robert Hilburn -- Bono
Robert Hilburn displays a deeply felt affinity with his subject, illuminating Johnny Cash as the moral compass of country music -- Patti Smith
A great story requires great storytelling, and that's exactly what it receives here. Ultimately, Robert Hilburn's biography uncannily resembles its subject: massive and stolid, but with a dangerous glint in its eye -- Charles Shaar Murray * Literary Review *
Johnny Cash and Robert Hilburn are two of the true blessings of my life. Both the best at what they do and each a gifted artist. It's a killer combination -- Kris Kristofferson
Mr Hilburn got as close to the Cash inner circle as any journalist could. He was the only reporter present at the historic Folsom Prison show in 1968, and he interviewed Cash over the years up to his final days. The result is the most authoritative and revealing portrait to date of the most chronicled figure in country-music history ... [a] finely wrought biography * Wall Street Journal Europe *
Hilburn's biography has the sort of immense scope and tremendous insight that comes from years of interviewing such a truthful, troubling subject -- Rob Fitzpatrick * Sunday Times *
A warts-and-all biography follows Johnny Cash, a rebel and outsider, from one drama to the next. It's a must-read -- Will Hodgkinson * The Times *
Rock biographies can feel like they are ten-a-penny so it is a refreshing change to read a meaty no-holds barred, non-sycophantic record of legendary Man in Black Johnny Cash ... The wealth of detail on every page, in ever incident of Cash's life (1932-2002) is both impressive and a joy to read. Unlike so many biographies that are reported incidents jigsawed together, this is almost an eyewitness account with not always favourable opinions, perfecting its colour and gravitas -- Nicole Carmichael * Sunday Express *
How do you write an interesting biography of such a beloved figure? First, hire Robert Hilburn. He is a prodigious researcher, but keeps a steady hand on the tiller, and never allows his research to swamp his narrative. He knows his music and music history, but unlike far too many music critics, he avoids the temptation to show off * The Economist *
Hilburn has pulled off the rare feat of making the dispassionate truth more extraordinary than the myth -- Andy Fyfe * Mojo *
With straightforward prose, and through years of meticulous research, Robert Hilburn unravels the sometimes dark and magical life of one of music's greatest legends. Oftentimes this is a chronicle of pain, whether Hilburn is detailing Cash's early loss of his beloved brother, or the anguish he talked to Rick Rubin about feeling upon the death of wife June, but Hilburn gives much insight into what drove Cash's work. This is a harrowing story of addiction, musical genius, and enduring faith that goes far deeper than any film biopic ever will. In the end, Hilburn has achieved what is most certainly the definitive Johnny Cash biography -- Charles R. Cross, author of Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain
Robert Hilburn has written a magnificent biography * BBC Radio 4 Front Row *
Hilburn displays a quite remarkable empathy with his subject and his writing style is highly readable and totally gripping. The book has just been published in the UK and is surely a must for any serious country music buff -- David Alan * Country Music People *
A moving, respectful and sympathetic biography -- Alan Taylor * Sunday Herald *
There is madness aplenty in this excellent life of the turbulent Johnny Cash -- Rod Liddle * Sunday Times *
Superb -- Will Hodgkinson * The Times *