Man in White [Paperback]

Johnny Cash (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 1987

Music legend Johnny Cash's only novel is a portrait of six pivotal years in the life of St. Paul. Cash, who struggled with his own demons and publicly testified to the power of God's healing grace, identified with Paul's experience of salvation. In Man in White he weaves a fascinating story of the apostle's single-minded, zealous persecution of the early Christians and his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA Covering a six-year period in the life of St. Paul in Roman-ruled Judea, Cash weaves a fascinating story of Saul's (Paul's) single-minded, zealous persecution of the early Christians through his conversion on the road to Damascus. Saul is portrayed as a man driven by what he sees as his "divine" mission, the extermination of this despicable Nazarene sect. However, with his conversion, all his fanaticism and energies turn to the spreading of "the word" to the gentiles. This well-researched novel breathes life into Paul, High Priest Annas, the pharisees, apostles, and the other characters who populate Jerusalem and the surrounding area. Readers will experience their fears and doubts, aspirations and triumphs as Cash probes the motivations behind their actions. While the repetition of religious phrases and doctrine tends to slow the last third of the book, Cash's interpretation and writing style make the characters and times come alive. John Lawson , Fairfax County Public Library, Va.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Johnny Cash (1932-2003) was an American icon and country music superstar, a professed man of faith, as well as the author of three books. Cash first sang publicly while in the air force in the early fifties. The youngest person ever chosen for the Country Music Hall of Fame, he was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and awarded eleven Grammies in a career that spanned generations. Married to country legend June Carter, Cash performed everywhere from Folsom Prison to the White House, hosted his own television show, appeared in feature films, and in 1996 received the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco (October 7, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062501356
• ISBN-13: 978-0062501356
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,123,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent fictional account of the life of Paul the apostle, February 27, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Man in White (Paperback)

Billy Graham himself encouraged Johnny Cash to finish this book when Cash had started it and then put it aside, feeling like he could not finish it. Graham recommended Cash finish it for good reason, as it gives the reader an insight into the life of Saul, and later Paul the apostle, that you cannot possibly get from the bible itself.

Well written, this book, which was titled to be a play on words of Cash's autobiography titled Man in Black, draws you into Paul's life from a fictional 1st person perspective, and is at all times totally believable and spiritually uplifting. I highly recommend this book for Christians and non-Christians alike.
Unfortunately, it is currently out of print (2/97)

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blinded by the Light, June 3, 2006

By 

R. Chaffey "beckahi" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Man in White (Paperback)

Anyone familiar with the tenets of Christianity know the conversion story of the apostle Paul, a persecutor of Christians, who came to faith in Jesus. After his conversion he became one of the early church's biggest missionaries, converting hundreds upon thousands and building churches wherever he visited. His life story is astounding, and Johnny Cash has done a remarkable job in telling his story in "Man of White", a fictional account of the life of Paul.

"Man in White" paints an overwhelmingly realistic portrait of Saul of Tarsus, a zealous Jew who felt called to persecute his fellow Jews who had turned to faith in Jesus. His conversion and blinding on the road to Damascus changes his life; his encounter with the Man in White affirming that his mission in life is not one of persecution but of love. Cash's narrative is fast-paced, Biblically grounded and well-written. The reader is swept into the time and trials of the early Christians, the deadly persecutions they suffered and the fearlessness they had to have in order to give their lives over to Christ. Cash has created a backstory for the apostle Paul that fills in the gaps with clarity and intuition, a daring task for anyone, but one that Cash accomplishes with seeming ease.

For those familiar with Johnny Cash only through his music and his history of drug problems, it may seem strange that he chose to write a novel about the apostle Paul. Yet one could draw parallels between what Cash went through to overcome his demons and finally get his life on track, with what Paul went through as he tried to run away from the Lord. Cash is a fitting author for this novel because he knew all about running away from a calling; this novel ate away at him for years before he was able to finish it. He didn't think himself worthy to write about Paul, struggled with the conversion scene, until he too had a dream about a vision on a road. Johnny Cash was the "Man in Black" who wore that color for "those who never read / or listened to the words that Jesus said", and talks straight to those who would listen through the "Man in White".

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should have been a classic, March 14, 2005

By 

K. Rasberry (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Man in White (Paperback)

As an avid reader, I find many books today are written and then published when they should be going through edits and re-writes. Characters are flat, mistakes in timelines, and no attention to flow, but the effort and commitment of Johnny Cash in this novel is obvious. It is extremely well written so that the reader becomes engaged and able to vividly see the story as it is read. The reason I think this book isn't a classic (yet) is that it is so long out of print.