Customer Reviews

Man in White

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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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)

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".

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.

This is one of my favorite books. Johnny Cash wrote a masterpiece and this book should be far more popular than it is. After reading this book, Johnny Cash became one of my favorite people on the planet. The world is a worse place without him.
He is now truly with the Man in White.

I would not call myself a huge fan of Johnny Cash, but I'm certainly a huge fan of this book and its story. Making direct application of Biblical characters is the whole point of the Biblical characters in the first place. If we don't live vicariously through ancient personalities we don't learn a thing from them. Mr. Cash draws an uncanny parallel between himself and the converted Paul. He too had a blinding flash of the obvious. I am so impressed when a celebrity shares his/her faith in Christ unashamedly with no intent to criticize or for self-gain. The direct connection with scriptures teaches life changing experiences.

I think Johnny Cash did a tremendous amount of research & thought to write this novel of the Apostle Paul. I was impressed how Cash put it into simple words, easily understood in the flow of the very interesting story line.

I checked this out from the library for my husband; he loved it so much I planned to buy it for him. Meanwhile my father-in-law came for a visit and loved it so much he wouldn't put it down... So, I ended up buying two books; one for each of them. Neither could put it down and said how they would want to read it over and over. My two favorite men in my life absolutely LOVE this book. Also, it is a great add to his growing collection of Johnny Cash books and music. It adds an important part of who is was. Also, it was very interesting to find out what an educated Christian he was; in detail.

This book did what The Shack did not do. It told a story of a biblical character based upon scripture accurately and on parts of the story that were fictionalized, were not so far-fetched or seemingly unbelievable. Mr. Cash tells the story of Saul/Paul and his redemption and awakening on the Damascus Road by the Man in White (God).
The story begins with a brief introduction into Sauls (temple) life while during the time he rejected Jesus and condemed anyone of the Nazarenes followers to jail or death. It proceeds to the conversion scene on the Damascus Road, and then on to Pauls instruction to teach and preach the word of god (the New Testament) unto all of the world.
Mr. Cash brings to life a real Paul, a real Damascus, a real Jerusalem, and so on. I felt like I was there while reading about Pauls journies. This was such a wonderful book. I feel Mr. Cash has stayed as true to following biblical scripture and as close as he could to keep his story of Paul both accurate and meaningful, and what an accomplishment. Thank God Mr. Cash didn't make God a black woman, Jesus a middle-eastern man, and the Holy Spirit an Asian woman just to tell a story about them while they all sat around and ate pancakes. While he would have been free to do so, I believe it cheapens Christianity severely in the eyes of someone who may find it difficult to believe in God to begin with or cause even more confusion at the very least. Mr. Cash did a GREAT job with his story of Paul and the Man in White so you won't have to worry about that kind of foolishness with this story. Great quality with this one. If you can find a copy (hardcover preferably) get it. You will see why I recommend the hardcover when you get a close look at it and feel it with your fingers. Sounds wierd, but trust me.

This helps put the greatest evangelist in a human perspective. I would highly recogmend it to any Christian or any Johnny Cash fan. Johnny Cash's autobiography "Man In Black" is also an incredible book. Bottom line, Johnny Cash was a wonderful author, not to mention an incredible musician.

I had no idea that Johnny Cash had ever written a book, and to find out that he wrote about Saul of Tarsus was even more of a surprise.
It was obviously well researched, and it was well written. It kept me interested and gave me an interesting perspective on the whole subject.
The introduction was very interesting as well, and certainly gave me new insights into Johnny Cash. I recently also read his daughter's autobiography, which was excellent, and his introduction touched on some of the things she wrote about, so Man in White came along at a perfect time for me.