My Father and the Man in Black

Following his father's suicide, Jonathan Holiff discovers hundreds of letters and audio diaries, including secretly recorded phone calls with Johnny Cash during his crazed pill-fueled 1960s, triumphs at Folsom and San Quentin, marriage to June Carter, and his conversion in the early 1970s to born-again Christian. These artifacts tell the story about how Holiff Sr. and Cash collaborated to create a superstar, while each struggled with personal demons. A fascinating behind-the-scenes view of the complex relationship between the notorious singer and his long-suffering manager--it is also a catharsis for its maker and engrossing journalism to boot.