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)

Four Card Draw. Louis L'Amour starts this audio volume with a short discourse on period books about the old west. "Four Card Draw" is told first person by Allen Ring, a gambler who wins the Red Rock Ranch in Arizona. He is told the ranch is haunted by someone who was murdered there. That someone was one of the three Haslet brothers, owners of a neighboring ranch, who are out for revenge. Allen walks right into the middle of a frying pan and ends up fighting for his life!

Riding For The Brand. Jed Asberry wins a poker game only to find himself robbed by the angry losers. They dump him in the desert with no clothes, left to die. Days later, on his last legs, he stumbles across three recently killed people (two men and a woman)... in the middle of the desert. Taking clothes, guns, and papers from one of the men, Jed becomes Micheal Latch. Micheal was on his way to inherit a ranch, so Jed decides to assume this role. He finds himself up to his neck in serious shooting trouble as someone else is willing to murder to get the property!

The Turkey Feather Riders. Louis L'Amour starts this story by giving a short discourse on cowboys and the cattle business as it was in the 1860's through 1880's (and now). Jim Sandefer is the forman for a New Mexico ranch. His boss, Grey Bowen, makes a sudden visit (after years of being away) with his daughter, Elaine, and some new guests: Rose and Lee Martin. Grey wants to marry Rose, but Jim discovers that she and her son are up to something that doesn't smell right! Then the shooting begins!

Well worth the purchase price. Run Time: 180 minutes.

This book is one of an aging man, reflecting on his remembrances. It is based on different locations that Cash writes the book from, his different houses and his tour bus. He tells stories about the early days of Sun Records, he talks about his friends and famous aquaitances. At times it seems like he's name dropping, but not for self promootion, but historic preservation. He speaks of who he thinks is truly great in the history of Country music.

I guess that the San Quentin Prison record has just been remastered and rereleased, Cash is suffering from a nerve disorder but is still recording on American records. I guess that three topical compilations have been released one focusing on Love, one on God, and one on Murder. I'm glad that Cash left this record (eventhough he's a better songwriter than a book writer) of his thoughts and stories and passions. He's one of the great musicians of the twentieth century.

His insights into these two megastars, each at the very beginning of their climb to fame, are interesting, to be sure, but there was so much more to be covered. In addition to the two icons, numerous other country acts began or expanded their stardom on the Hayride, and though Logan provides some interesting anecdotes about Johnny and Jack, Kitty Wells, Faron Young, Slim Whitman, Webb Pierce, Johnny Horton, Johnny Cash and George Jones, he never really delves into the Hayride itself.

His dishing on the Grand Ole Opry, while probably close to the bone, is a poor substitute for a deeper discussion of how the Hayride itself worked. There's some interesting analysis of why the Hayride kept giving up its stars to Nashville, but having been written so long after-the-fact, the of-the-moment accounts focus more on the stars than the show. One never really gets a feel for the Hayride's own arc of fame, nor the nuts-and-bolts of how the show (both stage and radio) operated.

That said, and even with the factual errors noted elsewhere, this is a worthwhile first-hand account of a seminal program that fostered one of the great transitional periods in country music's history.