A Heartbeat and a Guitar Decide Now

Antonino D'Ambrosio's A HEARTBEAT AND A GUITAR is a fascinating, complex story, ostensibly about Johnny Cash's BITTER TEARS album, but in fact it covers so much more. Indeed, it is a dual biographyof the famous, Cash, and the basically unknown, Peter LaFarge, an advocate for Native American rights while composing a number of riveting songs. D'Ambrosio weaves together many fascinating strands, including the stories of various performers, the politics of the 1950s and after, Native American protest history, American foreign policy, and so much more. The author demonstrates that analyzing the songs of one album can lead to so much understanding of cultural, musical, and political history. The discussions of Native American music and protest movements are particuarly refreshing, with the intriguing and complex LaFarge remaining as the story's centerpiece. Must reading for all music lovers, as well as political activists.Get more detail about A Heartbeat and a Guitar.