Jul 2, 2009 — Country legend Johnny Cash, bon vivant George Plimpton and consummate entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. don't have much in common. But their lives have much to tell us about what it means to be a great American.
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Cover: 'George, Being George' ()
Red, White And True: The Great American Biography
by Nathan Rabin
Jul 2, 2009 — Country legend Johnny Cash, bon vivant George Plimpton and consummate entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. don't have much in common. But their lives have much to tell us about what it means to be a great American.See this
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Nathan Rabin
What does it mean to be a great American? Ask five of your countrymen, and you'll get five different answers.
For me, it means having some of the qualities that make our nation worth celebrating — like resilience, determination and optimism.
Country legend Johnny Cash, bon vivant George Plimpton and consummate entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. don't have much in common. But their lives have much to tell us about what it means to be a great American.
Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.9(MDAxNzgwMTg5MDEyMTQ4Nzc4MjdiNWVmMw004))
'Yes I Can'
Yes I Can: The Story of Sammy Davis, Jr., by Sammy Davis Jr., Farrar Straus & Giroux, paperback, 611 pages, $35
'George, Being George'
George, Being George: George Plimpton's Life as Told, Admired, Deplored, and Envied by 200 Friends, Relatives, Lovers, Acquaintances, Rivals — and a Few Unappreciative Observers. by Nelson W. Aldrich, hardcover, 432 pages
Nathan Rabin is the longtime head writer for The A.V. Club, the entertainment section of The Onion and the author of The Big Rewind.
'Johnny Cash: The Biography'
Johnny Cash: The Biography, by Michael Streissguth, paperback, 368 pages
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