One of the best books I read in 2008 was Rodney Clapp’s Johnny Cash and the Great American Contradiction: Christianity and the Battle for the Soul of a Nation. Clapp is author of numerous works and serves as editorial director of Brazos Press. Examining American Christianity and contemporary cultural life through country music generally and Johnny Cash specifically, Clapp offers a penetrating and engaging analysis of defining tensions embedded within our national identity. I included Clapp’s most recent publication in a book study I led this fall at St. George’s Church, Nashville, entitled “Good Books and the Good Book.”   To read a thoughtful review and summary of this book, click on the link below.