full of insights into the life and work of a master craftsman

Haven't read ALL of this but it's great to take for excerpt reading (obviously).

Good cross section of Kerouac's writings. I thought adding in selected letters was a nice touch, as it underscored his writings at the time the letters were written.

This, not "On the Road," got me hooked on Kerouac. I definitely recommend it for anyone who is just beginning to read his novels.

Great overview of Jack Kerouac works. I now want to read more of his books, and poems.

Kerouac is an American Classic. If you think you're well versed on the classics from the time period of Hemingway and haven't read Kerouac you're wrong.

I was hugely a fan of Kerouac from about age 14 to 20. Then I tried to rekindle that spark a few years ago and it just wasn't the same. If you want to buy a great book for someone infected with a bit of the wanderlust though, anything from Kerouac would be perfect and I would recommend ON THE ROAD as a place to start.

A good starting point. I read it on airplanes between the west coast and Montana, and in between. It's a battle worth winning.

the thing about jack kerouac is that if you've read one of his novels, you've read them all. he has one specific writing style, one general topic. this book has sections of his other books in it, and honestly you could read them as if they're all from the same novel because he's extremely repetitive.

having a style is good, yes, but i think when you're writing the same story over and over with little differences in plot....then i don't know. makes it tiring for me, personally.

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This was a hefty beach read about a decade ago. It was my first experience with both stream-of-consciousness and beat writing, and I was riveted.

A wonderful man, and truly wonderful book. A favorite passage: "It's all like a dream. Everything is ecstasy, inside. We just don't know it because of our thinking-minds. But in our true blissful essence of mind is known that everything is alright, forever and forever and forever."

“truly speaking, unrecognizably sweet it all is. dont worry about nothing.”