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by: Neal Cassady
List Price: $15.95Amazon.com's Price: $11.65 You Save: $4.30 (27%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.920924
EAN: 9780872860056
ISBN: 0872860051
Label: City Lights Publishers
Manufacturer: City Lights Publishers
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 226
Publication Date: January 01, 2001
Publisher: City Lights Publishers
Sales Rank: 167743
Studio: City Lights Publishers
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Immortalized as Dean Moriarty by Jack Kerouac in his epic novel, On the Road, Neal Cassady was infamous for his unstoppable energy and his overwhelming charm, his savvy hustle and his devil-may-care attitude. A treasured friend and traveling companion of Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, and Ken Kesey, to name just some of his cohorts on the beatnik path, Cassady lived life to the fullest, ready for inspiration at any turn.
Before he died in Mexico in 1968, just four days shy of his forty-second birthday, Cassady had written the jacket blurb for this book: 'Seldom has there been a story of a man so balled up. No doubt many readers will not believe the veracity of the author, but I assure these doubting Thomases that every incident, as such, is true.'
As Ferlingetti writes in his editor's note, Cassady was 'an early prototype of the urban cowboy who a hundred years ago might have been an outlaw on the range.' Here are his autobiographical writings, the rambling American saga of a truly free individual.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - To Short
I recieved a copy of this in the mail about a week ago and I read it in about 2 days. I thought the opening parts about Neal's geneology were well written and the parts of his own life were interesting enough, but there is not alot of character development in this. Neal's letters to Kerouac and Kesey give some insight to his personality. This book is worthy reading for any Kerouac fan and anyone interested in learning more about Cassady that hasn't already been recorded by Kerouac, Kesey, Wolfe, ... Read More
Rating:  - The Pen Was Just Too Slow For Neal Cassady
A few chosen people are meant to be artists. Of the artists, there are painters: others sculptors, musicians, poets or writers. For some, like Neal Cassady, their medium was Being.
Although a muse for the likes of Ginsberg, Kerouac, and Ferlingetti, and in many ways the adrenaline to the Beat Generation, Cassady was not a writer. Writing wasn't Neal's gig. Perhaps the pen was too slow for him; the medium just couldn't convey his essence. Rather Neal was a live show. It seems cruel ... Read More
Rating:  - Bukowski said it better
The Beat-Ups had an unrealistic romantic notion of the heartland and the sticks. They slummed their way through America and insisted that everyone else share their own infantilism, incredulity and narcissism. Bukowski, rather, tells it like it is without any literary pretensions and pleading for understanding. On the Road and other such stuff is useful as a historical document of pre-interstate road travel, and not much else.
Beat-Ups should grow up, get a job and pay the rent.
... Read More
Rating: - The 1st 3rd
This is a must read for any beat fan since its Neal Cassady in his own words. Good family background and thorough childhood description. The other writings were more interesting to me personally wanting to hear more about the second third. I dont know, this review [stinks].
Rating: - Essential look at the beat icon
The First Third is a far cry from being one of the best books that I have read. However, if you are a fan of Jack Kerouac, as I am, this book is a must read. In reading this book you get an understanding of who neal thought that he was, and how he got that way. This book is essential if you want a more complete understanding of Kerouac's On the Road. The fashion in which this book is written borows much style from Cassidy's compaions, consisting of some of the greatest minds of twentieth century ... Read More
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