The Portable Jack Kerouac (Penguin Classics)

Jack Kerouac produced a substantial body of writings in his mercurial career. His drug- and alcohol-inspired furious bursts on the typewriter created energetic and exciting prose, chronicling his experiences and impressions of the untapped restlessness of America in the 1950s. On the Road is certainly his most recognized and influential work, but among his other efforts are books and stories that range from inspired beauty and to sad desperation. Ann Charters, who wrote the first Kerouac biography in 1973 and worked with him in preparing his first bibliography, has assembled here a first-rate sample of some of his better work. The collection is a perfect way to sample Kerouac and necessary for those looking past On the Road.