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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #284220 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 226 pages

Customer Reviews

humrously addictive!
The First Third documents neal Cassady's childhood, illustrated through his adventures with his homeless father and inpoverished upbringing. It includes some fabulous ideas inside many intentional run on sentances. Not for the grammatically correct. I got to the end and wished it had been longer. Cassady is an addictive writer, with easy language and deep ideas.

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 to find him trapped on paper - like watching a tiger at the zoo, the wild drained off through those all confining bars.

The first few chapters of The First Third are slow and seem forced. However, the vibe changes drastically once Neal's family tree is throughly discussed. It's as if Cassady has quit the pretentious wordplay and dictated thoughts to paper, which give the remainder of the book a much more genuine feel.

The most enlightening segment of the book is the select correspondence between Neal, Jack Kerouac, Ken Kesey and others. It provides an insight into Neal that is raw, unedited and seems a much more accurate description than Cassady's own attempt at biography.

Entertaining and fun.
This is the true life story of the main inspiration behind the beat movement and the early Acid movement. This autobiography examines the first 13 years or so of Cassady's life. The only problem with it is that it is too short. However, it redeems itself with the addition of letters and exerpts in the back. These are more entertaining than the book in some ways. Check out the letter to Ken Kesey. When you are done with this book check out the movie, "The Last Time I Committed Suicide." It is based on one of the exerpts from the book. Overall, this is a fun book that gives insight into Cassady's early life.