Cassady, Neal

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A Modern Muse
The Beat Hero In His Own Words (for once)
A mediocre book about a fascinating character
Cassady fans rejoice!
Elementary my dear Moriarty.......

Collected Letters, 1944-1967
Neal Cassady
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The First Third & Other Writings
The Windblown World: The Journals Of Jack Kerouac 1947-1954
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ASIN: 0142002178

Book Description

Neal Cassady is best remembered today as Jack Kerouac's muse and the basis for the character “Dean Moriarty” in Kerouac's classic On The Road, and as one of Ken Kesey's merriest of Merry Pranksters, the driver of the psychedelic bus “Further,” immortalized in Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. This collection brings together more than two hundred letters to Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, John Clellon Holmes, and other Beat generation luminaries, as well as correspondence between Neal and his wife, Carolyn. These amazing letters cover Cassady's life between the ages of 18 and 41 and finish just months before his death in February 1968. Brilliantly edited by Dave Moore, this unique collection presents the “Soul of the Beat Generation” in his own words—sometimes touching and tender, sometimes bawdy and hilarious. Here is the real Neal Cassady—raw and uncut.

Customer Reviews:

A Modern Muse.......2006-08-29

The first thing that surprised me about these letters was how fine Cassady's vocabulary was; and how well-read he was. The letters really show why he was such a profound influence on Kerouac and Ginsberg. Also, these letters weren't written to be published, so they are unforced and natural. How about that sexual exploit on page 77? My goodness! Can we, in the year 2006, forgive Neil's use of the "N" word in the year 1948...in much the same way as Mark Twain's use of that word? I guess that's up to each reader to decide. Anyway, I find this book to be a superlative example of a modern muse in action.

The Beat Hero In His Own Words (for once).......2006-05-16

Neal Cassady was, for most of his adult life, a prolific writer, spreading his hep words to the likes of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Bill Burroughs, and other beat writers who used Neal as the star of many of their works (especially K). Cassady is a born storyteller, as is evidenced by his energetic and exciting letters; however, it becomes evident that he is not a born writer, and as exciting as his letters are, they say quite little. Regardless, it is obvious how Cassady became a new archetype of American modern literature, and fans of the Beats would be remiss not to check out this wee tome. Note that after his imprisonment for distributing "tea" the volume drops off considerably. Was it prison, life or LSD that lessened the latent genius' writing? We'll never know.

A mediocre book about a fascinating character.......2006-04-03

Jack Kerouac is a great writer, who wrote some great books. Neal Cassady is the energetic, life-filled hero of many of them, including "On the Road," in which Neal is represented as "Dean Moriarty."
Tom Wolfe is another great writer, who wrote the amazing "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test," in which Neal is also a prominent character, this time the driver of a psychedelic busful of hippies.
In these books, and in others, Neal Cassady stands out distinctly as a fascinating character worthy of study--a man with an almost bottomless manic energy, the sex drive of a large crowd, and a penchant for joyriding in stolen cars.
This book here, however, goes a little deeper, is a little more personal, and as a result, damages many of the romantic illusions that have been built around his character.
This is Neal's life in his own words, in words from letters meant only for his friends and lovers and family, not for the public. There is some dishonesty here, but still it's very intimate, and very disclosing.
This book shows the sides of Neal that were often downplayed in books about him, sides that would have made him a much less sympathetic character: the neglectful way he treated and cast aside his wives and children, the almost psychopathic detachment from the crimes he committed and the women he used, the anger and the bitterness over his lot in life, the general disloyalty, the pathetically unsuccessful attempts at trying to be a writer, and the transparent tries to make his often empty life seem more significant than it was and his often horrible choices seem less like choices and more like fate.
All that would be fine however, if he had only been a better writer. As it is, the book is still a fairly compelling read that will keep you turning the pages and keep you interested. But the writing is typical. Average. Drug-addled. Bland.
He never had the discpline to cultivate what talent he may have had, and it shows.
This is a book to read to acquaint yourself better with Neal Cassady the character...if you want to. Unfortunately, along the way, you'll have to get a bit involved with Neal Cassady the writer.
He's certainly no Kerouac, even if he did help to inspire his style.

Cassady fans rejoice!.......2005-08-10

Neal Cassady fans rejoice! This is the book you've been waiting a long, long time for. If Neal has captured your imagination (he's certainly captured mine) surely you've been frustrated about how little information there is about him. Yes, he's Dean Moriarty, Cody Pomeray, Speed Limit, and Cowboy Neal. He even wrote an (labored, as you'll discover) autobiography, "First Third". But, in a way, none of it prepares you for these collected letters because it's within them that we get to see the many sides of the Neal Cassady legend, primarily in his own words.

The two aspects I enjoyed most about this book were his hopes to be a family man and his desire to be an author, favorite aspects I suppose because that's not how I saw him previously. He tried hard to be a good husband and father but his muse wouldn't let him. And in these letters you see the creative, free-wheeling writing ability he was capable of but just couldn't get together in book form. Kerouac credits Neal for inspiring the style he'd develope for "On the Road" and on, and throughout the 50's encourages him to continue his writing.

The bulk of this collection dates before 1957, before the publication of "On the Road" and the whole beat sensation. In that regard it's very special to have the inside look at these letters which at the time of their composition no one would have had the faintest clue would be published. These are letters between friends, aspiring artists and lovers when there was no email and long distance phone calls were a luxury. Neal's writing was sometimes pedestrian but at other times it would soar, making clear why Ginsburg, Kerouac, etc argued he was the greatest writer of the group.

The editor Dave Moore does a wonderful job bringing continuity to the letters with his commentary throughout the book. He connects the dots where needed providing necessary back-story in an unabtrusive manner.

One complaint I do have about the book is that during the 60's the quantity of letters seriously drops off. He wrote less and less or the letters are lost or both, but it does leave a hole in Neal's story. As a result we miss out, in his words, on his life as he transitions from the beat generation to the hippie generation.

I have come to some new conclusions of my own about Neal, as will any reader. There is room for more writing on this most facsinating subject (esp his life in the 60's--why, he even lived with the Grateful Dead at their famed 710 Ashbury residence during the Haight's blossoming) but "Selected Letters" fills a huge void.

Elementary my dear Moriarty..............2005-02-11

>
>
>
Now's your chance.......

Read between the lines of what Jack Kerouac
was saying in On the Road, or at least get closer
to his hero Dean Moriarty (real name Neal Cassady).

This book officially published this winter in the
USA and available on import in the UK is a
CAUSE CELEBRE of the Beat World. Possibly
the best Beat read you'll have had since On the Road.

Neal Cassady's Letters - produced by Carolyn
Cassady and others, brilliantly edited (and that
doesn't mean cut) by Beat authority Dave Moore.

Having read On the Road we think we know it all?
We don't know half of it. Neal's Letters flesh out
the legend. For instance they show the married side
of Neal with intimate letters between himself and
Carolyn, something On the Road barely touches on.
They reveal the extent of the 'manage a trois' which
existed between Neal, Carolyn and Jack.

You want something even spicier? Try the long letter
to Alan Ginsberg starting on p.199 ...or Diana's note
on Neal p.142-143, or Neal's outrageous letter starting
p.327 and you'll see why Neal Cassady joins The
Marquis de Sade, Casanova, and Rasputin as
a sexual enchanter.

Bristolian Dave Moore's meticulous annotation and footnotes
link the letters, explain them, and make a narrative of them.
They prove Neal an engaging writer who's free-form
style inspired Kerouac in his genius to make
a prose-poem of the tale.

It's not difficult to see why Kerouac and his muse have
been down-graded over the years, and even vilified.
There's enough work here for a thousand sociologists.
At a time when, here in Britain, Jamaican men are
being persuaded to change their `out husband' lifestyle
and settle down with their wives and the children they
father, Neal Cassady epitomised the very life style
they're eschewing becoming the `white negro' of
Kerouac's classic, not only in terms of jazz music
and pot, but also adopting the black male role of
sex-object and stud.

No wonder the media wants to play him down - the
man who hitched a train and threw a generation off the rails.

As Joe Strummer said: "When we first read On
the Road we weren't digging Kerouac's prose - we
wanted to be like Dean Moriarty". He ended his life
as only a man like that can - broken and crying on
a railway line in Mexico.

Saint or sinner? Looser or winner? As the man who
straddled 100 women and Kerouac's prose makes
his literary debut - you make up your mind!

Average customer rating:

The Pen Was Just Too Slow For Neal Cassady
Bukowski said it better
The 1st 3rd
Essential look at the beat icon
constanly risking absurdity

The First Third & Other Writings
Neal Cassady
Manufacturer: City Lights Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Collected Letters, 1944-1967
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ASIN: 0872860051

Book 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:

The Pen Was Just Too Slow For Neal Cassady.......2004-11-09

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.

Bukowski said it better.......2004-07-27

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.

I heartily advise you all to read Ham on Rye and Post Office. This will give you an insight into real America.

The 1st 3rd.......2002-08-04

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].

Essential look at the beat icon.......2001-11-29

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 literature.

constanly risking absurdity.......2001-11-20

This book is great if you truly want to get into the mind of the fastest man on the planet. just like neal who could jump around from one topic to the other in mid-sentence, that is exactly the way he writes the book. Don't confuse neal with jack, because neal is to fast to sit down and read in one setting. And the letter at the end make for some good and funny reading. If you truly love the beats and want to see what the heartbeat is really all about, check this book out.

Grace Beats Karma: Letters from Prison 1958-60

Average customer rating:

Not Much Else Be In The Stir Besides Self-Indulgent
A well needed view into the life of a counter culture hero.
If you're a beat scholar, maybe worth reading

Grace Beats Karma: Letters from Prison 1958-60
Neal Cassady
Manufacturer: Blast Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Collected Letters, 1944-1967
The First Third & Other Writings
Off the Road: My Years with Cassady, Kerouac, and Ginsberg
Kerouac: Selected Letters: Volume 2: 1957-1969
Kerouac: Selected Letters: Volume 1 1940-1956

ASIN: 0922233071

Customer Reviews:

Not Much Else Be In The Stir Besides Self-Indulgent.......2005-09-14

Self-Indulgent?
Dig it, this man was RAILROADED by Johnny Law because he sold TWO joints to the Feds, getting 5 years to LIFE in San Quentin. This work is not literary, it is not meant to be a novel, it is a collection of letters by a hyper-intelligent man who lived beyond his own means, abilities, and TIME. We are not to condemn or forgive. Dig it for what it is, a man biding his time in the stir, who made up word games and fanciful, successful runs of alliteration to keep from going mad, and to connected with the outside where he was meant to be. Wouldn't You?

A well needed view into the life of a counter culture hero........2004-09-03

Let's face it, alot is writen about Neal, but not much by Neal himself.

This book of letters to his wife while in prison is a welcome look into a deep side of a man who didn't leave us with enough of his thoughts on paper.

If you're a beat scholar, maybe worth reading.......2000-04-06

This isn't worth reading unless you are a beat scholar...It isn't insightful, interesting or very creative. It is however self-indulgent and rambling.

SPIT IN THE OCEAN, Number 6: The Cassady Issue

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SPIT IN THE OCEAN, Number 6: The Cassady Issue
Ken, Ken Kesey, et al. eds.; Neal Cassady et al. contributors Babbs
Manufacturer: SITO
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H048EM

Van Gogh's Ear: World Poetry for the New Millenium (Van Gogh's Ear)

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Van Gogh's Ear: World Poetry for the New Millenium (Van Gogh's Ear)
Maya Angelou , Margaret Eleanor Atwood , Carolyn Cassady , Neal Cassady , and Leonard Cohen
Manufacturer: French Connection Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Product Description

Volume Four of Van Goghs Ear: Best World Poetry and Prose is now to be experienced! A powerful poem for peace by one of the great voices of contemporary literature, Maya Angelou, seizes the soul; Margaret Atwood's insightful, often amusing essay on poetics inspires; Beat legend Carolyn Cassady's intriguing new prose piece explores the energies that create and sustain all life; a high-speed letter from Beat icon Neal Cassady sweeps one away with his thoughts on intellect and the arts; acclaimed renaissance man Leonard Cohen's poem excites both the imagination and emotions; James Dean's hardhitting poem gives a brutal glimpse into the acidic mixture of love and hate the legendary actor had for his father (a scan of Dean's actual poem appears with photos from a private collection); Bangladesh poet Taslima Nasrin, who had to flee her country following death threats by Islamic fanatics, contributed a poem which reveals much through the rape of two young sisters who are ordered by a judge to be whipped in public for speaking out against the man who raped them; Sue Russell shatters the Hollywood portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the movie MONSTER with her probing essay. There's also Sonia Sanchez's startling poem about a mother torn between love for her 7-year-old daughter and addiction to crack; Irish poet Eabhan Ni Shuileabhain's intense journey into the minds of the main people involved in executing a criminal at the time of execution; and even more powerful work by Tony Curtis, Joyce Carol Oates, C. K. Williams, Yoko Ono, Norman Mailer, Daisy Zamora, J. T. LeRoy, Joanne Kyger, John Gilmore, Tess Gallagher, Richard Kostelanetz, Marc Smith, Alice Notley, Billy Collins, Aram Saroyan, Diane di Prima, John Updike, in total 91 great talents. After reading this landmark anthology, you'll feel as if you'd lived intensely in the skins of many different people in different parts of the world. Highly recommended as a rich resource for teachers and a library basic.

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Cartas de amor ambiguosa

Cartas de Amor Ambiguo
Neal Cassady , and Allen Ginsberg
Manufacturer: Laertes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Spanish | Foreign Language Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Cartas de amor ambiguosa.......2003-06-08

Not bad, not bad at all, if I do say so myself.

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THE FIRST THIRD
Neal Cassady
Manufacturer: City Lights
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H1UD68

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El Primer Tercio
Neal Cassady
Manufacturer: Anagrama
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Holy Goof, A Biography of Neal Cassady

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The Holy Goof, A Biography of Neal Cassady
Neal] Plummer, William- [Cassady
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MAV6OW

The First Third, A Partial Biography & Other Writings

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The First Third, A Partial Biography & Other Writings
Neal Cassady
Manufacturer: City Lights
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GKB13Y

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