Jack's Book

An Oral Biography of Jack Kerouac

By: Barry Gifford, Lawrence Lee

Narrated by: Mauro Hantman

The classic and fascinating story of Jack Kerouac, "King of the Beats" and American literary legend, recorded through the voices of his friends and lovers. Authors Barry Gifford and Lawrence Lee retraced Kerouac's life at home and on the road and talked with the prophets, musicians, poets, socialites, and working people who knew him. Some are famous (Allen Ginsberg, Gore Vidal, William Burroughs); some are not (Jack's boyhood buddies, his lovers, his barroom companions). All have contributed to a remarkably vibrant, riveting portrait of a life.

We see Jack at Columbia University and on the scene of Greenwich Village; speeding across the tarmac of America with Neal Cassidy ("Dan Moriarty" in Kerouac's classic novel, On the Road); at home with his possessive mother; in California, drinking wine and talking Buddhism; and finally, in Florida, where his life ends tragically at forty-seven years old. Jack's Book, like Kerouac's novels, makes a unique contribution to our understanding of a man and a generation that shaped the dreams and visions of those who followed.

©1978 Barry Gifford and Lawrence Lee. All rights reserved. Introduction copyright © 1994 by Barry Gifford. All rights reserved. Remarks attributed to Gary Snyder are copyright © 1978. All rights reserved. (P)2012 AudioGO

good histoy of kerouac tol by the people that hnew him

good background by the charecters in his books, a good listen once yo've read the rest

Should be required reading for everyone!!

Jack Kerouac was by far, a poet. I say poet, cause his prose writing when read aloud, sounds like poetry. Contrary to what has been said, he did not create the Beat Generation. The Beat Generation came to him.

Such a great free listen

Beautiful, honest, and tragic. Getting an opportunity to learn more about Kerouac from the people who knew him made for an audiobook I couldn’t stop listening to. If you’re a fan of On the Road, highly recommend you round out your view of Jack with the help of this book.

You didn't know Jack. But now you do.

What did you love best about Jack's Book?

The structure and the voices of those interviewed are very crisp and clear.

What did you like best about this story?

Jack was not a hero, he was a storyteller and that's the way his contemporaries remember him.

What does Mauro Hantman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Feeling, pace and warmth.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Sadness in the end, but that is always with a biography of any sort.

Any additional comments?

Well done, very enjoyable. Listener is not required to be too familiar with Jack's works, but might definitely get interested in them after listening to "Jack's Book" (which, btw, is a brilliant title).

Poignant

A truly touching tale of a beautiful tortured soul..a glimpse at rise and fall