Customer Reviews

Jack Kerouac: Angel-Headed Hipster

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As a passionate lover of Kerouac and the Beats I highly recommend this book. It is compiled in an artistic manner with a text style that is supposed to be reminiscent of Kerouac's Underwood typewriter where he banged out his infamous tales. The pictures and news clippings that correlate with the text are excellent and are rarely seen elsewhere. The text itself is easily readable and detailed enough to where you get a good feel for the `characters' without being overly bogged down with excruciating detail. By the end of the book you will feel as though you are familiar with the sequence of his life, his works, inspirational sources, and the people who played crucial roles in the shaping of his life.

I happened to dust this book off last night from my bookshelf after rereading Vanity of Dulouz for the first time in about 7 years. It was surprising to find out how much Kerouac bends the events of his life in his novels to make himself come out just a little bit sweeter. They are not as autobiographical as we all like to think. For example, Kerouac mentions in his book that his wife Johnnie (real name Frankie Edith or Edie) was unable to get pregnant due to fertility issues, and that was the reason they never had children. Turner, however, claims in A.H.H. that Edie got an abortion while Kerouac was shipped off to sea. There are a lot of other inconsistencies I found between this biography and the works of Kerouac but I am not going to bore the reader with them in this review and stick to the subject at hand. I highly recommend this book for both a Beat afficinado and a Beat beginner.

The text of this thin book is dominated with dozens of pictures of Kerouac and his intimates. Don't skip the text! for there is plenty to be gained there, tempting as it may be to dig the photographs first. My favorite of the pictures is one showing a painting--a very Rockwellian one--done by Neal Cassady's wife, Carolyn, depicting all of Neal's railroad gear as he slung it over the back of a desk chair one day. Oh, and one of Jack unfurling one of his teletype rolls of manuscript, letting it reach to the floor. Anyway, if you've read any of Kerouac's books, or any biographical material on the man, and you have always wanted to know about what these people looked like, here they are, most all of them-- walking the streets, cavorting in bars, loving each other--captured forever and included in this wonderful book.

I first bought this books about a year ago when I hardly knew anything about Kerouac and so I found this book very helpful in telling me the basics of his life, it is also a good introduction to all the people who were his friends and were included in his books, (The info. at the back of the book telling you who was made into which character and also telling you where all the beats are now are helpful too.) However now that I have read other biographies on Kerouac such as those by Ann Charters and Gerald Nicosia's Memory babe I see how much is missed out in this relatively short book, not a lot of detail is given just basic facts, nothing about how Jack felt about things, for example his stuggle to become a writer, his feelings for his mother, his feelings of inadequacy and so on. Moving on from the writing it has to be said that the photos are superb, anyone who is into the beats should buy this book solely for the photographs, many not published before, there are excellent photos of Cassady, Ginsberg, Burroughs, the coolest photo of Herbert Huncke ever as well as ones of Jack and many others. So while I would only recommend this book for newcomers to Jack when it comes to the biography, the pictures make it a must for anyone.

I have to admit, I'm a beat-freak. And I suppose when we think of Beats, we automatically think of Jack Kerouac (or Ginsberg or Borroughs)--I know I think of Jack. JACK KEROUAC: ANGELHEADED HIPSTER was a great find on my part. It's a rich visual biography of Kerouac. The book houses a montage of beautiful pictures of Jack, et. al, and is designed in a very aesthetic way--the typeface is supposed to remind us that typewriters did exist back then (I guess they still do, but their not as popular). I liked the book best for it's the photographs Kerouac. The text is not that hard to read, but if you're looking for more substance about Jack, I recommend you buy another Kerouac biography. The book does give you a sense, nonetheless, of who this legendary man was. For folks that want to see the man the book calls "The James Dean of the Typewriter," this book is the one for you. I found myself flipping through the book day-dreaming about being with him during such a revolutionary, exciting, and historic period. (I suppose it was just my luck that I was born two decades too late.) This would be a great addition to anyone's collection.

While not as exhaustive as some of the other bios written about Jack Kerouac, "Angelheaded Hipster" may earn its way to becoming the most-favored, due largely to a collection of photos (many previously unpublished) that illustrate the life of the writer, from his French-Catholic beginnings in Lowell, Mass. through New York, San Fran, Denver, Mexico City all the way to the bitter end, identifying and giving form to many of the characters and places told of in his books. The gritty typeset font recaptures the furious marathon writing sessions Jack would hold as he produced a work. As for the discussion, there are many details not included, tangents left unexplored, ideas not addressed, but the BALANCE of pictures and words is perfect and leave this reviewer with the feeling that "Angelheaded Hipster" is concise enough in text and appealing enough in pictures to welcome those who are just now developing an interest in the life of this great writer while at the same time having sufficient new images and a more beat feel in its presentation to appeal to those of us who have known all along that his was a beautiful and sad life yet still wonderfully celebrated in these pages.

This little book may seem like just a pictorial bio kinda thing but I was so surprised to find that it is much more than that. This book is cute and fun to look thru and it is filled with great old photos and the art and lay out is great but bio wise,,,its somethin else! Youll find here that there was more to Jack Kerouac than we knew. Things weve all heard about but some of these things are clarified and taken from a spiritual aspect which is what the author wanted to do. It is a deep little book indeed. Its a trip for sure. I wont spoil it. Just order it if your gut instinct tells ya to. And even if you order a used copy- its worth it. Great savings and you will lie around amazed and in a daze with this one for a while .

Great photos, nice text. This isn't the book for the hardcore fan of Kerouac or the Beats, but for someone like me, who really enjoys spending a few hours with those boys now and then. You can whiff the Beat cigarettes, sexism, and excitment in these pages. But you also learn about the depressive, conservative, and finally alcoholic side of Kerouac. I'm glad I bought this book, and I would recommend it to most.

If you are new to the Beats, this is a pretty good overview of them. Things that make this book stand out are the pictures, which are not all the usual ones, and the "where are they now" section in the back of the book. But really, could it hurt to do a bit more editing? I mean, I found several typos, and, according to this book, Jan Kerouac died in 1966, three years before her father....