Customer Reviews

The Lost Years of William S. Burroughs: Beats in South Texas

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I always find it interesting to study the life of someone before they were famous. Whether it is a writer, artist, singer, or serial killer. Later, you can see how fame changed their life. I found it fascinating to learn of Burroughs living in South Texas, in many ways the most "un-beat" area of the country, a place that to paraphrase Burroughs, people come to die. However, even without a connection to South Texas, the book is an excellent read. I missed an appointment, sleep, and my favorite tv show to finish the book.

I have known about this book for several years but somehow never got around to buying it. I am a fan of Burroughs but had not been reading him for a couple of years. I got around to my twice a decade rereading of Naked Lunch and bought the anniversary edition and this.

Johnson does a two fold job with this:He tells a mostly forgotten history of the Rio Grand Valley and Mexico with Burroughs' story and he ties in Burroughs' writings to the history. The writing is easily accessible so the casual Burroughs fan or RGV/Texas history buff will have no trouble reading it.

This is a nice addition to the more "famous" biographies of Burroughs. It will become a permanent edition to my library.

Too bad that no one was able to track down any of the rumoured photos. Great work.

i found it an interesting aspect of burroughs life. a cotten farmer in south texas is 180 degrees out from new york city or london or paris. i have read burroughs extensively. this a lost chapter in his life. kudos to the writer for doing the research.

Great book. Very interesting read on a part of South Texas History.