Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road"

Not sure what to say beyond the reviews this book has already received, but thank you for writing such a lively version of Kerouac's life. I personally enjoyed the tour through history. It is a must read; you will not put this book down.Congratulations to the authors.

Haven't read it yet, but looking forward to it. Maher's previous biography of Kerouac was definitive and a joy to read.

thanks

I found this book worth reading, but it is rare for me to find a book about Kerouac that does not have some interest for me. So much has been written about Kerouac and the other Beats that it can seem that there is nothing more that can be written. However, Kerouac is a complex multi-layered character (as are we all) whose contradictions, idiosyncrasies, motivations are challenging for any one writer to encapsulate, even though a number have made excellent attempts.Although the book sets itself out to specifically focus on the background to “On the Road”, and does not attempt to be a biography, there is of necessity much repetition of the basic story that has already been described many times. Nevertheless, although there was much that I found familiar, I still found details and perspectives that seemed new to me, though of course my memory may be letting me down. The essential amorality and sexual predation of Neal Cassady are explicitly highlighted in a way that I do not remember seeing before. Kerouac’s ambivalence re Ginsberg is illustrated. Perhaps most importantly, they manage to convey something of the essential joy and uniqueness of each moment that Kerouac was trying to articulate in his writing at this time. However, if you want a book that looks more deeply into the evolution of his prose style, then Joyce Johnson’s “The Voice is All” would be my advice. Likewise, I’m afraid that this book suffers in comparison with the various biographies. Still, I’m sure that the Kerouac obsessive will find it worth reading.I note that it says in the preface that this book is a revised and expanded edition of the 2007 “Jack Kerouac’s American Journey”. That book is listed on Amazon variously as a 320 or 296 page paperback by Paul Maher, whereas this book is listed as a 274 page paperback by Stephanie Nikopoulos (author) and Paul Maher (contributor). I’m unsure what the difference is between these books or how an “expanded edition” can actually number significantly less pages. In addition, although I’ve read a number of Beat biographies (six of Kerouac alone), I haven’t read Paul Maher’s 584 page Kerouac biography (also 2007), so can’t say how much overlapping there may be between books.

It is thoroughly enjoyable and inspiring read. Nicolopoulos and Maher dissect the life of a book - and its writer. Burning Furiously Beautiful had me racing to to the bookstore to buy On the Road and read it for the first time. I am now 1/3 through Dr. Sax, but I am also furiously jotting down notes for stories and essays of my own.

This new book by Kerouac biographer Paul Maher and Stephanie Nikolopoulos, is a much needed addition to the Kerouac scholarship, as well as an interesting read. Laced with just enough biography, the two put a magnifying glass to Kerouac's process of writing his seminal novel, 'On The Road'. With a voice, at times, reflecting Kerouac's own rolling prose, much of the mythology that has shrouded Kerouac through most of the previous biographies is finally debunked. Most notably, by revealing the entire history of the novel, through its multitude of incarnations over a period of years, not weeks or months, that has become the popular belief. Character changes, title changes, plot changes, are all painstakingly researched and presented in a comprehensive roadmap for the first time. Moreover, the authors have the honesty to debunk the long embraced portrait of Neal Cassady as saint, and paint him in an all too human role of strictly muse, another first. Using Kerouac's notebooks and letters, the authors beautifully illustrate Kerouac's endless efforts to produce the novel he had envisioned even while bogged down writing his first published book, 'The Town And The City', while peppering this analysis with supportive, ancillary pieces of biography of the entire Beat Generation roster, placing each step of Kerouac's process in a historic framework of the movement. They are all here; Holmes, Ginsberg, Burroughs, all unknowingly providing material, and consciously providing feedback and counsel to the oft beleaguered novelist. This focused entry to the Kerouac scholarship should be taken very seriously, and will undoubtably be the benchmark source for those interested in the true story of the writing of 'On The Road.