Paul Maher Book order

"Jack Kerouac was one of America's great writers of the latter half of the 20th century, yet he endured a life characterized by persistent hardship and disillusion. Leading Kerouac scholar Paul Maher Jr. targets the writer's embattled insight of self as central to his life and work. He reveals how Kerouac's troubled interactions with alcohol, drugs, and spirituality stamped its importance on his autobiographical prose and poetry and created a singular language that united thoughts on the human condition and spiritual liberation. Becoming Kerouac: A Writer In His Time affixes Kerouac's life and art in a fresh way, giving readers a rich perspective from which to understand this 20th-century literary genius. Using unpublished archival material, Becoming Kerouac focuses on the writer's critical formative years --1940 to 1957-- to demonstrate his growth as a novelist and poet"-- Provided by publisher

Gathering the 30 most vital Miles Davis interviews—on his music, his life, and his philosophy—this collection reveals the jazz icon as a complex and contradictory man, secretive at times but extraordinarily revealing at others. Miles was not only a musical genius, but an enigma, and nowhere else was he so compelling, exasperating, and entertaining as he was in his interviews, which vary from polite to outrageous, from straight-ahead to contrarian. Many were conducted by leading journalists like Leonard Feather, Stephen Davis, Ben Sidran, Mike Zwerin, and Nat Hentoff; while others have never before been printed, and are newly transcribed from radio and television shows—making this the definitive source for anyone wanting to really encounter the legend in print.

Focusing on the life of Jack Kerouac, this biography delves into the pivotal relationships that shaped him as an artist, including his marriages, romantic entanglements, and his close bond with his mother. It offers a nuanced portrayal that balances his achievements with his personal struggles, presenting a fresh perspective on the iconic figure of the Beat Generation. The narrative captures the complexities of his character and the influences that drove his literary contributions, particularly his landmark work, On the Road.

Based on original archival research and dozens of interviews, Kerouac is a fresh, compelling, and substantive critical reassessment of Kerouac's brief and often chaotic life.