In these uncollected writings Jack Kerouac portrays himself in his life. He hitches a ride to San Francisco with a blonde, goes on the road with photographer Robert Frank, rides bus through the Northwest and Montana, records the blues of an old Negro hobo, talks about the Beats and how it all began, gives his "Essentials of Spontaneous Prose" and defends his novel The Subterraneans, compares Shakespeare and James Joyce, describes the cafeterias and subways of Manhattan, goes to a ballgame and a prize fight, and reflects on Christmas in New England, on Murnau's Nosferatu, on jazz and bop, and tells us what he's thinking about.Table of ContentsWalking to EdenOptical TerrorThe Impossible GenusOn Returning from ChiapasAlphabets and EmperorsOptical PleasureHaunting by WaterMapping ParisThe Monstrous and the MarvelousThe Death Cunt of Deep DellSortilegeBooks of NatureA DreamManifesto in VoicesAcknowledgmentsBibliography