Windblown World：The Journals of Jack Kerouac 1947-1954

JackKerouacisbestknownthroughtheimageheputforthinhisautobiographicalnovels.Yetitisonlyhisprolificjournals,inwhichhesetdowntherawmaterialofhislifeandthinking,thatrevealtoustherealKerouac—histrue,honest,deep,private,philosophicalself.InWindblownWorld,distinguishedAmericanistDouglasBrinkleyhasgatheredaselectionofjournalentriesfromthemostpivotalperiodofKerouac'slife,1947-1954.HereisKerouacasahungryyoungwriterfinishinghisfirstnovel,TheTownandCity,whileforgingcrucialfriendshipswithAllenGinsberg,WilliamS.Burroughs,andNealCassady.Trulyaself-portraitoftheartistasayoungman,thesejournalsshowasensitivesoulchartinghisownprogressasawriterandrespondingtohisliteraryforebears.FinallyandperhapsmostappealingtoKerouac'slegionoffans,thejournalstelloftheeventsthatwouldeventuallybeimmortalizedinOntheRoad,asKerouacnarratestwotripsacrosstheUnitedStatesandMexicoandslowlycultivateshisideaforajazznovel.ThisuniqueandindispensablevolumeissuretogarnermajorcriticalattentionandbecomeanintegralelementoftheBeatoeuvre.