Having grown close to Kerouac while editing the writer's last two novels, Desolation Angels and Vanity of Duluoz, the author was a witness to Kerouac's struggles with both the question of his sexuality and the depths of his addictions. This controversial work gives unusual insight into the writer's last years.

Cassady, Carolyn. Heart Beat: My Life with Jack & Neal. Berkeley, CA: Creative Arts Book Co., 1976.

Carolyn Cassady, the wife of Neal Cassady (immortalized in the character of Dean Moriarty in On the Road ), released this brief memoir of the early 1950s as an excerpt of a work in progress. She recounts her turbulent life within the triad she formed with Cassady and their visitor Jack Kerouac during the time Kerouac was completing On the Road .

Cassady , Carolyn. Off the Road: My Years with Cassady, Kerouac and Ginsberg . New York: William Morrow, 1990.

In this autobiographical account, Cassady vividly rounds out her intimate portrayal of a woman at the core of the Beat movement. The book chronicles her experiences with the Beat writers, from her first meeting with Neal Cassady in 1947 through Kerouac's death in 1969.

Charters, Ann.   Kerouac: A Biography. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Books, 1973.

Written by Kerouac enthusiast and authority Ann Charters, the earliest of major Kerouac biographies is founded on several years of interviews with the writer, interviews with other Beat writers, and solid research. Sympathetic but substantial, the chronicle of Kerouac's restless life, particularly the productive years between 1951 and 1957, is detailed here and carefully related to his largely autobiographical writings.

Clark, Tom. Jack Kerouac: A Biography. New York: Paragon House, 1990.

A concise, straightforward, chronological account of Kerouac's successes and struggles. Well-documented and containing many photographs, it serves as an excellent introduction to the writer and his work.

Dorfner, John. Kerouac: Visions of Lowell.   Raleigh, NC: Cooper Street Publications, 1993.

It was in Lowell, Massachusetts where Kerouac's life and memories began.   Through the areas of Centralville and Pawtucketville, the author leads us on a written and pictorial pilgrimage to the buildings, roads, and scenes that Kerouac described in his writings, and the landmarks that have arisen after his death.

Dorfner , John.   Kerouac: Visions of Rocky Mount.   Raleigh, NC: Cooper Street Publications, 1991.

His stays in Rocky Mount, North Carolina during the 1950s were something that Kerouac often looked back upon in his writings as a period of peaceful retreat. This work presents a collection of photographs and reflections on this rural southern setting, where Kerouac found the space to write and to meditate on spiritual matters.  

Gifford, Barry and Lawrence Lee. Jack's Book: an Oral Biography of Jack Kerouac .   New York: St. Martin's Press, 1978.

For this oral history the authors interviewed Kerouac's friends and acquaintances from his childhood in Lowell to his final days in St. Petersburg. The result is an immediate, intimate portrait full of fresh insights and varied perspectives from the people who knew him best. Brief but elucidating comments from one of Kerouac's Northport friends, artist Stanley Twardowicz, are included.

Huebel , Harry Russell. Jack Kerouac.   Boise, ID: Boise State University, 1979.

Kerouac's life and work are succinctly summed up in this Western Writers Series pamphlet published by Idaho's Boise State University. The study makes its contribution in an insightful exploration of the influence of western America on Kerouac's writings.

Jarvis, Charles E. Visions of Kerouac . Lowell, MA: Ithaca Press, 1974.

This early biography is penned with a topical approach by a lifelong friend and teacher of the humanities at the University of Lowell. Jarvis' academic background and his personal knowledge come together in his conversational yet astute treatment of subjects such as the transformation of Kerouac's boyhood experiences into fiction and Kerouac's dissipated life in Lowell during the late 1960s.

Johnson, Joyce. Door Wide Open: A Beat Love Affair in Letters, 1957-1958 .   New York: Viking, 2000.

Previously unavailable letters, an integral part of author and editor Joyce Johnson's youthful relationship with nomadic Kerouac, cover the period during which On the Road was published and Kerouac was pitched abruptly from obscurity to celebrity.

Johnson, Joyce. Minor Characters .   Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983.

This earlier memoir traces the evolution of Johnson's romance with Kerouac, touching upon the peripheral, supportive role of women involved with the men of the Beat Generation. Johnson played a role in Kerouac's move to Northport and this book includes pleasant descriptions of the community.

McNally, Dennis. Desolate Angel: Jack Kerouac, The Beat Generation, and America . New York: Random House, 1979.

By placing Kerouac and the Beat movement within the larger context of the political, social, and literary history of post-World War II America, McNally's narrative biography makes a significant contribution to the growing literature on Kerouac.

Miles, Barry. Jack Kerouac, King of the Beats: A Portrait. New York: Henry Holt, 1998.

With the Kerouac estate limiting access to sources, the author spends his energies on trying to de-mythologize Kerouac, the literary and countercultural hero. Many of the revelations in this work regarding the writer's character and actions have been made in previous biographies and confirm that Kerouac was both human and fallible, sometimes in contradiction to what he wrote. The author successfully conjures up the fervor of the Beats' time period which led to Kerouac's cultural canonization.

Montgomery, John, comp. The Kerouac We Knew: Unposed Portraits, Action Shots. Honoring the Kerouac Conference at Naropa Institute, San Anselmo, CA: Fels & Firn Press, 1987.

The nine authors in this collection give us candid glimpses of Kerouac: his public and private moments.

Montgomery, John. Kerouac West Coast. A Bohemian Pilot Detailed Navigational Instructions. Palo Alto, CA: Fels & Firn Press, 1976.

This is a droll, essay-length memoir by a Berkeley pal and librarian who climbed Yosemite's Matterhorn with Kerouac and Gary Snyder (an event which found its way into Dharma Bums ). The author explores an assortment of topics — Kerouac as a “serious, innovating, experimentalist,” his failed marriages, Kerouac's wariness toward New York City, and the real story of the mountain climb.

Nicosia, Gerald. Memory Babe. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1994.

In its accumulation of detail, analysis, and length, Nicosia's diligently researched work stands as the definitive literary biography of Kerouac. It exhibits an appreciation of Kerouac's writing, which is carefully explored and linked to his daily life. From its description of the detours in the construction of an attic workroom to its depiction of Kerouac's friendship with artist Stanley Twardowicz, the book offers the most complete coverage of the Northport period.

Parker, Brad. Jack Kerouac: An Introduction . Lowell, MA: Lowell Corporation for the Humanities, Inc., 1989.

In honor of the twentieth anniversary of Kerouac's death, the Lowell Corporation for the Humanities published this short, psychological biography written by a Lowell resident. It provides a fine, concise introduction to the writer, his works, and life. One informative feature of the book is a guide to Lowell's Kerouac sites.

Turner, Steve . Angelheaded Hipster: A Life of Jack Kerouac . New York: Viking, 1996.

Presented in an informal scrapbook format with typescript, photos, and souvenirs, this work synopsizes the life and times of Kerouac. The result is a brief, insightful piecing together of a man who hungered for experience and, in pursuit of it, suffered creative and then physical death.

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