Beat Generation in New York: A Walking Tour of Jack Kerouac's City

of course anyone who lives in new york city can tell you where the white horse and cedar tavern are, but do they all know that where sam goody now stands on sixth avenue and ninth street is the very same place that the cafeteria kerouac wrote about extensively in visions of cody once stood?this book is filled with a lot of well-known and plenty of not so well known places where various members of the beat generation ate, performed, lived, got drunk in, or otherwise played out their lives. the tours are broken down by area and there are clear directions to help you find where you're going (even if the place no longer exists). each tour also begins with a street map of the area covered and clearly numbered destinations, which was very helpful, although i did wish that the book had also come with an overview map of all manhattan and destinations so that i could more easily combine tours or skip around to places of interest if i didn't want to follow a complete tour.each stopping place in the tour book includes a paragraph or two on why the place is important to beat history and who/what occured there. although the title of the book claims that new york was "jack kerouac's city," the tours really include many of the other important beat figures as well as a few others that were influenced by the beat movement, such as bob dylan.this is a great way for beat aficionados visiting new york to get a taste of the city, and a fun way for locals to spend an afternoon or two discovering new spots and seeing familiar places in a new light.

Disappointing volume.Not a lot of beef here. The title and cover art are the best parts.

A personal read to be more familiar with the Village of New York City very enjoyable

This book is a treasure. I bought it for my fiance who is a huge fan of Jack Kerouac, and it provided hours of fascinating walking tours. Even though I did not previously have interest in this group of authors, I thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent following the tours. I can't wait to do another one!

Its amazing. Very extensive info on Beats former hangouts and homes. I brought it with me to NY and had a great tike.They should reprint.

It would be next to impossible to find these places on your own. Even more impossible to learn as much about each of the sites as is presented in this guide. Each tour follows a logical route and there are plenty of stops that you probably never would have thought of--eg. Serpico's apartment, the former site of Thomas Wolfe's East 8th St. apartment. Using this guide is a great way to see the Village, East and West. And the insight will keep you reading even as you're moving to the next stop. Take your time. Spread the tours over a couple of afternoons. And linger for a while in Washington Square.A great companion to this book is "The Beat Generation in New York." I wouldn't recommend carrying this heavy book around with you, but after you've finished the tours, open the book to look at the pictures taken at many of the places you've just visited.

Having moved to New York not long ago, I've been devouring the history and architecture of the city. This book blends the best of both, adding a third party to the mix -- literature. Dividing the city -- mostly Manhattan -- into eight two-hour walking tours, this guidebook offers literary references, beat-gen biographical information, and urban commentary in a useful, insightful style. The book is due an update -- the Gotham Book Mart has moved and several once-vacant lots are no longer undeveloped -- but this book has made for several wonderful walking weekends, and I know I'll retrace my steps in the future.

I found the guide to be excellent. I was particularly interested in the information and tours of Greenwich Village.........easy to follow and informative. Too bad many of the buildings have been converted into something else, renovated, or even destroyed. The 50's and 60's must have been quite an exciting time in and around Greenwich Village.

Review of 'The Beat Generation In New York' For anyone with an interest in the beat generation, this book is an informative read. As an avid reader of beat literature myself I found this guide invaluable. It's laid out really well with quite basic but easy to follow maps. Locations which havn't been divulged in other sources, have been tracked down and listed by area. It really comes alive when you follow the directions and visit the various sites. I took it for a 'test read' round the Manhattan Streets recently and was really pleased with the results. The highlights for me were the house in West 20th where Kerouac wrote 'On The Road' - William Burroughs old residence at 'the bunker' in the Bowery - and the newsagent 'Gem Spa' at St Marks which Ginsberg used for most of his life in NY. None of the above I would have been easily able to find without labourious research. Some of the sites are a bit obscure and not of much interest, but these sections are easily skipped through. Who knows there might be someone who needs to know where Kerouac stayed for two night in 1953! But for the most part the book is great and any criticism would be knit picking.

Well as a fan of the beat generation writers and poets I cannot wait to take this book with me on my first trip to New York next month and pounding the streets to seek out the ghosts. I've already marked out on the maps those which are high priority for me to check out in case I don't have time to do them all but even if you are not going to to New York, it's a great read anyway and the photos are brilliant. I've also got the San Francisco one so I need to return there one day with that book in hand too!

Excellent book if youre in New York