Selected Letters, 1957-1969

New York: Viking, 1999. First edition, first printing (full number line). Large octavo in blue DJ, xxvii, 514 pages; 25 cm. Extremely mild wear to spine head and foot, extremely gentle rubbing to corners, bright pages in tight binding, faint rubbing to DJ corners, DJ spine head, and foot, light soiling to DJ, else Near Fine(+) to Fine in Near Fine(+) DJ. Hardcover. ISBN: 0670861901

"Written between 1957, the year of the publication of On the Road, to one day before his death in 1969 at the age of forty-seven, Kerouac's letters tell his own story through his candid and voluminous correspondence to friends, confidants, and editors - from Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Malcolm Cowley to Joyce Johnson, Philip Whalen, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. These letters explore Kerouac's development as a writer and document his travels, his love affairs, and his complicated family life as well as reveal how the onslaught of publicity and often hostile criticism after the publication of On the Road literally destroyed him, leading to mental exhaustion and spiritual discouragement. Offering insights into the mind and life of a giant of the American literary landscape, Jack Kerouac Selected Letters 1957-1969 is a contribution to the understanding of the artist and his work."--Jacket. Kerouac, Jack, 1922-1969 -- Correspondence.