The First Third | 
|  | | | Title: | The First Third | | Author: | Neal Cassady | | Publisher: | City Lights Publishers | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | December, 1971 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0872860051 / 9780872860056 | | List Price: | $15.95 | | You Save: | $5.10 | | Amazon Price: | $10.85 | |
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| Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
Immortalized as Dean Moriarty by Jack Kerouac in his epic novel, On the Road, Neal Cassady was infamous for his unstoppable energy and his overwhelming charm, his savvy hustle and his devil-may-care attitude. A treasured friend and traveling companion of Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, and Ken Kesey, to name just some of his cohorts on the beatnik path, Cassady lived life to the fullest, ready for inspiration at any turn. Before he died in Mexico in 1968, just four days shy of his forty-second birthday, Cassady had written the jacket blurb for this book: "Seldom has there been a story of a man so balled up. No doubt many readers will not believe the veracity of the author, but I assure these doubting Thomases that every incident, as such, is true." As Ferlingetti writes in his editor's note, Cassady was "an early prototype of the urban cowboy who a hundred years ago might have been an outlaw on the range." Here are his autobiographical writings, the rambling American saga of a truly free individual.
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Customer Reviews:
• The Pen Was Just Too Slow For Neal Cassady 09 November, 2004
A few chosen people are meant to be artists. Of the artists, there are painters: others sculptors, musicians, poets or writers. For some, like Neal Cassady, their medium was Being.
Although a muse for the likes of Ginsberg, Kerouac, and Ferlingetti, and in many ways the adrenaline to the Beat Generation, Cassady was not a writer. Writing wasn't Neal's gig. Perhaps the pen was too slow for him; the medium just couldn't convey his essence. Rather Neal was a live show. It seems cruel to find him trapped on paper - like watching a tiger at the zoo, the wild drained off through those all confining bars.
The first few chapters of The First Third are slow and seem forced. However, the vibe changes drastically once Neal's family tree is throughly discussed. It's as if Cassady has quit the pretentious wordplay and dictated thoughts to paper, which give the remainder of the book a much more genuine feel.
The most enlightening segment of the book is the select correspondence between Neal, Jack Kerouac, Ken Kesey and others. It provides an insight into Neal that is raw, unedited and seems a much more accurate description than Cassady's own attempt at biography.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2C5F4L00Y9XW9
• The 1st 3rd 04 August, 2002
This is a must read for any beat fan since its Neal Cassady in his own words. Good family background and thorough childhood description. The other writings were more interesting to me personally wanting to hear more about the second third. I dont know, this review [stinks].
- Reviewed by customer ID: AUGOLF4C3BZ27
• Essential Look At The Beat Icon 29 November, 2001
The First Third is a far cry from being one of the best books that I have read. However, if you are a fan of Jack Kerouac, as I am, this book is a must read. In reading this book you get an understanding of who neal thought that he was, and how he got that way. This book is essential if you want a more complete understanding of Kerouac's On the Road. The fashion in which this book is written borows much style from Cassidy's compaions, consisting of some of the greatest minds of twentieth century literature.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2M6SKMTALFEXY
• Bukowski Said It Better 27 July, 2004
The Beat-Ups had an unrealistic romantic notion of the heartland and the sticks. They slummed their way through America and insisted that everyone else share their own infantilism, incredulity and narcissism. Bukowski, rather, tells it like it is without any literary pretensions and pleading for understanding. On the Road and other such stuff is useful as a historical document of pre-interstate road travel, and not much else.
Beat-Ups should grow up, get a job and pay the rent.
I heartily advise you all to read Ham on Rye and Post Office. This will give you an insight into real America.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2UI2RYOMU1ULM
• To Short 21 June, 2008
I recieved a copy of this in the mail about a week ago and I read it in about 2 days. I thought the opening parts about Neal's geneology were well written and the parts of his own life were interesting enough, but there is not alot of character development in this. Neal's letters to Kerouac and Kesey give some insight to his personality. This book is worthy reading for any Kerouac fan and anyone interested in learning more about Cassady that hasn't already been recorded by Kerouac, Kesey, Wolfe, etc..
I finished the book wishing there were more and feeling a bit saddened that anyone who could inspire as many people as Neal did should die alone in a foreign country so far from his friends.
I think had he lived he would have eventually mellowed with age and provided us with a greater insight in the freedom of the open road as well as the appreciation for the simplier things in life a man aquires after much hard travelling in search of the American night.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2G9MO59TY2Z8L
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