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20th out of 134 books
—
71 voters
The First Third
by
Neal Cassady
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...more
Paperback, 222 pages
Published
January 1st 2001
by City Lights Publishers
(first published December 1st 1971)
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The First Third, Neal Cassady's 'autobiography', starts off really well, especially the first 80 pages or so but as Cassady biographers have revealed through their extensive research, this can hardly be called an accurate portrait of his childhood and life which is partly due to Cassady's own notorious and well-celebrated habit of self-mythologizing and partly due to his father telling a young Neal many 'facts' which later turned out to be inaccurate or in some cases totally wrong (See David San...more
An fractured, incomplete, and intimate autobiography. Fans of Kerouac and his "real life hero" Dean Moriarty (who's life and character was based on the author) will appreciate this book the most.
Although Cassady's life during his friendships with Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsburg, William Burroughs, and Ken Kesey is well chronicled in Kerouac's "On The Road" books and Tom Woolf's "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test", his childhood and young life remained a mystery. This 'discovered' autobiography, publi...more
Although Cassady's life during his friendships with Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsburg, William Burroughs, and Ken Kesey is well chronicled in Kerouac's "On The Road" books and Tom Woolf's "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test", his childhood and young life remained a mystery. This 'discovered' autobiography, publi...more
If I were going to create a list of must-read American memoirs, The First Third would be on the list. Cassady was and remains one of those intense, legendary figures who was regarded by his peers as larger than life, but, sadly, departed that life sooner than they, or probably he, anticipated. I always thought Neal Cassady and Jimi Hendrix would have been friends.
This modest autobio is very restrained and measured in its style. His writing is almost plodding, which I found ironic, given his irr...more
This modest autobio is very restrained and measured in its style. His writing is almost plodding, which I found ironic, given his irr...more
There are a couple of editions of this - the earlier one (1971, I think), which I read sometime in the last century, drops us in medias res, as we start with 6-year-old Neal, hop-scotching his way to kindergarten from Denver's skid row in the 1930s, having somehow been granted the dubious privilege of being the only one of quite a few half-siblings and siblings to live with his wino father, while the rest remain with his mother.
This more recent (1981) edition prepends a bunch of temporarily lost...more
This more recent (1981) edition prepends a bunch of temporarily lost...more
favorite book ever. the language is one flowing poem. 35 word sentences and a drawing of a seven year old vagina (drawn by a seven year old boy) plus soul touching lines like, "So love goes, so life goes, so I go. Carry on my brother." -NC
After reading the first half of the book (the autobiographical part) I nearly did not continue reading the rest. After all I was not very interested in reading random writings by Cassady nor did I care to read letters he had written to Kerouac.
The writing style in the first half of the book is rather boring. I don't know how Cassady managed to write about being sexual active at the age of 7, or being homeless and traveling the country on train cars in a way that didn't elicit a bit of curiosity...more
The writing style in the first half of the book is rather boring. I don't know how Cassady managed to write about being sexual active at the age of 7, or being homeless and traveling the country on train cars in a way that didn't elicit a bit of curiosity...more
A precursor of A Child Called It - but with substance, honesty and grit. A biography from the early twentith century with no 'oh woe is me' subplot. Neal Cassady famously became Dean Moriaty in Jack Kerouac's On the Road, and shone like a star above him. Kerouac owes a lot to Neal Cassady and although this book fills in the blanks in their relationship its Kerouac that wrote the better book. Still worth reading though - just for the history
I learned from this that bitches ain't shit but tricks and hoes. I also learned that being Neal Cassady kinda sucked mainly cause you were broke all the time and your older brother made you fight mexican kids to "get tough". Although in the case of Neal you go on to be the inspiration of an entire generation simply by being crazy and fucking everything that moves. What a life!
I really wanted to like this book, but its not very well balanced and at times boring. The description of riding the rails as a child and parts of the second half are enjoyable, but overall this is only of interest to readers like myself who are beat enthusiasts.
Must read for any beat-reader.
I found a copy of this a month back at a local used bookshop here in Denver, first edition, may I add. Seemed appropriate for me to add to the bookshelf with Neal fast-talking about Denver and all.
I found a copy of this a month back at a local used bookshop here in Denver, first edition, may I add. Seemed appropriate for me to add to the bookshelf with Neal fast-talking about Denver and all.
Although Neal's stories are hilarious, his writing is telling of why he never became the author he had wanted to be. His real, natural voice shines through though in the selected letters added to the end of the book.
Real shame Cassady wasn't able to finish this - all the same, the book is well worth reading as it genuinly conveys a real impression of the man behind the 'Dean Moriarty' myth.
An interesting read for the Cassady fan. And if you live in the Denver area, it's great to be able to go to some of the same places before they're gone.
For some reason, Neal Cassady and Jack Kerouac remind me of Hemmingway and Fitzgerald. But with more drinking, drugs (?), and with sharing women.
Neal Cassady's so-called memoir, also known as Dean Moriarty from On the Road. I think this was published after Cassady died in Mexico??
it's not a good book, but Neil is in there, you can read him slapping these words out in a craze, and to get in the head of this man is worth the trip it takes to get through the book.
this is just like the autobiography of a meathead. he has no sense of what details are actually important. embarassing.
Found the letters written from the bus to be sincere and funny. It is a great insight to their famous friendship.
Neal Cassady may have been a great personality, alas he was not a great writer.
I so wanted to be Neal, but he's dead. So, I'll settle for reading it.
This was a rambling, incoherent mess. It frustrated me to read.
"Cowboy Neal at the wheel..."
my heart and my soul
May 18, 2009
S.clane
added it
*
I'm finished with The First Third: I think Carolyn Cassidy's afterword should have been a foreword, as there's some warning to the prose and language Neal was to use. Such an interesting read, and life, and such a shame he died before he could finish it. But you get a real sense of the man behind Moriarty in the excerps of his writing and letters to Jack Kerouac and Ken Kesey. I was surprised at his use of the C-bomb though!
Only stupid people would ask for Cassidy to punctuate or change his writing style. He wrote this book during more destructive parts of his life, as the writing clearly illustrates. As he moved closer to the end, his mind became exceedingly interested writing with more disorganization, often challenging himself to see how long he could write a single sentence. This is a great look into the self destructive nature of a great counter culture hero.
If anyones a fan of Neal Cassidy, and the beat generation, you can give this book a try. Neal went through a lot during his childhood, and this is pre-On the Road. Nothing like Kerouac's style of writing...Neal please put in some punctuation to shorten those paragraph long sentences!
At first I didn't like the book. The prologue is written in a different voice, third person, and that isn't as readable or enjoyable as the rest of the book. The book is a quick read and an overview of Neal Cassady's life. It was fun to read more about Cassady's life, in a almost certainly fictionalized way, similar to Kerouac's and different enough to be its own book.
Meh, definitely not the best writer of the bunch. His letters to Kerouac were entertaining, though.
Of all the beats, I love him the most. Why? He's a womanizing, chauvinistic rebel with no ambition or drive to succeed. In essence, the antithesis of all that is me. And yet...his writing -- or, should I say, "correspondence", as his only real writing in this book is letters to and from other beats -- makes my eyelids flutter.
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Neal Leon Cassady was a major figure of the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the psychedelic movement of the 1960s, perhaps best known for being characterized as Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road.
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