The Beats. a title that Jack Kerouac coined to define the exhausted exaltation of a generation, produced a body of works infected with a new energy. Their spontaneous, often-unedited style epitomised their own era and their famed close-knit literary community continues to inspire writers today. Barry Miles, friend and biographerof Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, was there , part of the Beat Vibe. here he gathers together some of the most influential as well as the most overlooked writers of the era. He covers the writings from The Original Beats (New York 1944-53): The San Francisco Scene (1954-57) and The Second Wave (New York 1958-60) including works from Gregory Corso, John Clellon Holmes, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Frank O'Hara, Diane di Prima and Alexander Trocchi to the king of the Beats Himself, Jack Kerouac. The result is a fascinating compendium that recaptures the unique but varied voices of the Beat generation..

Barry Miles was a friend of Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs and is the author of Ginsberg: A Biography, William Burroughs: El Hombre Invisible, Jack Kerouac: King of the Beats and Charles Bukowski (all published by Virgin) and of The Beat Hotel. Among many other books, he also wrote the authorised biography of Paul McCartney, Many Years From Now and Hippie, both of which were New York Times Bestsellers.