Dharma Bums

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Summary: Jack Kerouac's most personal work
Review: Kerouac gives us a personal view of the Zen Buddahist. The thoughts and teachings can help any reader take personal inventory on their own life. This book is Jack Kerouac's masterpiece, because he makes you look inside yourself.

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Summary: On the Road Again.
Review: Ok. Let's talk like ordinary people. If you are someone who has to buy a new TV unless you have one, only because the TV is more modern this is your book. If you've read "ON THE ROAD", maybe you'll want read something diferent. This is the same book, the same drama, the same wasted money. Can this book change your life?? Yes, but also a stone at high speed could do it also and in less time. Ally McBeal or a Backstreet boys song have more message than this book.

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Summary: The Dharma Bums is a fascinating trip.
Review: In The Dharma Bums, Jack Kerouac continues his enthralling series of autobiographical fictions that he referred to as the Legend of Duluoz. His altar egos have several different names, such as Sal Paradise (On the Road), and in this novel, Ray Smith. Through Ray Smith, Kerouac tells of a chapter in his life that, even more than On The Road, displays his passion for living and idealistic approach to life, as well as to Buddhism. Ray Smith is not a hardcore Zen Buddhist, but an optimist who embraces the very best of Zen Buddhism, as well as Tibetan Buddhism and even Christianity. The novel does not consist of plot, but rather a series of entertaining vignettes and scraps of story that form a beautiful mosaic by novel's end. With sometimes raw, sometimes stunningly beautiful language, Kerouac transports the reader to the peak of the Matterhorn, across the country from California to North Carolina on a hitchhiking odyssey, to the beat poetry scene in San Francisco, to the ultimate destination, Desolation Peak, where Ray Smith truly finds himself. Within the novel is a cornucopia of interesting, colorful characters that do not leave the memory easily. The Dharma Bums is a book not to be read, but to be inhaled, drunk, savored and treasured.

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Summary: Required Reading for Zen Lunatics!
Review: After reading Dharma Bums, don't be surprised if you find yourself climbing a mountain... and then run back down it as fast as you can!

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Summary: Kerouac at his best
Review: I would be lying if a said that this book did not change my life. I thought that "On the Road" was amazing, but "The Dharma Bums" is by far his best. Kerouac seems to be much more settled in his religious and philosophical views in this novel. His main pal, Japhy, is one of the most inspirational charaters in all of American literature. Though first time readers of Jack should probably start with "On the Road", "The Dharma Bums" is a must read for any Beat Generation fan.

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Summary: A book to live by.
Review: Dahrma Bums by Jack Kerouac has forever changed my life. It has tauhgt me that life is a valuable thing that should not be wasted. Wasted with worries, work, materialistic pre-occupations, and with how others may perceive you. Dahrma Bums is an eye opener. It totally blew me away. Go out and get and live your life.

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Summary: One word "Amazing"
Review: Many a time an author decides a novel, should refelct one's life. And we see that Kerouac contains this belief. "Dharma Bums" was a beautiful description of Kerouac's interaction with Gary Snyder, one of the great Beat poets located in San Francisco. This book, not only amazed people about with it's writing, but launched an entire idea of American Buhdism. Many say that On the Road is Jack's best book, but my opinion is that On the Road is a pop version of Dharma Bums. But that is my educated opinion, my personal opinion is that I love this book. Kerouac has been a large influence on my life. As a child my mother and cousin would read me poetry and novels from the beat generation, naturally the older I got the more I started to appreciate the writing. But through it all Dharma Bums is still my favorite (W/ Cassidy's letters to Jack a close second). I recommend this book whole heartly to any individual who truly loves literture, too often this generation gets written off as a bunch of drunks, but Hemmingway and Lost gen members are remembered as a group of talented writers, they had a couple in their day. So give these writers a chance, and start with this book.

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Summary: This is Kerouac's real masterpiece!!
Review: I didn't much care for "On The Road" after the first 50 pages or so and i'd pretty much thought that this great "Beat Writer" was nothing but hype, but after reading "The Dharma Bums" I now believe Kerouac is one of the greatest writers of modern times. READ THIS BOOK!!!!

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Summary: dharma bums changed the way i live
Review: I read dharma bums on holiday in crete '98 at a time when i was struggling to come to terms with the negatives in my life. The dharma bums changed that.I was ray smith.I became Japhy Ryder.I stopped biting my fingernails. If there is one thing the book teaches you then it is this:Go out.LIVE YOUR LIFE!

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Summary: This Book Can Change Your Life
Review: There are very few books that can change your life, but this is one of them. After reading On the Road, i didn't think it was possible for Kerouac to write a better book, but Dharma Bums came real close. This book makes the reader want to appreciate thier life so much more, it really is a wonderful book.