Average customer rating:
- Like Watching a Train Wreck in Slow Motion
- My 2nd favorite Kerouac novel
- Kerouac's most honest novel.
- Big Slur
- Sad Book
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Big Sur
Jack Kerouac
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Literary
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Beat Generation
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Kerouac, Jack
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20th Century
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On the Road (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)
ASIN: 0140168125 |
Customer Reviews:
Like Watching a Train Wreck in Slow Motion.......2007-09-21
Jack Kerouac's BIG SUR(1961) is like watching a train wreck in slow motion... horrible, but you just can't help yourself from watching... in Jack's case, he writes about the lead-up to, and actual experience of, a nervous breakdown - obviously caused by excessive booze binges.
In 1960, Jack Kerouac was a man who basically had it all - his hit book ON THE ROAD(1957) inspired and defined the "Beat Generation"... but, at 40 years old, Jack has trouble keeping up the "bohemian" lifestyle. He arranges to cross the USA by train from back East, and seek refuge from his drinking bouts in a freind's cabin in Big Sur. After an initial booze binge on arrival to San Francisco, Jack actually does make it out to the cabin alone, and actually finds the peace and sober living he had initially wanted to find... but Jack begins to get bored, and finds his way back to SF, were he starts back on his old wild ways - but, it eventually catches up to him back at the Big Sur cabin, where he has brought the party... Jack writes about his paranoid delusions, DTs, etc. as he begins to come down off the booze after a two-week bender. This book was a preview of the end of Jack's life - he died 7 years later, of internal bleeding brought on by years of chronic alcohol abuse.
I've also lead a somewhat bohemian lifestyle (although apparently much less so, as compared to Jack Kerouac), and have been gradually cutting back on the partying for a few years now, and now that I'm 48 - one-year-older than Kerouac when he died - I finally felt OK about reading BIG SUR, which I've been wanting to read for years, but which kind of scared me to pick up, because ON THE ROAD kind of lead me down some wrong paths over the years... Now, for those of you who have wondered (like I did) whether this book would help or hurt one who is trying to get away from "the bohemian experience" - I say that it definately helped in my case (a weekend bohemian).
This is a good book, and a quick read. It is written in Jack's "classic" stream of conscienceness style. There really isn't a lot about Big Sur, other than the little valley Jack stays in... if you want to know more about Big Sur, it really can only be understood if you see it for yourself... but, be prepared to spend lots of money... I, luckily, was able to experience the area for one night on a side trip that my company had paid me to take to the area to deliver equipment to Monterey -- I actually got them to foot the bill for the small cabin I was able to find -- the last one in town! I managed to stay mostly out of trouble on my short visit to this "magic" corner of the Earth.
My 2nd favorite Kerouac novel.......2006-08-05
This is a story of a trip to the "woods" that was taken in hopes of straightening out a hoplessly fouled up life. While it has the complete opposite feel than the optimism of the Dharma Bums, it is like a continuation of the same story, after life has had it's way with the story teller. Although some people feel that Kerouac lost his abilities toward the latter part of his career. I believe this book shows that he did not. While I preferred the Dharma Bums, This would rank as my second favorite Kerouac "novel".
Kerouac's most honest novel........2005-11-16
Kerouac pulled no internal punches with this one. He's there, at his worst in many ways, but the sordid tale is beautifully told. How he makes something so depressing and painful into a work of pure beauty is almost magical. No one had ever done fiction quite like Jack Kerouac, and no one has since been able to duplicate that style, or even ape it effectively.
BIG SUR is one of the top four of the Beat works. For me, it remains one of the most powerful--easily the saddest. And I think we need something of the expression of this kind of sadness.
Big Slur.......2005-06-13
Kerouac's Big Sur, written after his mega-success with On The Road, could be argued as a very dark, depressing read. On the contrary, I found it very revealing about one of my favorite writers, and his frame of mind at the time.
Given the opportunity to seclude himself from his friends, fame, and drinking to excess in the cabin of a friend, Kerouac sinks into a sort of paranoia and anxiety, and finally gives in to his impulse to return to 'civilization'....and then proceeds to invite a group back to the cabin, leading him to realize that his most recent affair was with a girl he didn't actually love.
The most fascinating aspect of this novel, to me, is not the horrific volume of drinking Kerouac does at this stage of his life, but in the fact that though he was put off by his fame, and being dubbed 'the King of the Beats', and at being hounded by ardent fans who wanted to merely be in his presence...he couldn't stand the isolation.
Also of interest to me was the 'honesty' he put into his feelings about the actions of his fans...they say 'imitation is the sincerest form of flattery', but Kerouac seemed to think just the opposite...and all but told his fans/readers to 'get a life' in several passages of the book. Those in his industry, who rely so heavily on fan-support rarely ever are so vocal about their distaste for those same fans, without a severely negative impact on their sales.
An excellent read, though if you are looking for 'uplifting', spiritually awakening wisdom from the 'king of the beats', look elsewhere. This book is a downward spiral into the darker recesses of Kerouac's alcohol-induced delirium.
Sad Book.......2004-08-11
This book is very sad, yet beautiful. It tells the autobiographical story of Jack Kerouac, who is now forty years old, famous for writing On the Road, and has a problem with alcohol.
Jack in this book, feels he is on the brink of madness. He has a hard time accepting the negative forces in life, such as death, and other people's insanity. He is much too sensitive for the world the way it is. He is a man who loves animals, feels a strong tie to his family, and saves insects. He also loves people very much.
This novel almost seems like a horror novel in the parts where Jack describes his mental anguish. He never wanted to be famous, to be the 'king of the beats' and all he wants is some peace of mind, yet he has people following him around all the time. Even the atmosphere at Big Sur becomes oppressive.
The writing is beautiful and poetic, and hauntingly honest. The book ends with a poem echoing the sounds of the sea at Big Sur.
Amazon.com
Think of Big Sur and you most likely conjure images of sea-swept cliffs and expansive ocean views, the hideout of Beat poets and dropouts. To the east, however, is a surprisingly bountiful landscape of forests and mountains traversed by hiking trails. These trails follow cool canyon streams or switch back up sun-baked peaks. It's a beautiful region that sees far less use than other more publicized areas. Jeffrey Schaffer's guide to the Big Sur country, complete with trail descriptions and topographic maps, can help you discover this more remote territory of a fabled land.
Book Description
Opportunities abound for hikers and equestrians in Big Sur Country, its adjacent state parks, coastline, and public beaches. Here is the guide to exploring 260 square miles of wilderness. Contains 25 accurate, 2-color topo maps.
Customer Reviews:
Big help for Big Sur hikers.......2007-06-08
I bought this for my son and his wife who live in Colorado and when they come out here always have to take in the Big Sur area. There are few pictures, but if you google Big Sur Bike Rides you will find great photos taken by bikers.
Torturously organized, severely out of date.......2003-11-03
I purchased the recently updated version of Shaffer's book, but having recently hiked in the Big Sur area, I can confirm the book is still riddled with basic mistakes. These mistakes aren't of a rudimenary nature, but significant misstatements of fact, such as where to locate a trailhead, how far each hike is and where to park your vehicle. On several hikes, Schaffer describes a "locked gate" which hikers must traverse... oops, sorry... there is no gate there anymore and no access for hikers. This can be extremely frustrating to plan a morning hike and rely upon this guide, only to be misled and have the hike aborted before it even begins.
In addition, the book is organized in an extremely frustrating manner. Distances are given, but no elevation gains or indication of whether the trek will be easy, moderate or strenuous. This is an inexcusable omission. The only reason to buy this guide is because good hiking books on the Big Sur region are few and far between. I use Schaffer because it's the only guide out there, but it has many serious deficiencies. Know this before you purchase it and don't expect a stellar guide. Also be aware of the errors in trailhead directions and outdated material.
Enough information to be dangerous.......2001-12-31
I just finished a weekend hike in the Ventana wilderness. Granted, I did a lot of stupid things. But I got 18 hours of rain! I was trapped between two rivers that had risen over 6 feet in 24 hours. My down sleeping bag was soaked. Temperatures were dropping into the 40s at night. I thought I was going to die. Did this book give me any hint that there was this kind of danger? No. It makes no mention of radical changes in the environment due to weather. It mentions steady-state danger conditions for other rivers (Carmel, Big Sur and Little Sur. These the are the same ones that the Forest Service mentions, btw. Here it says that they can be impassable in the winter) but nothing about other ones. At least *some* of the narrative is correct.
But for a place as rugged as the Ventana Wilderness, a book without discussion of the dangers is simply inexcusable. If this is our only source, it's no wonder there's such a high number of plaques to a "Loving husband and father" on some of the trails.
Great but needs updating.......2000-08-25
Having made about thirty different trips into the Ventana wilderness over the last several years using this great guide book, I've come to appreciate the authors maps. Regular topographic maps from the USGS do not show many trails in the Ventana or inaccuratly shown. The author has plotted the trails in detail onto USGS topos (shrunk to book size which means you must look closely, but you can still discern every contour clearly). The trail descriptions are as detailed and informative as one can expect for a book this old. Fires, El Nino's and withdrawal of funds for trail maintenance inevitably change the accuracy of Schaeffers descriptions. Nevertheless there are still many useful descriptions and comments. If you are serious about exploring this rugged widerness, the book would be well worth it for its maps alone.
Many changes to the wilderness..........2000-07-29
I first purchased Mr. Shaffer's book back in '94 and have jokingly referred to it as "The Liar's Guide to Hiking the Ventana Wilderness". I found the book fairly accurate for the more popular trails (Carmel River Trail, Pine Ridge Trail, Skinner's Ridge), but somewhat misleading for the lesser-traveled trails. The book is in SEVERE need of updating to correct some of the inaccuracies and mainly, because over 100,000 acres in the heart of Ventana were scorched in the Kirk Complex/Tassajarra fires of 1999. The fires resulted in many of the trails being burnt almost out of existence or severly damaged. Despite its shortcomings, however, the book is worth it for first-timers wishing to hike Ventana.
Book Description
Big Sur is an awesome stretch of spectacular coastline in central California, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise over 5,000 feet from the ocean. The area is characterized by craggy coastal head lands backed by mountains and carved canyons. The area¿s topography, as well as its wilderness and national forest designations, have kept Big Sur unspoiled.
Day Hikes Around Big Sur includes a cross-section of 80 excellent hikes
lying along the coastline and throughout the interior mountains. These hikes accommodate every level of hiking experience, ranging from easy beach strolls to elevated climbs with far reaching views. The trails have been chosen for their scenery, variety, and ability to be hiked within a day. Highlights include isolated beaches, eroded coves with tide pools, rugged marine terraces, redwood and Monterey cypress groves, canyons, waterfalls dropping into mossy glens, oak studded meadows, lighthouses, and numerous overlooks from the ocean to the mountain peaks. Undoubtedly, these hikes include some of the best scenery in Big Sur and California.
Each hike includes its own map, accurate driving and hiking directions, and a quick overview of distance/time/elevation. The summaries allow hikers to choose a trail appropriate to their ability and desire. This 184-page book is a comprehensive hiker¿s guide to the Big Sur area.
Companion hiking guides, also by Stone, include Day Hikes Around Monterey & Carmel and Day Hikes On the California Central Coast.
Customer Reviews:
Just a List.......2006-12-07
This is not a horrible book, but its not a great book either. The book looks and feels like the publisher had some cost constraints he put himself under.
Pros: 1. There were some hikes under here that I would not have though of. 2. The maps, with one major exception ( which is listed in my list of cons ) seems to be pretty professionally done. There was nothing hand scribbled here.
Cons: 1. Maps - there is a little compass on each that shows where North is pointing. Sometimes north is pointed up, but a lot of times it isn't. This one of the items that says the publisher was cutting costs, and it really shows 2. There was nothing in the different hike descriptions that got me excited about that hike. 3. No pictures - another case of the publisher cutting costs.
Handy book!.......2004-05-24
We bought this book to take with us on our week long, mostly driving, tour of the middle California coast. We ended up taking about six of the shorter hikes listed. All were wonderful. Honestly, we never would have found most without this book. Apparently no one else would either because we were alone on five of the hikes. The information presented is clear and accurate. We had no trouble finding the trails and they were as advertised in the book. This was a great addition to our resource library for the trip. Highly recommended, at least for the casual traveler/hiker.
Customer Reviews:
nice map, but not checked for accuracy.......2006-12-06
This is a great map that is well worth having if you plan to go hiking in the Ventana Wilderness. But it's not perfect.
On the plus side, it's a topographic map with 80 feet contour intervals and shows all the trails, access roads, and backcountry camps. It spans the entire Ventana and Silver Peak Wilderness areas, which makes it a bit large but also quite useful for planning trips. It labels parking locations, picnic areas, campgrounds, and trailheads. It has nice close-up inset maps for the popular parks along the Big Sur coast.
However, the Wilderness Press clearly didn't have someone familiar with the area review the map prior to publishing it, and it certainly didn't pay someone to hike all the trails. It doesn't have the hiking distances and elevation of the trail junctions that the Tom Harrison maps do. (Unfortunately, at the time I wrote this, Tom Harrison doesn't have a Ventana Wilderness map.) More seriously, the map shows trails that don't exist: e.g., the "trail" from Ventana Double Cone through the Window to Kandlbinder Peak, or the "trail" from Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to Anderson Peak.
So feel free to buy this map (I'm glad I did), but use good judgment, be prepared for a wide range of conditions, and don't trust everything the map says.
Customer Reviews:
Perfect condition and perfect timing!.......2007-03-13
This is a great book. A friend and I had a trip to Big Sur planned and the book came several days before so that I was able to study up and enjoy the area even more!
Very Good.......2006-12-09
This book isn't great, but it is very good.
Pros
1. It is inspiring. I feel like I want to go do the hike after I read the description
2. Good pictures. Some have people in them and these are done very well.
3. Good descriptions. These aren't little one page jobs.
Cons
1. Pictures - The pictures are black and white, not color and I think color pictures can mean everything. But this does not detract that much from this fine book
Clear, On Track, Vital.......2006-08-28
The book was wonderful to have on our trip to the Central Coast. Objective information with enough opinion and subjective information to help us decide where, how, when for each hike. The back of the book with the top list organized by theme was very helpful. One way the book could have been better is with a cross-reference chart... so if you want both "ocean" and "redwoods" as themes you could look it up, instead of a bunch of page flipping. The author does a good job appealing to a wide range, level of hikers, rare in a guide book.
Customer Reviews:
Art is a healing process.......2005-05-22
My first glimpse into the world of Henry Miller has brought me a new highly admired author to read. Though 'Big Sur' is reputed to be one of his more 'tame works'...Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn having been banned works for years due to their highly sexual content, the mind of Miller is indeed a wonderous place to explore.
I came across this title while searching online for info about Kerouac's novel 'Big Sur', and decided to indulge in this one as well. And a happy treat awaited me.
Having only recent begun to enjoy 'biography as fiction' works, it takes a rare author to put one at peace with their words, when they are simply a recounting of thier own life and adventures. Miller wrote 'Big Sur' not so much as a 'novel', since there is not a conventional thread to follow, other than the location and himself as protagonist, but more as a memoir of the 15 years spent in this California 'paradise' of artists, bohemians, and eclectic characters. Through describing his tranquil, ambling days spent walking back and forth with supplies from town, meeting the thrice-per-week mail delivery, or simply writing, the reader gets to experience the serenity that Miller enjoyed throughout most of his time there. Being a Virgo I look for structure, order, sense, etc., in most things, especially literature. Little of that is to be found here, really, but Miller's style is so captivating that you can't help but read on. His serenity at Big Sur easily becomes your own.
But be warned, that serenity is interrupted by the arrival of an oversees acquaintance, Conrad Moricand, who turns Miller's idyllic home upside down during his stay there. Moricand, an ailing, miserable, curmudgeonly man comes to Big Sur upon Miller's request, and had the term 'houseguest from hell' been utilized in the days this novel was written, it's easy to say that Moricand would have received this title.
For anyone thinking of exploring the works of Henry Miller for the first time, perhaps avoiding his more famous works until gaining a bit of insight into something a little more 'platonic' such as this book might be well-advised. It will pave the way of interest into this fascinating author, and hopefully spark further investigation, as it has with me.
Highly recommended.
Enjoyable -- You'll dig it!.......2004-01-11
After writing The Air Conditioned Nightmare, Henry Miller had almost given up hope on America. This book, Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch, recounts how he feel in love with the country all over again. Set in Northern California, Big Sur is portraitized as being no less than a paradise to this influencial writer. He was seeking to eke out some peaceful lifestyle in the mountains, and for a while he found it. But it did not take long for groupies, love children, and any other manner of lost souls to begin knocking on his door. They were looking for the "cult of anarchy and sex!" and they thought Miller, who had already published and gained notoriety with The Tropic of Cancer, would be the one to lead the way. This book has a definite buoyancy that the reader thrives off. His descriptions of writers, artists,children,and vagabongs is top notch. I would also advise anyone who is seriously interested in the subject, to pick up a copy of Hunter S. Thompson's The Proud Highway. It includes an excellent essay on his take on Miller's "sudden" fame. So pick up this book! Other quick Amazon picks would be Tropic of Cancer, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez
One of 20 books I'd choose to take to a deserted isle.......2003-07-19
This book, and a couple of others by Miller and L. Durrell, was responsible for my husband and me quitting our jobs in LA and going to Greece for a year. And several times in the past decades, I've made pilgrimages to Partington Ridge/cove/trail/creek down the coast of Big Sur to revisit the place Miller lived and to pay homage to a great writer, a great spirit, and a great human being. Each time I stop and look up the trail toward the ridge, I swear I can see stringy, rangy Miller, sweating as he pulls a goat-cart laden with mail and groceries from the drop-off spot by the highway back up to his convict shack near the top.
The book has no real plot; it?s just a rambling and random collection of philosophy, character studies, literary/artistic commentary, and journaling - all delivered with Miller's completely unique and quirky mind. I don't believe a more open-minded, curious, brilliant writer has ever lived, and for me, this is his best book, written perhaps during some of his best and most peaceful years of his long and joyful life. At its core, it's a recipe for Life.
saved my life.......2001-11-22
I first read this book exactly ten years ago when I was struggling through a profound period of depression. I don't want to say that the book cured me, because that would be too facile and too drastic a declaration, but I will say that Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch was the first real beacon, the first glimmer of light to lead me out of a suffocating psychological cave. I don't know why, exactly, but when I began reading the book, a deep sense of peace came over me for the first time in several months. The book seemed to open up my eyes and my ears and my throat and even my lungs; I found myself sucking in big sweet gulps of air, and I started to detect a freedom and a limitlessness in the world that I had previously failed to recognize. Of course, there is no way that I can promise that you will have the same reaction. Over the years I have passed the book along to various friends: Some of them have fallen in love with it and some of them have been utterly bored. That is understandable. The book has no plot; in fact, it doesn't really pretend to have any forward momentum. The narrative just floats. As other reviewers have noted (both enthusiastically and bitterly), Henry Miller delivers in this book a seemingly random swirl of philosophy, wit, character studies, soaring observations of topography and weather, literary and arty musings, puzzles, koans, epigrams, aphorisms, scripture, historical trivia, astrological forecasts, and jokes. It does not, upon first glance, have any point whatsoever. But that, friend, is the point. What Miller is laying out here (in a unique way, free of the usual hippie jargon) is a meditation on how to live a different life, a vibrant life, a life of the spirit, which is, by his definition, a narrative that refuses to conform to the usual numbing standards of conduct. So if you are looking for a "story," per se, keep driving until you get to Monterey. And if you are looking for some of Henry Miller's famously invigorating foulness and fury, pick up Tropic of Cancer instead. If you are looking for peace, stop here.
Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch is for any reader who is in the mood for a beguiling rumination on how a man once tried to bring peace into his life. The story, as such, is this: Henry Miller moves to Big Sur, one of the most beautiful places on the planet, and sets out to create a new home infused with energy, creativity, a sense of community, and an appreciation of nature, while at the same time he copes with intrusions and financial pressures and the charisma and creepiness of other people. That's it. If that sounds dull to you, steer clear. If it sounds seductive to you, plunge in. Because if these are issues that gnaw at your soul (and maybe they should, since our media-saturated culture is becoming more programmed and conformist every day), then you might find this book to be a page-turner as gripping as any of John Grisham's potboilers. I could not put it down. I read it straight through, and afterwards, I felt like every step I took was charged up with a new vitality. Crazy, huh? The way I see it, Henry Miller's big lascivious grin was one of the bravest acts of American rebellion, because it came roaring out of his heart, and the heart is where all true liberation takes place. That's the appeal of this book, for anybody who cares to explore it. In my case, this book said to a depressed man: There is another way to live. Choose it.
Miller's reflections on a place.......2001-11-02
This is a satisfying read if you appreciate language and character. It is a collection of views and vignettes of the author's life when he lived in Big Sur. Miller's unique personality and interests come through in his language that makes even ordinary things come more to life. It was interesting to discover what seemed like proto-new age thinking in some of this, written in the 1950's. His evocations of character are great and so is the feel of the environment. I read part of the book during a trip that took me through Big Sur, and it deepened my enjoyment of being there. The Henry Miller Library is worth visiting.
Amazon.com
A coast lover's coffee-table book, Big Sur to Big Basin is both stirringly beautiful and exceptionally informative. In a book about Big Sur you'd expect to find sun-splashed sea stacks and astonishing redwoods, but here photographer Larry Ulrich surprises and inspires with mission bells, cherry blossoms, storybook houses, forest streams, bucolic grazers, and prickly fields from the artichoke center of the world (Castroville, that is).
Long-time California resident Pamela Verduin Cain has done a thorough job of finding and recounting stories that give the photos interest beyond the visual. There are Pebble Beach golf legends, secret nature hikes, famous authors' and artists' haunts, and palate-tempting descriptions of choice restaurants along the way.
The book is divided into six sections: Big Sur, Carmel, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove, Monterey, and Santa Cruz. A hand-illustrated map highlights 25 points of interest (such as the Steinbeck House, Point Lobos State Reserve, and Monterey Bay Aquarium) to help travelers actually find some of the stunning spots captured here. In the meantime, pour yourself a glass of California Chardonnay, relax in your easiest chair, and take a panoramic journey through these dreamy pages. --Kathryn True
Book Description
From the dramatic cliffs of Big Sur to the colorful boardwalk and misty wooded mountains of Santa Cruz, Big Sur to Big Basin captures the stunning vistas and lively spectacles of the Monterey Bay region. Filled with extraordinary images by photographer Larry Ulrich, Big Sur to Big Basin is both a lovely keepsake for residents and visitors and a captivating wish-book for those far away. Writer Pamela Verduin Cain covers everything from gray whales, redwoods, and monarch butterflies to John Steinbeck's days, Henry Miller's legacy, and the land that drew such talents as Edward Weston and Ansel Adams in her thoughtful accompanying text. This gorgeous volume will enchant everyone who appreciates the rugged charm of California's Central Coast.
Customer Reviews:
BIG SUR and the CENTRAL COAST in exceptional photos........2007-03-11
I like this book the best of all in my library.
It is outstanding in photographic images.
Highly recommended!
good, but not great.......2003-11-04
From a photographic standpoint, the book is good, but not great. The pictures are nice, but not high art. It is not on the level with Muench, Wolfe, etc. It is more of a book to remember the area by.
see for yourself..........2002-05-25
Big Sur to Big Basin is the only book I have experienced that fully portrays the feel of the area. Fantastic photography complements the books detailed narrative, and if there ever was a book to remember a visit to a region, then this is it.
The California coast is a wonderful place to explore, and in particular, the Big Sur area is one of my favourites. From the mighty trees, to the wonder of the rugged coastline, there is something for everyone.
Larry's photography leaves you thinking "I have to see this for myself". So we did. Twice now!
Buy this book if you ever want to travel to the area. Buy this book also if you just want to experience the area without leaving your armchair. Most of all, have this book on your coffee table, and you will always have something to remember from a fabulous trip to a unique part of the world.
Breathtaking Pictures with Recounting Memories.......2002-02-15
I had a getaway to Big Sur last summer and was stunned by the breathtaking view of where the ocean meets the sky. About a few months later I picked up a copy of Big Sur to Big Basin at a local bookstore and began a virtual re-visit of Big Sur. Like many pictorials with pages of astonishing sunsets, Pamela Cain, a former Carmel resident, recounted anecdotes and memories of hers that make the photos alive. The redwoods, the beaches, cheery blossoms, the meandering streams, Pebble Beach golf courses, Monterey bay...Big Sur to Big Basin is your window to panoramic view in central Californian coast.
Breath-taking scenery & revealing history behind the picture.......1998-08-23
This book offers the reader a bird's eye view of the breath-taking scenery along California's coastal highway...and the history behind the pictures. Pam Cain's stories make Larry Ulrich's pictures come alive...it makes me, a former Carmel resident now living in Connecticut, homesick...a wonderful trip back home
Book Description
From camping in Big Basin State Park and shopping Carmel's high-end boutiques to finding the best roadside stand for ollaliberries, Moon Handbooks Monterey and Carmel is the guide to the best these cities have to offer, both on and off the beaten path. Practical information includes suggested travel strategies and lists of must-see sights, plus essentials on dining, transportation, and accommodations for a range of budgets. Complete with color photos, illustrations, maps, and details for exploring the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the National Steinbeck Museum, and Hearst Castle, Moon Handbooks Monterey and Carmel gives travelers the tools they need to create a more personal and memorable experience.
Customer Reviews:
The In's & Out's of Big Sur!.......1999-12-10
What a fantastic look at one of the most beuatiful places in the world. The author does a magnificent job of documenting all of the wonders of Big Sur.
Anyone who is visiting the area, or interested in learning more about it, should pick this book up ASAP!
Average customer rating:
- A Modern Genius
- richard brautigan; thanks, fella.
- Good, but not his best
- A marvelous trio of novels
- Good enough to be subversive.
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Richard Brautigan : A Confederate General from Big Sur, Dreaming of Babylon, and the Hawkline Monster (Three Books in the Manner of Their Original ed)
Richard Brautigan
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0395547032 |
Book Description
Richard Brautigan was the author of ten novels, including a contemporary classic, Trout Fishing in America, nine volumes of poetry, and a collection of stories.Here are three Brautigan novels--A Confederate General from Big Sur, Dreaming of Babylon and The Hawkline Monster--reissues in a one-volume omnibus edition.
Customer Reviews:
A Modern Genius.......2007-01-27
Brautigan was a poet and author who made his mark with the Beat Poets of the San Francisco North Beach (Barbary Coast), such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsburg. His style ranges from gritty and earthy to dreamlike and surreal. His sense of humour is incomparible. I strongly recommend this volume to start off with (even though "Dreaming Of Babylon" is not one of my favourites), since "A Confederate General In Big Sur" and "The Hawkline Monster" are excellent novels to begin your Brautigan jones with. :o) I would also highly recommend "In Watermelon Sugar," "Willard And His Bowling Trophies," and the collection "Trout Fishing In America." Enjoy! (You may thank me later.)
richard brautigan; thanks, fella........2006-09-12
i have had many an enjoyable hour reading richard brautigan over my lifetime. if you have not read him, your life is a sham. all REAL lives must include some brautigan moments. i am not kidding about this at all. a confederate general from big sur, is probably my favorite, though i reread them all every five years or so. BUY SOME BRAUTIGAN BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE, YOU FOOL!
Good, but not his best.......2004-08-31
I was reading stuff on the Internet about Brautigan and someone said that if you like his stuff, you'll have to read everything you can get your hands on. That's me. There's three collections of his that have been released, each one with three books in it. Of those three collections, this is my least favorite.
CONFEDERATE GENERAL, is about two couples, including the narrator and Lee Mellon, a Confederate General who lost his shoes. The book is mostly about them drinking and getting high in a strange house in the middle of nowhere. The surreal house has glass walls and a pond where they keep frogs and alligators. They also have problems with people chopping down their trees. A strange man Lee Mellon once knew visits them. He is crazy. The story has six endings.
DREAMING OF BABYLON is the strangest P.I. novel you will ever read. Likewise, THE HAWKLINE MONSTER is a western, only in the loosest sense of the term. Even if you like Brautigan's writing (which apparently is pretty polarizing), it's hard to guess what anyone will make of these stories. I thought they were pretty cool, and unlike anything else ever, which is a good thing.
A marvelous trio of novels.......2002-06-22
"A Confederate General from Big Sur, Dreaming of Babylon, and The Hawkline Monster" is a collection of three separate novels by Richard Brautigan. The three books are bound together in one volume with separate pagination. Together they demonstrate Brautigan to be a witty, wacky, and altogether remarkable writer.
I actually found "Confederate General" to be the weakest of the three. This novel follows the misadventures of the impoverished narrator and his friend in California. It's a story, told with absurdist and satiric flourishes, of people on the fringes of society. I especially liked the narrator's unique approach to the biblical book of Ecclesiastes.
"Dreaming of Babylon" is a hilarious and delightful spoof of a hard-boiled detective novel. Brautigan's anti-hero, C. Card, is a poor, not-too-intelligent private eye working in San Francisco in 1942. Early in the book we learn that he is too poor to even afford bullets for his gun, and is hounded for rent by his landlady. His escape from this harried existence is an anachronistic fantasy life in ancient Babylon. This is a really fun book that effectively satirizes various popular entertainment genres. And despite being a lowlife, Card is a curiously appealing narrator.
The third novel, "The Hawkline Monster," is a remarkable blend of horror, science fiction, western, and absurdist comedy. Taking place mainly in Oregon in 1902, the book follows the adventure of two assassins who are hired to kill the monster of the title. The book is full of quirky characters and bizarre situations. Brautigan creates genuine suspense, and his prose at its best is vivid and crisply poetic.
Brautigan's work in this trio of novels reminds me at times of the writings of Charles Bukowski and Kurt Vonnegut. But despite certain similarities to these two, I believe that Brautigan is a unique voice, and his work is a wonderful addition to the tradition of American fiction.
Good enough to be subversive........2002-05-22
There is a comic genius at work in each of these three novels. The theme of Confederate General at Big Sur must be that we all have been acting like we believe we are descendents of some confederate general, even if a private who was always off stealing chickens or some Yankee's boots would be a more accurate description of our past. Dreaming of Babylon might be the ultimate description, in a detective story, of the results of American intelligence when applied to the question of left and right (whichever one happened to be pointing straight up in the air went click instead of boom). The Hawkline Monster has a college professor working in ice caves until he was turned into an elephant foot umbrella stand. This must be about cold war intellectuals, and it might even be safe to say that, now that the cold war is over, but the intellectuals are still here. Trust me, I am not giving too much away about these books. There are so many jokes packed into these novels that offering a rubric for understanding how anyone could write this stuff and still feed chickens in Montana with his household garbage, the corn cobs of which seemed like skylab to him when one landed on a chicken's head, should not be read as an attempt to impose any limitation that would keep people who know how this stuff goes from thinking that my opinions about this stuff could easily seem as clueless as the thoughts of the detective in Dreaming of Babylon after a major league baseball pitcher practiced throwing fast balls at his head.
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