Rating: 
Summary: GREAT BOOK :)
Review: This is a great book for anyone who is interested in reading a book about the Beats. Kerouac's sense of humanity and ability to put it down on paper is amazing. Read this book if it's the only Kerouac book you will ever read! You won't be sorry!
Rating: 
Summary: Reveiw on Jack Kerovac's The Dharma Bums
Review: Jack Kerovac's The Dharma Bums was reveiwed...as "Kerovac living his dream as a zen lunatic and rucksack wanderer on the fabled golden shores of west coAast America" I, however,think the book was poorly detailed and jumped from ideas much too quickly.
The story was structured as a blog or diary of two wandering bums who basically lived the life of poverty and "mooching" off other people who were their 'friends'. Kerovac's 'friends' were people who were met at poetry 'slams'. They do nothing outside of drinking, reading poetry, mooching off of people and having sex. Any bum off the street could have submitted a journal to a publishing company and it would have the same affect on the reader. I would not reccomend this book to anyone. It was random rambling about nothing. If you like books that tell and interesting story and have charachters you can connect in a personal way to, then The Dharma Bums is not for you. But, if you like random blurts of stupidity, you will love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Prose-Poetry to inspire
Review: I agree with most of the positive reviews on this book and although I am a little biased (Kerouac is my favorite author), this book inspired me to write a poem after I finished reading it. And although it may not inspire you to do anything at all, it is that good that it could inspire something positive in your life or even in your viewpoint or artwork if you're an artist. I read "On The Road", "The Town and The City", and just before this one, "The Subterraneans", which I found really great but quite difficult to read without having blood run out of your ear from sentences that were 2 or 3 pages long ! This one was much more fun to read and I could not put it down. If you really like Jack you should also check out James Baldwin and Norman Mailer.
Rating:
Summary: Zen Madness in Search of .....
Review: To those of you who have only read "On the
Road", you need to read this book. Kerouac
made great strides as a writer after
he wrote his first book. This book is a close as
Kerouac ever got to emulating a fine blowing
jazz piece. Personally, this book introduced me
to Zen and has sparked a life long interest in
its pursuit.
Rating:
Summary: Should be a must read
Review: This is one of the best books possibly ever written. Kerouac was a god of the written word.
Anyone who enjoys a great story with a dash of Zen, a pinch of mountain climbing and a cupful of joyful fun needs...no, has to read this.
Rating:
Summary: jack "ray smith" kerouac
Review: read it. it will make you a better human being. it will give you a soul. and, don't ever look back again.
Rating:
Summary: Kerouac's finest, most blissful novel...you MUST read it!
Review: Yes, "On The Road" gets all the attention, but this follow-up work is by far his most gorgeous and uplifting...from sleeping on the beach to climbing a mountain, to the flowering of his Buddhist consciousness, Jack really takes the reader with him. Filled with plenty of movement, bohemian idealism with Ginsberg and Snyder, self-discovery, joy, etc, this is simply where Jack shows himself as most fully alive and in love with the magic of experience. "Dharma Bums" soars as high as "Big Sur" dives to the depths of agony. Read this book, and you WILL feel the beauty of life without anchors.
Rating:
Summary: Kerouac at his Best
Review: While "On the Road" remains the quintessential Kerouac, "The Dharma Bums" at times reaches even loftier heights of spontaneous prose brilliance. Simply put, this book is kicking. It sometimes explodes with lyrical fireworks; other times it slinkily floats with the ease of cool jazz. A must-read for Beatniks who've discovered Jacky's brilliance, or those just looking for a little literary buzz.
Rating:
Summary: dreamy jack's enlightenment
Review: this is drunkenly beatific jack kerouac at his maddest, a breathless chronicle of the rise of zen and its influence on the groundbreaking beats. from his earlier books, kerouac's mind has always focused on similar aspects of this odd life as zen does, namely the 'just-so' and just because of his life (if i get drunked then i get drunked, lets say no more about it). this book is of significance to anyone who wants to hear of a man who understood buddha nature in all its mind bending nakedness. jack was on it. please read it, you'll probably cry,failing that, it will kick start you on your journey towards a bright eyed enlightenment, making young girls happy, and old girls happier. sit down, and bless yourself . . .
Rating:
Summary: The Kerouac we've been searching for
Review: Many fans of Kerouac adore On the Road, but feel that it's missing something. On the Road lacks a certain sensitivity and does not give enough credit to the potential of human interaction. In The Dharma Bums, Kerouac fills in the gaps of On The Road, with stunning prose that sometimes portrays a subtle, serence atmosphere and sometimes knocks the reader over. A must read for fans of the Beats, or anyone in any way interested in Buddhism.
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