Not bad, not bad at all, if I do say so myself.

Neal Cassady, the epitome of beat, wrote this volume of work (the First Third, and other writings), with a completely amateur approach, the book contains a lot of biography-oriented material that must be read in order to appreciate his chaotic poetical climaxes which occur sporadically throughout the text. The First Third is the least impressive part of the book, while the excerpts from letters stand out as the highlights for me, only because they contain the majority of Cassady's insane spontaenous surges.

I loved "The First Third" because I have always been enthralled with Neal Cassady as the human being he really was, and not so much the mad voodoo child that Kerouac sometimes makes him out to be. "The First Third" ultimately shows Cassady as a relatively normal individual who popped like a firecracker out of middle-class Denver into the party known as the Beat Generation.

This book is great for its history and few moments of glory, but had not Neal Cassady wrote it, but some other guy who lived in the fifties, the book wouldnt have been all that impressive.

I never knew my rodeo cowboy father, but I did know he came from Denver. Over the last couple of years, the details of his life have become available to me. It turns out he grew up in Denver at the same time Cassady did, lived just a few blocks away from Neal, lived in circumstances equally as dire as Neal's. They both went to Ebert Elementary School, along with my aunt, a year Neal's junior. I read THE FIRST THIRD years ago and liked it quite a lot, never dreaming the book would someday have a personal impact on me. But now I've reread it to get insight into my father's own hard life along Denver's skid row. It's been an extremely valuable look into a hard place during a hard time. Lots of sociological value, in other words.

This book starts with Cassady's autobio of his childhood years, and a brief history of his ancestors. while the prologue was interesting, because of where neal came from, it wasn't as exciting as the actual text of the first third, which was excellent, and why i gave this four stars. it was written in a style very much similar to kerouac. i only wish he had completed the manuscript. following the first third is a selection of NC's unfinished writings, which i have to say was a dissapointment. it isn't much of a surprise that he wrote nothing, and that kerouac is the primary figure of the beats. next follow a few of neal's letters to kerouac, which are a great insight to the mind of one of the central figures of the beats (in fact, one of the letters discussed an incident that i recognize from on the road). the final selection is a letter to ken kesey. i'm sure there are much better letters to chose from, this one was boring and one of the weaker selections. the letters seem to have no particular reason for being here, just to fill the book with cassady's writings. still, a valuable book to have for any fan of the beats.

Neal Cassady is a man both revered and despised. This book, which anyone interested in the given time period should read, gives an unbiased look at Neal (the Holy Goof and fastestmanalive) and the people who surrounded him: his family, lovers, and friends (Jack Keruoac, Ken Kesey, Allen Ginsberg, etc). It neither praises nor degrades him, presenting him merely as a remarkable man and letting you decide for yourself.

Neal Cassady was a very interesting and multi-faceted muse of the Beat writers and Kesey's Merry Pranksters, certainly an integral part of both generations. Anyone with an interest in these writers must familiarize themselves with Cassady. In this respect Plummer does an adequate job of presenting both Cassady's life and providing some background into the lives of those literary geniuses who immortalized him in their writing.
In all biographies one finds bias, it is an integral and valid part of the art. However, Plummer's bias is almost overwhelming. Constantly comparing Cassady to Chirst, lauding his virtues and beauty, Plummer creates a Cassady that becomes unbelieveable to the reader. Instead of getting to know an amazing man, one finds oneself reading a hero story, the immaculate life of Plummer's Cassady. Even Kerouac, in his works, presents a more balanced view of Neal, whom he loved as his best friend for years.
It is well written and is a decent read but if you are familiar with Cassady's life, you find your self reading a book about Willam Plummer, if you are unfamiliar you find your self reading a story about a man as realistic as Captian America.
There is so much more written on the man, and most is far superior. Read it if you must but you could do better. If adoration of Cassady is what you're looking for, read "Howl" or "On The Road" or "Visions of Cody" or even Cassady's own post-humously published autobiography "The First Third" (especially his letters) and get some great literature under your belt at the same time.

The absolute finest of all the Neal biographies....you gain a true appreciation of what it was like to know--to experience-- this crazed, "fastestmanalive" from the people who lived in that special time. Read "On The Bus" by Keasy, and Neal's "First Third"....and THEN read Plummers bio.

This isn't worth reading unless you are a beat scholar...It isn't insightful, interesting or very creative. It is however self-indulgent and rambling.