An edition of The Dharma Bums (1950)

The Dharma Bums

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  • 4.5 (4 ratings) ·
  • 41 Want to read
  • 3 Currently reading
  • 19 Have read

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Last edited by OnFrATa
January 10, 2023 | History
An edition of The Dharma Bums (1950)

The Dharma Bums

  • 4.5 (4 ratings) ·
  • 41 Want to read
  • 3 Currently reading
  • 19 Have read

The Dharma Bums is a 1958 novel by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. The basis for the novel's semi-fictional accounts are events occurring years after the events of On the Road. The main characters are the narrator Ray Smith, based on Kerouac, and Japhy Ryder, based on the poet and essayist Gary Snyder, who was instrumental in Kerouac's introduction to Buddhism in the mid-1950s.

The book concerns duality in Kerouac's life and ideals, examining the relationship of the outdoors, mountaineering, hiking, and hitchhiking through the west US with his "city life" of jazz clubs, poetry readings, and drunken parties. The protagonist's search for a "Buddhist" context to his experiences (and those of others he encounters) recurs throughout the story. The book had a significant influence on the Hippie counterculture of the 1960s.

Publish Date
Language
English
Pages
244

Buy this book

Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: The Dharma bums
The Dharma bums
2006, Penguin Books
in English
Cover of: The Dharma Bums (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
The Dharma Bums (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
October 31, 2006, Penguin Classics
in English
Cover of: The Dharma Bums
The Dharma Bums
May 27, 1976, Penguin (Non-Classics)
Paperback in English
Cover of: The Dharma bums
The Dharma bums
1973, Deutsch
in English

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Book Details


First Sentence

"Hopping a freight out of Los Angeles at high noon one day in late September 1955 I got on a gondola and lay down with my duffel bag under my head and my knees crossed and contemplated the clouds as we rolled north to Santa Barbara."

The Physical Object

Format
Paperback
Number of pages
244
Dimensions
7.6 x 5 x 0.6 inches
Weight
6.4 ounces

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL9301070M
Internet Archive
dharmabums00kero
ISBN 10
0140042520
ISBN 13
9780140042528
Library Thing
7199
Goodreads
412732

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
January 10, 2023 Edited by OnFrATa Merge works (MRID: 41807)
October 23, 2018 Edited by Lisa Added new cover
October 23, 2018 Edited by Lisa Update covers
February 22, 2012 Edited by LC Bot import new book
April 30, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from amazon.com record