Books

New York: Viking Press, 1958. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/fine. 244p octavo. a fine copy in like dust jacket . The book is another roman-a-clef in which Neal Cassady, Gary Snyder, Allen Ginsberg, Philip Whalen, Kenneth Rexroth and Kerouac himself appear thinly disguised. Jacket show slight bleeding from the cloth onto the edges of the back panel

The Dharma Bums is a 1958 novel by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. The semi-autobiographical story is based on the author's experiences during the mid-1950s while living in California, after he'd become interested in Buddhism's spiritual mode of understanding. One of the main characters, Japhy Ryder, is based on the real poet Gary Snyder, who was a close friend and whose interest in Buddhism influenced Kerouac.

A true first edition can be identified by the specific cover design and the absence of later edition statements or printing numbers. For 'The Dharma Bums', Viking Press first editions are typically identified by the 1958 date on the title page and dust jacket with the specific triangular mountain design.