Books

244 pages. First edition, first printing. Dust jacket design by Bill English with the $3.95 price present. His 4th book, a follow-up to On the Road. Fine book in a fine dust jacket with no wear but slight rubbing to the edges. A beautiful copy!.

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.