The Making of Dean Moriarty (Neal Cassady's Early Years)

There are many books about the key beat generation players, Neal Cassady and Jack Kerouac. Kerouac's childhood is well covered. Neal Cassady's has been unknown, until now.

Cathy Cassady, the daughter of Neal Cassady, is sharing, for the first time, the stories that her father told her as well as biographical information gleaned by his friends, family, and cohort. Neal Cassady comes across as a larger-than-life character in On the Road and other Beat classics. In The Making of Dean Moriarty, it is revealed that in real life, he was an even more astonishing, outrageous, and out-loud character even in childhood.

In this loving, revelatory, and candid biography of her father, Cathy Cassady includes stories of how he survived as a child in Depression-era Denver, working every imaginable job, including boosting cars, and even a stint as a trapeze artist in a circus. These and other illuminating stranger-than-fiction true life stories show how Neal Cassady became the man that Jack Kerouac celebrated and immortalized in On the Road.

Cathy Cassady discloses the history that made this iconic Beat hero one for the ages. The legendary, extreme, and unpredictable adventures that formed the mind of the grand inspiration are finally ready to be shared, one illustration at a time.