{"product_id":"william-s-burroughs-phil-baker-9781861896636","title":"William S. Burroughs","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlong with Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs (1914--97) is an iconic figure of the Beat generation. In \u003ci\u003eWilliam S. Burroughs\u003c\/i\u003e, Phil Baker investigates this cult writer's life and work--from small-town Kansas to New York in the '40s, Mexico and the South American jungle, to Tangier and the writing of \u003ci\u003eNaked Lunch\u003c\/i\u003e, to Paris and the Beat Hotel, and '60s London--alongside Burrough's self-portrayal as an explorer of inner space, reporting back from the frontiers of experience. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter accidentally shooting his wife in 1951, Burroughs felt his destiny as a writer was bound up with a struggle to come to terms with the \"Ugly Spirit\" that had possessed him. In this fascinating biography, Baker explores how Burroughs's early absorption in psychoanalysis shifted through Scientology, demonology, and Native American mysticism, eventually leading Burroughs to believe that he lived in an increasingly magical universe, where he sent curses and operated a \"wishing machine.\" His lifelong preoccupation with freedom and its opposites--forms of control or addiction--coupled with the globally paranoid vision of his work can be seen to evolve into a larger ecological concern, exemplified in his idea of a divide between decent people or \"Johnsons\" and those who impose themselves upon others, wrecking the planet in the process. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on newly available material, and rooted in Burroughs's vulnerable emotional life and seminal friendships, this insightful and revealing study provides a powerful and lucid account of his career and significance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Phil Baker\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1861896638\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781861896636\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Reaktion Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/15\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.80lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.80h x 5.10w x 0.60d","brand":"Phil Baker","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48088933761279,"sku":"9781861896636","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_22c4784b-1b7e-4205-a8b7-2b4516968914.jpg?v=1769107357","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/william-s-burroughs-phil-baker-9781861896636","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}