Offbeat

(from first edition)
"David Amram is a national treasure and his memoir, Offbeat, is an account of how he got that way. It is a great rolling river of a book, packed with details of Amram's relationships with the likes of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. If you wanted the 'inside' story of the Beat movement, here it is. Like Amram himself it is vital and energetic and it sings. I envy anyone picking up this book: It's almost as good as listing to Amram himself."
-Frank McCourt

"David Amram is a musical prodigy with a genius for friendship. Offbeat tells an uplifting story of his close association with Jack Kerouac in vivid prose and riveting anecdotes. An essential new addition to the growing literature of the Beat Generation."
-Douglas Brinkley

"This fascinating book must put PAID to the myth that Jack Kerouac was ever the King of the Beats or the Father of the Hippies. In Offbeat, we get to know many of the legendary painters, poets, musicians and film makers of the Fifties and Sixties, and get to know Jack Kerouac as well. Amram recounts his enduring friendship and artistic collaborations during Jack's lifetime, and his continuing efforts on Kerouac's behalf to the present time of his own incredible career and creative genius. What stories! A book for your library."
-Carolyn Cassady

"Regarding Offbeat: Chaos brought together two extraordinarily gifted minds to form a comet which lit up the sky."
-Kurt Vonnegut

"The conversations rang so true that I almost began to believe I had been sitting in the corner listening as Amram, Kerouac, Ginsberg and Corso talked, laughed and traded barbs over a bottle of wine."
-Bill Morgan, from the new Foreword

"Offbeat challenges and dismisses the myth of a Beat Generation, replacing it with a riveting and heartfelt account of the community of artists of that era, and how they supported one another."
-Publisher's Weekly

"A piece of pure entertainment that also reveals the individuality of Amram's friends and gives the Beat stereotype its walking papers."
-Kirkus Reviews

" ... The book includes some excellent photographs ... deepens understanding of the Beat milieu and the aspirations of its iconic figures. Recommended.
-CHOICE