"Literary biography serves the delightful function of providing its reader with a little lurid gossip, if not a critical history. Thankfully, James Campbell dishes out plenty of both in <i>This Is the Beat Generation</i>, wherein he chronicles one of the most (in)famous literary movements of the twentieth century. This book nicely illustrates, in a tone neither worshipful nor deploring, how resolutely the Beat movement was borne out of friendship, and is often less tiresome than reading actual beat writing."

Flaunt

"The tale is anchored in a set of ideas, rather than merely a suite of personalities. Campbell’s breadth of reference is more deeply historical than is common in this field. He has an agreeable style, as well. . . . Campbell sorts out the story much more coherently, thoughtfully and skillfully than others with the same mission. He writes with genuine sympathy, though he’s not a Beat mythologizer. Nor a Beat debunker, either. He’s a Beat contextualizer."

Vancouver Sun

"William S. Burroughs once wrote that the word 'hip' defies definition, 'because, if you don't dig what it means, no one can ever tell you.' He is probably right, but you would certainly have a better idea after reading James Campbell's sharp, dark, and often funny book. . . . Probably the best single book on the subject so far, this really is the Beat Generation."

Sunday Times