Charles Bukowski

The life story of the literary icon Time magazine called the "laureate of American low-life"

In this definitive biography celebrated Beat historian Barry Miles turns his attention to the exploits of the hard-drinking, belligerent wild man of literature. Having spoken with people close to Bukowski, he offers a full examination of Bukowski's extensive writings, which chronicled the seedy underside of the city in which he spent most of his life, Los Angeles. Miles discusses his influences and writing life. Bukowski's heroes were the panhandlers, hustlers, drunks, and hookers; his beat the racetracks and strip joints; and his inspiration a series of dead-end jobs in warehouses, offices, and factories. It was in the evenings that he would put on a classical record, open a beer, and begin to type. Brought up by a violent father, Bukowski suffered childhood beatings before developing horrific acne and withdrawing into a moody adolescence. Much of his young life epitomized the style of the Beat generation—riding Greyhound buses, bumming around, and drinking himself into a stupor. During his lifetime he published more than 45 books of poetry and prose, including the novels Post Office, Factotum, Women, and Pulp. His novels sold millions of copies worldwide in dozens of languages.