"A most remarkable book... a wonderful account of an odd and unlikely place where for a brief time a small number of people pursued a romantic vision of what a life dedicated to art should be like... a superb story." --William O'Neill, author of American High: The Years of Confidence, 1945-1960 The beatnik was born in Venice, California, in the 1950s. An imaginary figure in many respects, the invention of both the media and the people who played the...