• Wake Up

  • A Life of the Buddha
  • By: Jack Kerouac
  • Narrated by: Danny Campbell
  • Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (74 ratings)

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Wake Up  By  cover art

Wake Up

By: Jack Kerouac
Narrated by: Danny Campbell
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Publisher's summary

In the mid-1950s, Jack Kerouac, a lifelong Catholic, became fascinated with Buddhism, an interest that had a profound impact on his ideas of spirituality andlater found expression in books such as Mexico City Blues and The Dharma Bums.

Originally written in 1955 and now published for the first time in audiobook form, Wake Up is Kerouac's retelling of the life of Prince Siddartha Gotama, who as a young man abandoned his wealthy family and comfortable home for a lifelong searchfor Enlightenment.

Distilled from a wide variety of canonical scriptures, Wake Up serves as both a penetrating account of the Buddha's life and a concise primer on the principal teachings of Buddhism.

©2008 Jack Kerouac; 2008 Penguin Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"[Wake Up] contributes significantly to the fascinating picture of Kerouac's spirituality." (Jonah Raskin, The Beat Review)

What listeners say about Wake Up

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Meditative and enlightening

Beautiful, poetic writing in a soothing voice - listening is in itself a form of meditation.

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  • Overall
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Enlighten

Quite good and very interesting. Great read for those who are interested in history of Buddha

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I enjoyed Jacks biography of The Buddha

I liked Jack Kerouac’s telling the story of the life of The Buddha. It was very good. I recommend it to someone new or told to Buddhism and/or Jack Kerouac. The reader did a fine job, I’m glad to have listened to it in this audiobook format.

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