text: I am not going to go over the contents of the book, or much about Charles Bukowski, because if you are considering this book you must know something about the man and his work. I will just give you my impression of this collection of work.
  No collection can ever really be complete, there are always new things to add, new commentary, newly discovered works, transcripts of records and unpublished letters, but this book does an excellent job in its attempt.
  To me Charles Bukowski will always be one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century, because of the sheer brutality and honesty his work emanates. It is funny, sad, sadistic, cruel, scathing, enlightening and thought provoking. Everything I like to read. This is poetry for people who are disgusted by verse of flowers, trees and Greek mythology. This is RAW human emotion and experience smeared out onto paper. It is not perfect, and it is not trying to be. It doesn't always work, but there in lies the subtle beauty of Bukowski's efforts. the guts to try. The attempts at honesty, clearly blocked by his unwillingness to divulge everything, and his cynicism of man. 
  This book has one of the most moving, amazing, and insightful poems...or anything else...ever written.  It is called The Genius Of The Crowd. If you read that work of art and are not moved...nothing will.
  This collection is shocking in its beauty, and inspiring by its simplicity. Enjoy
  