The book about the Beats has become a genre unto itself. What really happened? Were they actually fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars? Seems dangerous. Recent examples of this trend include a string of commercial films that try to capture (maybe too hard) the Beat flair for a younger generation—Howl starring James Franco, 2012′s sappy On the Road, and the forthcoming Kill Your Darlings with Daniel Radcliffe as Allen Ginsburg.

The Stray Bullet: William S. Burroughs in Mexico by Jorge García-Robles, coming out October 1 from the University of Minnesota, capitalizes on this trend while being something very different. Combining a journalist’s eye and dedication with the joy of a fan, García-Robles slowly builds toward the night in Mexico City when Burroughs shot his wife Joan Vollmer during a drunken game of William Tell.

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