I went and picked out this book after reading a single Bukowski poem on the Internet. It was so amazing that I was convinced that it couldn't just be a fluke. He had to have written something else that I would adore. I would come to love and hate the man just in one volume. Because of this reader I would also go on to buy several other books. The one really frustrating thing about this book is that it has no index or table of contents. You are forced to leaf through it and pick something to read, or leaf through it looking for something specific. Anyway, it will lead you on to other things and for what it's worth is a good starting point for Bukowski.

From Publishers Weekly:

From recollections of early childhood in Germany and L.A. in the '20s to the unflinching reflections of a grizzled septuagenarian, the stunning directness and infamous "bad attitude" of Bukowski's autobiographical poetry and fiction are as captivating as they are repugnant. Faithfully anthologized here by his longtime editor and arranged in chronological order, these excerpts from more than 20 of Bukowski's published books chronicle--both explicitly and through several recurring personas--the major events of the author's life: childhood, the Depression and WW II, the deaths of parents and lovers, his experience in Hollywood, illness and old age. Bukowski's signature themes are also present: the racetrack, drinking, violence, women, sex and, of course, writing. Set in some half-dozen big cities, and several grim hinterlands in between, they depict protagonists listlessly careening through unusual jobs, seedy bars and squalid apartments where they are observed in fierce lovers' quarrels or in solitary debauch with just some booze and a typewriter. All are rendered with great immediacy, disturbing candor and Bukowski's singular blend of cynicism, misanthropy and unexpected sentimentality. While devotees may prefer the original volumes in their entirety, this is an effective primer for the uninitiated, or a refresher for past readers who, incredibly, have managed to forget. (via amazon.com)