William Seward Burroughs is one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century. It's hard to imagine the films of David Cronenberg, the philosophical works of Gilles Deleuze, or the songs of David Bowie without his books. He was an ally of the Beats and a patron of punk, a queer pioneer and a rock 'n' roll icon, a gun enthusiast and a desperate drug addict, a preacher of freedom and a fugitive killer. It's hard to find corners of contemporary culture that don't reflect the isotopes of his influence: postmodernism, cyberpunk, transhumanism, psychedelic rock, industrial music—the list is endless. "The Burroughs Who Exploded" is the first Russian-language biography of this counterculture pioneer, written by Dmitry Khaustov, author of books on Charles Bukowski, George Orwell, and the Beat Generation.