'Sargeant not only understands the mechanisms of the art world, he also knows the workings of the ‘power of transgression’. He laces his essays with the ideas of theorists such as Foucault, Bataille, and Deleuze. In the process of conducting his interviews, Sargeant reveals that he is more eloquent and well versed than his subjects. Could this be further proof that intellectuals have a place in the underground after all?' - Your Flesh

'The focus he (Sargeant) shines intelligently upon the concept of ‘Beat Films’ is years overdue. A book of this nature must surely have been done before, but no, it has not. As much a book about the atmosphere of Beat creation as it is of film making, Jack Sargeant has come up trumps here.' - Beat Scene

Naked Lens offers a detailed examination of the quintessential Beat texts and cult cinematic classics such as: Pull My Daisy, Chappaqua, Towers Open Fire and The Flower Thief; verité and performance films such as Shadows, Don’t Look Back and Wholly Communion;B-movies such as The Subterraneans, Beat Generation and Roger Corman’s Bucket of Blood; and Hollywood-style adaptations from Heart Beat and Barfly through to Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch.