Written when he was twenty nine years-old, Warren Beath's The Death of James Dean quickly became a cult classic and went into multiple printings and editions in the United States and Europe. Upon publication it became the object of a signature campaign to halt publication in Dean's hometown. Still in print three decades later, it continues to occupy a unique place in the canon of Dean literature. It is a guidebook for ghosthunters, and a road map for fans reliving their own California Death Trip. It also charts the darker terrain of obsession and fandom. As an account of Dean's death and its aftermath, it has never been surpassed and never out-of-print. Though Warren Beath went on to other books, The Death of James Dean has continued to exert its eerie fascination on both fans and non-fans alike.