Jack Kerouac's American Journey: The Real-Life Odyssey of on the Road

Having read Paul Maher's "Jack Kerouac's American Journey" and just about everything else written by and about Kerouac, I'm puzzled as to why other reviewers have chosen to nitpick a truly groundbreaking novel. Maher does not give us the same soap opera schlock about what kind of beer Jack drank or what he was watching on television just before he died. On the contrary, Maher narrows the focus to concentrate on the evolution of "On The Road" from the perspective of Jack's literary mind. We gain insights into Kerouac's fondness not just for Thomas Wolfe, but also Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Mark Twain, and Joseph Conrad's dark, dream-like novel, "Heart of Darkness." Maher adds details that inspire reading far more than most of the many biographies written on Jack. If someone is really interested in Kerouac as an artist and how the creative forces grew within him, than Maher's book is a must. If you want more half-baked stories about a man who has already been misrepresented and misunderstood, go elsewhere.

JACK KEROUAC'S AMERICAN JOURNEY: THE REAL-LIFE ODYSSEY OF 'ON THE ROAD' is a 'must' for any library including Kerouac's fiction. It celebrates the 50th anniversary of ON THE ROAD and provides a biography of the book and its popularity, considering Kerouac's objectives, style, and influence and following his travels throughout the U.S. between 1947 and 1951. In providing a survey of the real people and experiences which helped shape ON THE ROAD, this offers many important keys to understanding and will prove an essential acquisition for high school to public libraries featuring Kerouac's works.

What map did Kerouac use to plan On the Road? See how the Beat Generation viewed America. Read Maher's book to learn the real story.