Still Vital, ‘On the Road’ Turns 50

STILL VITAL, 'ON THE ROAD' TURNS 50
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Motoko Rich & Melena Ryzik]
The best-selling novels of 1957 included “Peyton Place” by Grace Metalious and “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac. Both were cultural touchstones: “Peyton Place” as a precursor of the modern soap opera and “On the Road” as a clarion call for the Beat generation and, later, as an underground bible of the 1960s and ’70s. Today “Peyton Place” is mostly regarded as a historical curiosity, but “On the Road,” celebrating the 50th anniversary of its publication, still has a vibrant life on college English course syllabuses and high school summer reading lists, and in young travelers’ backpacks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/15/books/15kero.html
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* See original NYTimes reviews:
http://graphics.nytimes.com/packages/html/books/kerouac-millstein.pdf
http://graphics.nytimes.com/packages/html/books/kerouac-dempsey.pdf