Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road was a touchstone for a generation and the centrepiece of the Beat movement in literature and art. This new book examines Kerouac's life and career, and accompanies a major exhibition at The New York Public Library to celebrate the 50th anniversary of On the Road's publication in 1957. Kerouac's achievement as both a literary and cultural figure is traced, including his innovations in narrative techniques and in character development. His counterculture vision is explored, showing his image as a seer and sage who wanted to save America from its obsession with consumerism, the inhibition of sexuality and other conventional bourgeois pieties.The author also explores Kerouac's relationships with Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and other Beats, as well as the Beat movement in general. The book is heavily illustrated, with material from the extensive Kerouac literary archive owned by The New York Public Library, including typescript drafts of On the Road, as well as other unpublished manuscripts, diaries, journals, correspondence and many unpublished photographs of Kerouac and his fellow Beats, family and friends. Writings, correspondence and artwork by Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and other Beats will also offer insight into the influences on each other's work and the development of their careers. Early versions of Kerouac's principal novels and a sampling of his unpublished poetry will also be shown, celebrating the colourful life of one of America's greatest authors and cult heroes.