i know jack

From Slate, on the book that kicked open everything for me...

"Sept. 5, 2007, marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of On the Road, the novel by Jack Kerouac that gave voice to his generation's postwar experiences. With its energetic portrayal of the thrills and confusions of being young in the early years of the Cold War, it also helped usher in the "Beatnik" movement and many of the radical changes in American culture that took place in the 1960s. As you might expect, then, the mythology that surrounds Kerouac and the novel is as obscuring as it is fascinating."

Read the full article here.