(Hardback)

From relative obscurity, even at the time of his death in 1969, Jack Kerouac has risen to iconic status with invigorated interest among both scholars and general readers. This biography cuts through both the hagiography and the critical backlash that still surrounds this figure most closely identified with the Beat movement.

(Hardback)

The writers of the Beat Generation wrote during a particularly chaotic period in modern history. The writers of the Beat Generation wrote during a particularly chaotic time in modern American history, as they confronted the threat of a nuclear war, the rise of anti-Communist hysteria, and the growing pressure to conform to social conventions.