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by: Jack Kerouac
List Price: $25.95Amazon.com's Price: $17.13 You Save: $8.82 (34%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780670063550
ISBN: 067006355X
Label: Viking Adult
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 416
Publication Date: August 16, 2007
Publisher: Viking Adult
Sales Rank: 72119
Studio: Viking Adult
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
The legendary 1951 scroll draft of On the Road, published as Kerouac originally composed it
IN THREE WEEKS in April of 1951, Jack Kerouac wrote his first full draft of On the Road—typed as a single-spaced paragraph on eight long sheets of tracing paper, which he later taped together to form a 120-foot scroll. A major literary event when it was published in Viking hardcover in 2007, this is the uncut version of an American classic—rougher, wilder, and more provocative than the official work that appeared, heavily edited, in 1957. This version, capturing a moment in creative history, represents the first full expression of Kerouac’s revolutionary aesthetic.
Amazon.com Review:
The legendary 1951 scroll draft of On the Road, published word for word as Kerouac originally composed it
Though Jack Kerouac began thinking about the novel that was to become On the Road as early as 1947, it was not until three weeks in April 1951, in an apartment on West Twentieth Street in Manhattan, that he wrote the first full draft that was satisfactory to him. Typed out as one long, single-spaced paragraph on eight long sheets of tracing paper that he later taped together to form a 120-foot scroll, this document is among the most significant, celebrated, and provocative artifacts in contemporary American literary history. It represents the first full expression of Kerouac's revolutionary aesthetic, the identifiable point at which his thematic vision and narrative voice came together in a sustained burst of creative energy. It was also part of a wider vital experimentation in the American literary, musical, and visual arts in the post-World War II period.
It was not until more than six years later, and several new drafts, that Viking published, in 1957, the novel known to us today. On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of On the Road, Viking will publish the 1951 scroll in a standard book format. The differences between the two versions are principally ones of significant detail and altered emphasis. The scroll is slightly longer and has a heightened linguistic virtuosity and a more sexually frenetic tone. It also uses the real names of Kerouac's friends instead of the fictional names he later invented for them. The transcription of the scroll was done by Howard Cunnell who, along with Joshua Kupetz, George Mouratidis, and Penny Vlagopoulos, provides a critical introduction that explains the fascinating compositional and publication history of On the Road and anchors the text in its historical, political, and social context.
Celebrating 50 Years of On the Road  | A 50th anniversary hardcover edition of Kerouac's classic novel that defined a generation. On the Road is the quintessential American vision of freedom and hope, a book that changed American literature and changed anyone who has ever picked it up. | | |  | Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think): John Leland, author of Hip: A History argues that On the Road still matters not for its youthful rebellion but because it is full of lessons about how to grow up. | | |
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From the back cover of On the Road: The Original Scroll: Jack Kerouac displaying one of his later scroll manuscripts, most likely The Dharma Bums | | | 
Kerouac's map of his first hitchhiking trip, July-October 1947 (click image to see the full map) |
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Original New York Times review of On the Road (click image to see the full review) |
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - You're kidding, right?
OK, I tried to read this several times with no luck. It is quite possibly the most boring non-story ever committed to paper. There is no plot, no story, no sympathetic (or otherwise engaging) characters, no compelling reason whatever to read this book. It is essentially a rambling tome about the author and his acquaintances drinking, traveling, talking...it's banality is absolutely stultifying. Yeah, yeah, I have heard all of the claptrap about how it broke new ground and the rest of the bloated ... Read More
Rating:  - In a Class by Itself
I mean, it's hard to write a review of something that people are stil trying to figure out exactly what it is, poem, novel, autobiography, jazz riff, all the above. It was great to see the unedited, unchanged version with original names and some relatively (to our times) tame sexual themata. I whizzed right through it trying to capture to wild ride Kerouac was on while writing this single paragraph tale of our age. When read alongside the more familiar version with paragraphs and quotations marks ... Read More
Rating: - awesome read
this book was required reading when I was in high school, to be able to reread it with all the real people mentioned was a wonderful treat
Rating: - Wow! He KNEW Time!
I read the standard version of ON THE ROAD years ago - and loved it. But having just read the unbroken by paragraph or chapter rush of the scroll version, it's like the literary equivalent of a Wellesian cinematic long take. And it makes a difference, a big difference in the book. It is no longer a book, it is the very onrush of Life and it is trip that carries you along whether you want to go or not. There is a truly hypnotic appeal in this unbroken narrative that is, yes, diluted in the standard ... Read More
Rating: - Highly Recommended
This is an excellent version of a cult classic book that I HIGHLY recommend. With real names, more details and a sweet introduction you can't go wrong.
KLB
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