Published in 1957, Jack Kerouac's semiautobiographical novel On the Road soon became the bible of the Beat movement (see entry on Beatniks and the Beat Movement under 1950s— Print Culture in volume 3) and an inspiration to many young people who felt disconnected from the dominant values of 1950s America. During a time when conformity (acting in agreement with established social views) was the norm, On the Road showed another way of living, an on-the-go lifestyle that seemed very exciting to many people. In the decades since its publication, it has continued to do just that.

The novel's main character and narrator was Sal Paradise, based on Kerouac (1922–1969) himself. The other main characters were fictional versions of other important Beat figures, including Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997), William Burroughs (1914–1997), and Neal Cassady (1926?–1968). Reflecting the Beats' continual search for something new and more significant in American life, the novel relates...