The Cambridge Companion to Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac is among the most important and influential writers to emerge from mid-twentieth century America. Founder of the Beat Generation literary movement Kerouac''s most famous novel On the Road was known as the bible of this generation and inspired untold people to question the rigid social and cultural expectations of 1950s America. And yet despite its undeniable influence On the Road is only a small piece of Kerouac''s literary achievement and there are now well over forty Kerouac books published. The centerpiece to this work is Kerouac''s multi-volume Duluoz Legend named for his fictional alter-ego Jack Duluoz and comprising numerous books written over decades that together tell the story of Duluoz''s life and times. This volume offers fresh perspectives on his multifaceted body of work ranging from detailed analyses of his most significant books to wide-angle perspectives that place Kerouac in key literary theoretical and cultural contexts.