my cart my cart |

Penguin.com (usa)

About the Book
Praise
About John Leland
Books by John Leland

Why Kerouac Matters

The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think)
John Leland - Author
$15.00
add to cart view cart
eBook: eReader | 8.26 x 5.23in | 224 pages | ISBN 9781429547932 | 16 Aug 2007 | Penguin
Additional Formats:
Paperback: $15.00
eBook - Adobe reader: $15.00
eBook - Microsoft Reader: $15.00
Why Kerouac Matters
Legions of youthful Americans have taken On the Road as a manifesto for rebellion and an inspiration to hit the road. But there is much more to the book than that. In Why Kerouac Matters, John Leland embarks on a wry, insightful, and playful discussion of the novel, arguing that it still matters because it lays out an alternative road map to growing up. Along the way, Leland overturns many misconceptions about On the Road as he examines the lessons that Kerouac’s alter ego, Sal Paradise, absorbs and dispenses on his novelistic journey to manhood, and how those lessons—about work and money, love and sex, art and holiness— still reverberate today.

“No one has written better and more intelligently about Kerouac.”
—David Gates, Newsweek

“ An entertaining and insightful book . . . over and over Leland showed me something new, and just as important, something fun.”
The American Book Review


Email Alerts

To keep up-to-date, input your email address, and we will contact you on publication

Please alert me via email when:

The author releases another book

   
Send this page to a friend

Penguin 2.0

Download the Penguin App for iPhones and get exclusive excerpts and access to the blog, podcast and more. Click here for information.

Penguin Gifts & Gear

Penguin Gifts & Gear

T-shirts, tote bags, gift sets and more.

Get Your Gear » Here