Note: You can find lectures (1 + 2) discussing the importance of On the Road in Yale’s course, The American Novel Since 1945. It appears in the Literature section of our collection, 1,700 Free Online Courses from Top Universities.
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Very interesting idea–too bad the author begins with the bus west instead of the actual beginning of the trip, which took him north to Bear Mountain in the rain–the location where Sal articulates the travel ethos of the novel (and Kerouac indicates his aesthetic project).
Wow! What a road trip this would make!
To be more authentic, however, you would have to avoid all interstates as they would not have been around in the 40s.
I appreciate all the work that went into this… but why not include *maps* of the route?
I took this trip 5 years ago back in 2009, just after I graduated college. I followed Kerouac’s route, stopped in every city, down, street corner, and cow town mentioned in the book, took a picture, and included the relevant passage. I had a blog about it, too, but that has since lapsed (as blogging endeavors usually do). http://www.aroadvision.blogspot.com
If I didn’t already do this, I’d definitely check out this kid’s ebook, but I wouldn’t follow it blindly; I’d follow the original work.
that is a beautiful blog, mike! wow.