On Point : On The Road: 50 Years Later - On The Road: 50 Years Later

Aired: Friday, August 17, 2007 11-12PM ET

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By host Tom Ashbrook:

Jack Kerouac, "On the Road", 1957: "The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn."

"On the Road" became the Bible of the Beat generation. A book to live by.

If you draw a line back through "Thelma and Louise," Tom Waits and Easy Rider, Bob Dylan and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," blue-jeaned backpackers and the '60s, you come to Kerouac and "On the Road."

But do we remember what he was looking for?

This hour On Point: "On the Road" at 50.

·	John Leland, author of "Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On the Road (They're Not What You Think)"
·	Joyce Johnson, author of "Minor Characters: A Beat Memoir" chronicling her relationship with Jack Kerouac.