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On the Road: 50th Anniversary Edition (Abridged) Audiobook
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(4.00) - 3,761 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
"The only people for me are the mad ones," wrote Jack Kerouac, "the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars." On the Road is the classic story of two such characters: Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, who set off on an odyssey through 1950s underground America, fueled by jazz, sex, drugs, mystical philosophy, and a limitless passion for experience.
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"I liked this version of On the Road a lot better than the reprinted version. I love how raw this book is and I can imagine Kerouac telling it in his own voice. The only thing that was kind of annoying was how it's pretty much all one big, long paragraph. If I hadn't read it in a day or two, I had difficulty finding my place again. This is the greatest wanderlust book I've read and I do enjoy it a lot. Definitely worth a read."
— Terra (5 out of 5 stars)
Awards
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One of Time Magazine's Best 100 English-Language Novels from 1923–2005
On the Road: 50th Anniversary Edition Listener Reviews
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" I had to stop reading this one part-way through... so sexist & overrated. "
— Arjuna, 2/17/2014 -
" Made me want to pack some cheese sandwiches and jump in my minivan and drive across America. "
— Amy, 2/9/2014 -
" Couldnt do it--had to end the trip before it finished. "
— Teri, 2/8/2014 -
" i was given this book after high school graduation from my brothers friend russ. i read it over the course of 3 years each time i got on a plane to come home. this book kept me going to california when all i wanted to do was stay home. "
— Chris, 1/22/2014 -
" On The Road is a great book! The original scroll adds a bit more energy, realism, and blatant rawness of their epic adventure. I also like that it uses my gramps real name (Neal). He was a crazy SOB for his time; well I guess they all were. "
— Curtis, 1/10/2014 -
" I didn't actually read the original scroll, but a version of the book. I really enjoyed it, especially the way it was written, with such wonderful language. I also really loved the free-spiritedness of it all :) "
— Julia, 1/10/2014 -
" I've read this a million times. Each is clearer and truer than the last. "
— Zachery, 12/25/2013 -
" One of my favorite books--so much here, a raw portrait of American culture painted in vivid, relentless prose that Kerouac is best at. "
— Andrew, 12/24/2013 -
" A good book but the scroll version makes reading a chore and I am reminded of why editors are necessary. "
— Jessica, 12/24/2013 -
" I liked it because of the sense of time and place (the 60s in America) and while not having any chapters (there are I think 4 "books" but it's all one long narrative) makes it difficult to put down, it makes you feel like you're there, watching it all happen. "
— Chris, 12/5/2013 -
" Finally - "On the Road" as it was truly written. "
— Sara, 9/27/2013 -
" Gone and gorgeous. I'm grateful to have picked up the original scroll by accident--I feel confident that I had a better time than my literature classmates, who were bound to the original. A thrilling ride that combines staccato pulsations with truth and vim. Much was gleaned. "
— Alexandra, 9/12/2013 -
" I haven't read the edited version, but I can't imagine how it could be an improvement over this one. The typos and run-ons, total lack of paragraph breaks, and rampant profanity and sexuality all feel like integral parts of the narrative. "
— Louis, 3/25/2013 -
" actually like the scroll version better. hard to find a stopping point though. "
— Ty, 10/6/2012 -
" it was AMAZING!!!!!! I loved the honesty and the freedom of it ! <3 "
— Zohra, 1/25/2012 -
" Fraught with eminent peril ........ And mad ! "
— G, 1/23/2012 -
" This is not for the faint of heart. This is a challenging read that will give you what you put into it. The story of the Scroll is legendary and to be able to read it in its most pure and Holy form is amazing. "
— Eric, 11/21/2011 -
" Interesting historical perspective. What a tragic waste of life. That Kerouac died an untimely and senseless death comes as no surprise after reading this book. "
— Thomas, 5/29/2011 -
" I didn't finish this book twice. Three times the charm. I still know what I didn't like about it before, but that doesn't stop me from loving it now... "
— Ronni, 5/23/2011 -
" My favorite book of all time "
— Chris, 5/23/2011 -
" a life changing book if you read it when you're young.I read it when I was 17 but when I tried to reread it in my forties it was hugely disappointing "
— Simon, 5/23/2011 -
" i could not get into this book. i tried, but i ended up putting it down half way through. "
— Anna, 5/22/2011 -
" A sympathetic look at members of the beat generation. "
— Thadd, 5/17/2011
About Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac (1922–1969) was an American novelist and poet who influenced generations of writers. He is recognized for his style of spontaneous prose and for being a pioneer of the Beat Generation. His first novel appeared in 1950, but it was On the Road, published in 1957, that epitomized to the world what became known as the “Beat generation” and made Kerouac one of the best-known writers of his time. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, he attended local Catholic schools and then won a scholarship to Columbia University, where he first met Neal Cassady, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs, other originators of the Beat movement.