"A text which is both accessible and as close as possible to the one Kerouac produced in April 1951." -- editor.

"The legendary first draft - rougher, wilder, and racier than the 1957 edition"--Cover.

Fast this time : Jack Kerouac and the writing of On the road /Howard Cunnell -- Rewriting America : Kerouac's nation of "underground monsters" / Penny Vlagopoulos -- "Into the heart of things" : Neal Cassady and the search for the authentic / George Mouratidis -- "The straight line will take you only to death" : the scroll manuscript and contemporary literary theory / Joshua Kupetz -- On the road : the original scroll.