Came across an article in this weeks New Yorker by probably my favorite cultural critic and essayist Louis Menand. Menand was the Pulitzer Prize winner for his non-fiction work, The Metaphysical Club. It is his essays though that I am familiar with and look for when browsing through the New Yorker, the magazine to which he frequently contributes. His essays touch on people and ideas from American history as well as analysis of current themes in American culture. If you are a fan of the Beat movement and some of its characters (Kerouac, Ginsberg, etc.) then you will want to catch this piece. While looking at the Beats in general, he hones in on Jack Kerouac and his magnum opus, On The Road. Menand gives a fresh perspective on the work and the characters involved, both fictional and the real men they portrayed. Even if you think you know the whole story on this time in American culture, this piece is still well worth the read.