Kerouac's The Dharma Bums (1958) narrates the journey of two men seeking the Zen essence of Truth as they traverse the West Coast. Kerouac drew inspiration from his friendship with Buddhist poet Gary Snyder for this novel.

The Subterraneans (1958) depicts a writer's interracial romance set against the backdrop of New York City's hipster scene. This novel is based on Kerouac's real-life relationship with Alene Lee, a striking young black woman who socialized with Greenwich Village's inhabitants.

For those looking for a "key" to On the Road and the aforementioned novels, Gerald Nicosia's critical biography of Kerouac, Memory Babe (1983), is highly recommended.

Kerouac was profoundly influenced by Southern author Tom Wolfe. Wolfe's first two novels, Look Homeward, Angel (1929) and Of Time and the River (1935), are autobiographical tales of his formative years in North Carolina and his subsequent journeys to Harvard, New York City, and Paris. These novels are rich with lush imagery and humor, expansive and romantic in scope.

The Portable Beat Reader (1992), edited by Ann Charters, is an exceptional anthology featuring works by numerous beat poets and writers. It includes excerpts from three of Kerouac's novels, some of his poetry, "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg, and several pieces by William Burroughs.

Another notable novel of youthful disillusionment is J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye (1951). The story's protagonist, sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield, is one of American literature's most cherished adolescents. The novel recounts three days in Caulfield's life after he is expelled from prep school, presenting a narrative that is both poignant and humorous.

Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962) is a quintessential anti-establishment novel. It follows small-time con artist Randle McMurphy, who pretends to be mentally ill to avoid prison. Once committed to a mental hospital, he finds himself in a power struggle with the head nurse. This book was adapted into an Oscar-winning film in 1975, starring Jack Nicholson.

An advocate of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s, Tom Wolfe (a different writer than the one mentioned earlier) spent several months traveling with novelist Ken Kesey and his group, the Merry Pranksters, as they journeyed across the country in their bus. Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968) is a captivating account of the psychedelic era, featuring notable figures such as Neal Cassady and Timothy Leary among the eclectic passengers on the bus named "Further."