NOVEMBER 1998 | Volume 282 No. 5   In the Kerouac Archive How did the novel On the Road evolve? What did Jack Kerouac hope the movie would be like? How did he view the advent of celebrity culture in America? A trove of unpublished writing by Kerouac will come into print during the next several years. We offer excerpts, together with commentary by Douglas Brinkley, the editor of these papers. The excerpts from the Kerouac archive were available online for the month of November, 1998, only. "Ready, Read!" Forget concepts like local autonomy, charter schools, and choice. The way to resurrect schools that have failed is to take power from the principals or superintendents, and to impose a simple and rigid curriculum. This approach is being tried in hundreds of places, and it's working. by Nicholas Lemann Pre-empting the Holocaust Artists and writers, philosophers and theologians, have wrung the Holocaust in a desperate, well-meaning quest for some small drop of redemption. A distinguished historian of the Holocaust offers this counsel: the quest is futile. by Lawrence L. Langer   Reports Notes & Comment: Anticipation Now that we have entered a "post-" everything world, can "pre-" be far behind? by Cullen Murphy Foreign Affairs: Behind the Chrysanthemum Curtain Our correspondent sought out the courtiers who maintain a bewildering establishment: the Japanese monarchy. by Gale Eisenstodt Personal File: The Lovely, Lovely Mrs. Marvelous, waiting for what's coming. by Lynn Freed Humor, Fiction, & Poetry My Mother's First Lover A short story by Margo Rabb Naps A poem by Stanley Plumly Mid-Night A drawing by Guy Billout Brooklyn Snapshot A poem by Anna Rabinowitz Browse and search The Atlantic's online archive. The seahorse symbol indicates that an article is supplemented with audio, an author interview, or other Web-only sidebar. Arts & Leisure Travel: A Bird's-eye View of Nepal A trek in which the peak experience is ornithological. by Valerie Lester Music: Corn Bread When I'm Hungry The music of the banjo player and singer Dock Boggs is enjoying a revival. The music criticism that comes with it is a small price to pay. by William Hogeland Art: Cutting-Edge but Comfy London, to the surprise of many observers, has become a vibrant showcase for contemporary art that ordinary people are actually eager to see. by Carol Kino Books Richard Hofstadter's Tradition An assessment at the half-century mark. by David Greenberg Brief Reviews by Phoebe-Lou Adams Other Departments 77 North Washington Street Contributors Letters (Send a letter to the editor.) The November Almanac The Puzzler by Emily Cox & Henry Rathvon Word Court by Barbara Wallraff All material copyright © 1998 by The Atlantic Monthly Company. All rights reserved.