i get two figures of the cast of allen ginsberg and jack kerouac who were central, biographical elements in this book. and talk about timothy leary and a whole array of characters who course through the decade of the 1960s and think of the counterculture of the 1960s when we think of the hippies and participants in one capacity or another and they were individuals who were disenchanted with matters as they were in some fashion, concerned about jim crow and its continuance, they were deeply concerned about the war in vietnam, two of this when pillars in a matter of speaking and they were also concerned about elemental issues, family relationships and personal dealings and sexuality and consciousness, rationality, there was this coalescing of forces, demographic, economic, literary, cultural, some political in nature that welded together and provided this backdrop allowing the counterculture of the 1960s to be as large in scope and scale is approved to be. there were several sparks or triggers to the counterculture of the 1960s, you have the backdrop of the cold war. internationally speaki

they went to meet kerouac in new york city which was not a happy experience so kerouac had shifted part of the political right by that point in time. they went to meet leary and halpert at millbrook estates. above new york city and that was not happy experience either. >> leary in fact didn't even meet the pranksters even though they had gone 3000 miles for that encounter to take place. later into the 1960s, mid 60s and the latter portion of it altogether and it's almost like there's oneevent after another . there are the antiwar protests in berkeley and oakland and in the bay area in general that involved ginsburg and the pranksters and the hells angels. there are the acid tests that the pranksters put on. 66, 67. there's the human being be in in san francisco. golden gate park and in january 1967. >> there's the summer of love in 1967. >> there is woodstock. there's out the month. there's the unveiling of the family, the killings by charles manson gang. >> in late 1959. so again, it's almost as if there were these economical points that eventually get and some folks on the better side

they went to meet carol act in new york city and have that experience, kerouac had shifted far to the political right by that point in time. he went to meet leary and helpers and at millbrook estates in new york city and that was not happy experience either. >> we are in fact didn't even read the pranksters even though they had gone 3000 miles for that counter to take place. >> you got loader later into the 1960s, mid 60s and the latter portion of it all together and it's almost like there's one event after another. there are the antiwar protests and in berkeley and oakland and the bay area in general. that involved ginsberg and the pranksters and the hells angels. there are the after tests acid tests that the pranksters put on, 66, 67. there's the human being, be in in san francisco, golden gate park and in january 1967, there's the summer of love in 1967 area there's woodstock, there's out the month. there's the unveiling of the family, the killings by charles manson gang in the late 1969. so again, it's almost as if there were these impossible points that were demonstrated in some

and then kerouac sat on the couch, we would get a big, tall budweiser.eats, they had done their thing, you know? i really felt like the torch had been passed from those guys to the psychedelic generation. >> kesey was very messianic, and he started feeling that acid would allow you to see a larger truth and he wanted to get as many people to try lsd as they can. >> so we started renting halls. we called the thing the acid test. the band of course was known as the warlocks. as time went on, they changed their name to the grateful dead. ♪ st. stephen with a rose, in and out of the garden he goes ♪ ♪ country garden in the wind and the rain ♪ ♪ wherever he goes, the people all complain ♪ >> lsd was not an illegal drug. when kesey held these acid tests, as they were known, they'd have two vats. one was punch and one was punch with lsd. >> the acid tests were like a party. the scene is a lot of light shows and music and people dancing. when the dead were playing, it was a way to feel that acid in waves. and i looked down and i saw kids in front of me moving to

from and i was doing the research i was trying to locate the actual labor camp in california where kerouac would have been working with his mexican farm work. as i was at the genealogy department at the library, fresno labor camps 1947 and this newspaper article comes up and the headlines are dying. one hundred people see see the airplane ball out of the sky. i began to read it and by the time i was done reading it i recognized that this is the industry that woody guthrie song was based on. i always thought it los gatos california by monterey bay but it actually happened in fresno county which is home to me. i was pulled right into that narrative and said you got to finish this book first. are you sure you want to be that guy who stuck in the 40s? [laughter] what i end up doing when i have a book under an idea about the book but to get of my body and had them put it down in a summary and violet and never look at it again and when it nags over time -- than the clues emerge on their own i found myself eventually, as i i was still researching when yana means heaven and finding information kno

i had been adapting on the road, the kerouac novel classic.hink i've been working on that for about three years now, you know? some things are harder. the... i did the brief, wondrous life of oscar wao, which... >> hinojosa: which is another.... just because you said it kind of quickly and people are like... the brief, wonderful life of oscar wao from the pulitzer prize-winning author junot díaz... >> right. >> hinojosa: ...about the dominican reality-- dominican republic, immigrants... >> right. >> hinojosa: hugely popular book. people love that book. i don't know, but when somebody gives you a book like that and says, "make this into a movie," i mean, i would be like... >> yeah. it's... you know, it's become my craft. you know, it's the thing that i've learned to do. i try to do it as well as i can, and it's fun. it's like a big puzzle, you know? it's trying to decide what is cinematic in a novel, and enhancing that and bringing that out is the big trick. >> hinojosa: do you find yourself... i mean, how do you get to that place where you lea

answer, but coming up we are going to talk about a truck drivers drug filled trip that gives jack kerouacey. ♪ ♪ >> andy: coming up tomorrow on the next "red eye," kristin, michael, paul, rob. drugs are not the answer. unless the question is "how to you drive nonstop across the whole country." a truck driver was arrested after he drove nonstop from seattle to massachusetts without help of crazy amounts of drugs. crystal meth, lsd, and cocaine. the meth and coke were to stay away, the acid was to make idaho look really cool. he locked himself out of his truck at a gas station, police say he was despondent and trying to break into his truck where i'm assuming there were more drugs. he will face multiple drug and driving related charges. jackie, when you spread the story, what was your first thought? >> my first thought is idaho is amazing, that's 20 minutes from where i grew up, take that back right now. >> andy: i love idaho, i'm going to live in a bunker there. >> what an idiot is this guy. that infuriates me. that makes me mad. i could have my kids in the car, not even knowing, this idio