I did have a Kerouac phase (in college, read all his work and many of the other beats) but came to the same conclusion as this reviewer a few years later. It actually really hits the nail on the head.

Also -- I liked them because I was 19. It was a phase reflective of a moment in time for me. That didn't last, so neither did the idolization of that way of life. I started seeing it as sad, especially when you learn how most of their lives ended.