Book Description
The magnificent second novel from the legendary author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Following the astonishing success of his first novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey wrote what Charles Bowden calls “one of the few essential books written by an American in the last half century.” This wild-spirited tale tells of a bitter strike that rages through a small lumber town along the Oregon coast. Bucking that strike out of sheer cussedness are the Stampers. Out of the Stamper family’s rivalries and betrayals Ken Kesey has crafted a novel with the mythic impact of Greek tragedy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (113)

sometimes a great notion=always a great novel
This is easily the great american novel. I put it up there with Under the Volcano and Grapes of Wrath. Kesey's narrative is fluid, readable, gripping, suspenseful.

Not poolside reading.
This is a very difficult book to follow. Be prepared to read the same page a couple of times to understand which character is talking. One of those literary achievements that is written as a "stream of consciousness", with few chapter breaks. I think few would care to admit that they gave up on the book after 100 pages and went on to a Leon Uris novel.I am sorry if I insult all those literary snobs out there with 720s on their verbal SATs, but this is not that good a book.

Still, One Flew... is still a classic and one of my all time favorites.

Just gotta vote
112 reviews here, all positive so far as I've read.
So there's not much more praise to be added.
But I feel compelled to cast one more vote,
just for History.
This is The Great American Novel.
Put it on the shelf next to "Life on the Mississippi,"
and re-read it just as often.

Simply Timeless
Kesey's book is at once a meditation on the individual and his place in the community, a look into labor issues, a depiction of life in a small town, and a portrait of the notion of family.The scope of "Sometimes a Great Notion" is truly ambitious, but as the reader follows Kesey's unfocused but always necessary travels, they may find themselves as much of the landscape as the grand forests the characters inhabit.If one gives this book a chance, they will be in for a memorable experience.Highest recommedation.

'Notion' compares incredibly to other authors
Reading through the reviews on here, I was a little scared that someone rated this as the 2nd-best book all-time behind...A Prayer for Owen Meany, as Hank Stamper would say.However, it appears to me that Kesey and Whitman were on the same drugs when they wrote, as Notion exemplifies the intense relationship with nature, freedom, and self-reliance (though also reliance on others) etc that Whitman used to describe America, or at least what America should be, in "Song of Myself."There is no question that this book is up in the running for Great American Novel along with probably Gatsby, Rye, Huckleberry, and Cuckoo. (I would also throw in either Sun Also Rises or Old Man, but neither of those are really about American themes...and actually Rye isn't as good as these others, so it's gone with apologies to all those who passionately disagree.)Anyway, for me Cuckoo's complete perfection is probably better, due to a couple complaints I have:

-The females besides Viv are pretty lame and weak.I am certainly not against misogyny(!), and it's not like Shakespeare wrote likeable females often, but basically they were just kind of lame and boring.I especially found the final paragraph of the book, dealing with two women, trite and obvious in its attempt to explicitly manifest a couple themes.After the rest of the book and the rest of the conclusion, we deserved a lot better.
-Also, I found Lee's final thoughts, while necessary, poorly executed.
-Finally, while I enjoyed basically every characters' perspective (this book is very definitely an American 100 Years of Solitude, but with more experimental writing and less experimental plot), I thought that the random thoughts perspective that began most chapters (maybe the shingler perspective except it continued after his death) to be also kind of poorly executed.

All that said, I am giving the book 5 stars and say that no one has captured America as profoundly and tragically (in the sense of what it should be) as Whitman.Kesey wins all the prizes that I am giving out.Even without the merits of its content, I don't think I have ever encountered prose so technically ambitious and perfect.The ending, apart from my quibbles, is one of the most fun things to watch come together I have ever read, despite the fact you know what is coming (again, unlike 100 Years, which although deserving of its Prize, starts to drag badly at the destined end).It's not what, it's how. ... Read more

Book Description
Four years after the legendary 1964 bus trip immortalized in Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Ken Kesey began serving time in San Mateo County Jail for pot possession. Transferred to an experimental low-security "honor camp" in the redwood forest, he spent six months clearing brush and immersing himself in the life of the jail community, attempting to "bring light and color" to it. "This is crazier here than the nuthouse ever was," Kesey noted, and proceeded to record the scene in numerous notebooks, illustrated with intense and brilliantly colored artwork.

Upon returning to Oregon, Kesey turned the raw notebook material into an illustrated collage that stretched across dozens of 18" x 23" boards. Upon realizing that publication of the elaborate, handwritten book was more than his publisher was willing to attempt, he put it aside. Almost thirty years later he returned to the project and brought it to completion during the final years of his life. Fans of Ken Kesey's singular American voice will rejoice to hear it again in this unique and long-overdue volume. Those unfamiliar with Kesey's artwork are in for a revelation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Ken Kesey's time in jail
This tall tale from the late sixties concerns Ken Kesey's six month stint in jail, his 'straight time'.

In some respects this journal is a art deco paisley snapshot of an uncomfortable moment in Kesey's life. Like Leary, Ken had a good time tuning in, turning on, and dropping out, but the sub-text of this cheerily defiant counter-culture rave, like the poem at the beginning of Demon Box, is that he paid for it dearly.

That aside, Ken's writing in the jail journal as in Demon Box, was pretty damn good. Reading his clean, wry, and self-reflective prose, I wish he had continued to turn out this kind of writing (Perhaps he did?). One can only imagine the blog he would have put out.

In short, popular culture depicts the later Kesey as a kind of burnt out counter-culture warrior but these two bits of writing suggest otherwise.

An Immediate Work of Art, An Important Piece of History
The main question examined in this boisterous, original work of art is when you should "hold your mud."Ken Kesey - Hippie Number One - spent the summer of love incarcerated for a drug conviction. He was America's most promising young novelist when he announced that he was taking an indefinite break from writing novels. His first creative work after this was an unfinished marathon film of a bus ride to Furthur. What he produced next was an amalgam: a personal collage that grabs the reader's eyes and heart on every page.

If Kesey's Jail Journal had been published in its entirety when it was finished, (instead of decades later with some pages lost to prison guards) it probably would have been a sensation. At least it would have gotten a wide audience to see how a blend of images and words could be more immediately affecting and powerful than straight prose. Most pages of printed text are accompanied by that text incorporated into a collage drawing he made in jail. These pages appear like displays of Japanese Calligraphy at the Met. The words are given extra meaning by how they are presented visually.

His illustrations are disarming and masterful. The accompanying text tells easily understood stories in simple, poetic prose. These are seemingly small snippets of life, but Kesey uses them to demonstrate the power structures, personal motivations, and racial tensions underlying every interaction. Kesey wants to create, be free and play - but he must hold his mud enough to keep from losing all of his privileges; along with the book that he is making - which begins to have an importance of its own.

Every page of this book is an ode to the artistic spirit. In prison and at a work camp, Kesey has to contend with the whims of guards and their rules in order to keep his book alive as he creates it. On some pages, he has more varied materials to draw with than on others. The dance between Kesey's creative impulse and the repression of the state institution plays out within and above the book.The effect is a touching display of creativity rising above the obstacles it encounters.

Anyone who wants to have a discussion or book group on "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" should read this genre-busting book. From the institutional setting; from the imprisoned individuals who have transgressed society's mores; from the blunt way rules are imposed on the deficient; from the wily, red-haired, Oregonian protagonist; from the detailed look at the daily mechanisms of an on-going power structure; all the way down to the farcical (and mandatory) group meetings: there are numerous parallels to Kesey's first novel.

But this was Kesey's real life, not McMurphy's fictional morality play. Kesey has a wife and kids on the outside. He does not reach a point (like McMurphy does in "Cuckoo") where he sees a moral imperative to throw himself into a bitter and mortal struggle on behalf of his fellow inmates. In his Jail Journal, the real Kesey is careful to hold his mud: keeping a lid on his emotions, allowing guards to paint over his decorated shed, at times hiding and smuggling his book.

While he looks out for himself, he looks out at others and provides touching portraits of interesting characters he meets.

Kesey is a master at understanding power and how it is used and abused. His Jail Journal (which the publisher, holding his mud, calls "Kesey's Jail Journal" instead of its real title, "Cut the M************ Loose") is a universal description of the struggle of the individual against the institution. (played out externally against the power structure's guardians and within the individual who pits his courage and principles against his pragmatic self-preservation)

It is also an important document of its time. Kesey sees and unflinchingly displays the divisiveness of race - the veneer of calm on the surface with root conflicts simmering below. Kesey also demonstrates the distrust of the establishment towards drugs, and how conservatives viciously defended the status quo on day-to-day behavior in the sixties. His fate and his evolving ideals serve an important counter-point to the standard tales of reckless freedom and blindness to consequence that are often set in the summer of 1967.

Highly recommended.

a little piece of furthur..
i love the artwork in this book - and keyz's letter to a friend named jerry at 710 ashbury street certainly doesn't hurt at luring your attention.. i bet even if you couldn't read you could find something stimulating about this book - check it out

Very interesting narrative from a great writer
I recently saw the original Jail Journal on display in Eugene, Oregon at an art museum.It was filled with excellent illustrations (very 60s, of course) and some wonderful diary entries by Kesey (who really has a way with words).I had a great time reading the pages, which were arranged on the walls in order, and am going to be pruchasing this book so I can have a version at home to look at in the future.

A Journey To Another Time and Another Place
Get ready for quite a trip...this really isn't a book, it's a time machine. Fasten your seat belt and enjoy the journey, courtesy of the one and only Ken Kesey.

Many of the icons of the counterculture movement spent 1967's famous Summer of Love in places like Swinging London, Monterrey or Haight-Ashbury. Kesey was far removed from the heart of the action during those months--he was serving out a jail sentence for his conviction on a marijuana possession charge. Thanks to his lack of a previous record, Kesey was able to do most of his time in a sheriff's honor camp, an experiment in rehabilitation nestled in the California redwoods.

Kesey managed to keep a journal of his days in confinment, pouring forth his raw emotions, vivid dreams, sometimes gentle, sometimes agressive encounters with authority figures and fellow prisoners. He supplemented his writings with a series of vivid paintings and drawings that helped capture the chaotic nature of the experience.

After his release, Kesey had hoped to publish the journal, but found that the available printing technology couldn't do his illustrations justice. By the mid 1990s, he had revived the project, and was in the final stages of preparing it for publication at the time of his death in 2001. So, if you are a lover of Kesey's works, get this volume, read it, celebrate it, and hold it close. This is a stream-of-consciousness, often profane, nakedly honest record of a pivotal summer in one of the great creative lives of the 20th century.--William C. Hall ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Reprint this PLEASE!Zany and Wacko but PRO-LIFE!
Only Kesey could make this premise (a self-indulging scrapbook collection of writings, pictures and tidbits)work so well.Gratuitous, yes, and sometimes annoyingly, well... hippie-ish, this GARAGE SALE still has somegreat litte items. I especially like the Krassner interview where ol' Keseyexplains his Pro-Life, anti-abortion position with the clarity of ascientist and the zeal of a backwoods preacher! I wish every Americanwould read it.

I don't know where you might dig up this gold minenowadays, but it WILL be worth the search. (Most University libraries seemto have an old worn-out copy, actually.)

Check it out.

A Must for any Kesey Fan!
I loved this book.When I couldn't find a good copy of "On the Bus" I went looking for some Kesey I had not read.Garage Sale satisfied my craving.Great book regardless, but a must read for any Keseyfan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Sailor Song: Where Art & Life Meet in the End
Up front: I'm a long-time fan of Ken's -- including the videos, the CDs, and his classic periodical SPIT IN THE OCEAN. I liked SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION a lot better as a book than a film. So that's where I'm coming from...

SAILOR SONG is superb, remarkable and unmatched in contemporary literature. Ken's grasp of the human condition is extraordinary: man/woman, inter-family, small town, international, global, you name it and Ken's got it in SAILOR SONG. It's an easier read than NOTION, but not as clearcut as NEST.

So many posts here question the ending; not me. I trust Ken ended this the way he saw fit, like the master he was. Life doesn't end cleanly, even though it begins with promise and evolves with careful plot. I don't think any other writer has addressed the scenario of the poles shifting, so while this isn't quite an "end of the world" tale, surely it's clear why Ken dubbed this his science fiction novel.

The characters are unforgettable, and yes the novel reads like a screenplay because it is so extraordinarily vividly written. There are plot twists and curlicues galore -- that's the skill and scope of Kesey coming across. SAILOR SONG, like his other novels, is brimming with quotable phrases and passages that ache for outboarding and inclusion in BARTLETT'S BOOK OF QUOTATIONS. He's that good.

The scenario overall is unforgettable, and the pace is so beguiling that despite the novel's length; when it was over my ONLY regret was that there wasn't more superb literature to keep me riveted. If you are anxious to be engaged, challenged and rewarded by a book time and again, savor SAILOR SONG to the last drop. There ain't no dregs here, just sweet wonderful language coming from a mind without equal. Ken's passing last November was a loss without measure, but we readers are blessed with these words. Enjoy!

The Deuce steps in... just like real life
Ken Kesey's recent passing made me look back at my favorite books of his and fellow trafficker in the anti-Divine Jack Kerouac and somehow I revisited SAILOR SONG first.The New York TIMES didn't like it when it was published in '93 but I recall thinking "They're just not on the bus... DUHHHH" and bought it anyway.The ride was stellar, and it still is.Kesey's tale of the last bunch of individualist crazies at the end of America (and the world too) has its flaws, and I agree with the other online reviews you will read here: the end has a deus ex machina look to it (not that one character, the bookish Billy the Squid, doesn't red-flag the reader with a warning mid-on; a spectacularly nervy aside), the romance subplot is a bit shaky, the air of the novel smacks of the NORTHERN EXPOSURE television show from a few years back, the end of Bad Guy Nick Levertov is not as well-described as it might be... but the central theme of a moneyed juggernaut sailing into an untamed, delightfully-chaotic-because-it's-meant-to-be backwater of America (whatever, as Jack K. said in his dedication in VISIONS OF CODY, that is) strikes a chord on my piano.In SAILOR SONG two halves of America (Babbitt versus Walt Whitman) collide, and thanks to the success of the Babbitt half over many years (the befouling of the natural world) the payback interrupts the flow of the novel.Another nervy trick from the old Prankster, but for me it works.Because as we can see from the disrupted weather patterns of the last 20 years, we are going to be in a similar situation very shortly.And Kesey's description of Mother Nature's payback to the human race is the best thing in the book. Well, not quite, but close.Ike Sallas is the tired hero, letting things swirl around him, stepping in at exactly the wrong moment to little effect, and his very ineffectuality is what makes him as real as he is here (most especially when he finds he has fans who take up his cudgel for him in the immediate vicinity).And the asides, some of them borrowed from Walt Kelly ("From here on down it's uphill all the way"), the Grateful Dead, Tom Pynchon, Rudyard Kipling, and Jack
Kerouac himself, all widen the scope into an 'American saga'
(yes, one of those) which may not be ON THE ROAD, but it isn't about finding oneslf by leaving.It's about finding oneself by living. A divine read. Thanks, Ken.

I need closure!
Even though Kesey still displays his personal talent for characterization and interest, this book wholly failed.

Why?The ending.

Yes, one can argue that it is the ride that makes the book, but a failed ending, nomatter what, can ruin even the most intruiging story.

It's not that Iconsider the ending of A Sailor Song to be horrible- it's the fact thatthere seems to be no ending in the first place.Like Seinfeld, I needclosure!

Even for the ultimate failing, this book still deserves atwo-star rating, if only for the story of the Backatcha Bandit.Thecharacters are wonderful, and certainly unique to Kesey.From thereluctant hero to the mutt/Jamaican ladies' man, the characters arecertianly colorful enough to keep one's attention.

If it's Keseycharacters you want, I recommend this book- but don't expect an ending ofthe caliber of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest- or an ending at all, forthat matter.

Sail On- Its OK that not all ends well
I read 8 other reviews of this book, and I am still buying it, for the second time. I was captivated by the issues, characters, and story line that was depressingly promissing. Hope. I do agree that all could have beenwrapped up differently in the end. It was too quick and well empty.But itis not the joy of the top of the mountain that has us climb. It is theclimb. Enjoy the ride! Enjoy Sailors Song.

The Kesey magic comes unravelled a bit.
While the themes K. deals with in this novel are interesting and important (the vanishing of wilderness; pollution; the morally corrupting impact of capitalism and American mainstream entertainment in particular; thepossibility of catastrophic environmental change in our lifetimes), much ofthis novel reads like a screenplay.

This distracts from K.'s ideas andfrom the creation of atmosphere....which K. can do so well. It's a shame tohave Alaska's wilderness pushed so far to the background (and Australia,which Kesey has visited, dismissed rapidly and superficially early in thebook).This is especially so as the human interactions are fairlypredictable, as are even the most eccentric of the characters, and as theplot leans heavily on natural events and wild animals, especially near thesomewhat frenzied ending.

Compared to earlier works, including theshorter, better focused pieces in Demon Box, Sailor Song is frustrating: onthe one hand too short (spookily powerful descriptions of wilderness arecut off, interesting ideas such as the psychic life of indigenous peopleare only hinted at) and too long (we're given a lot of detail that leads usabsolutely nowhere). Has Kesey been let down by his editors? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A Children's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo;'s Nest"
This is a wonderful children's story in itself. I had it read to me (suprisingly) my Senior year in high school and I have fallen in love with it ever since. What is amazing about the this book is it takes very adult themes and puts them in terms children can understand without exposing the true horrors of man. And even more amazing is the paralells to Kesey's more famous novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." For example is Tricker the Squirrel not earily similar to McMurphy? And isn't Big Double the Bear a little too much like Nurse Ratched? But that is why this is such a beautiful book.A great book to read aloud to children and an even better one to read to yourself as an adult.

Read-aloud Pizzazz well received by 3rd Grade class
Looking for a smart, funny, verbal frenzy to delight school-age audiences?This one is a MUST DO!Reading it with carte blanche playfulness a la "Southrin' Stah-yle" you will have as much FUN reading this one aloud as any of your listeners.Don't forget to glance up now and then to see all the twinkling eyes.I read this two years ago and maybe stunned the 1st graders into silence with the roaring of the bear but the 3rd grade today quickly piped in the chorus of "...EAT...YOU... UP!!" (heavy emphasis on the "puh!") Dare I say more fun than sharing the stories of Brer' Rabbit?Same vein, but updated/smarter/slicker with Kesey's savvy vocabulary. (4.9 AR level - or, "fourth grade, ninth month" for independent readers).Anyone who loves language, acting, humorous moral tales will LOVE this one.

Absolutely perfect
The illustrations are drop-dead gorgeous but the story really steals the show.My husband and I are always quoting from this one--"and then I'm gonna DRINK SOME BUTTERMILK!"I love the dialect and thewonderful similies ("like an elevator up a greasy groove"). Can't wait to have kids so I can read it to them.

A great read-aloud!
I loved reading this book to kids in the library. It has tons of great adjectives. It's full of fun and keeps kids guessing as to 'what will happen next?' I want to own this book!

A wonderful story that has been part of my life for years.
"Tricker the Squirrel" is a wonderful story for young and old alike. I was lucky enough to read the book years ago and came across a videotaped performance of Kesey's rendition that is equally wonderful. Whenthe holidays come around and I get to spend time with my young nephews andniece, it is one of my favorite stories to read. It gives me a chance toopen up with fun inerpretations of the characters. The kids love it andthey love to take their turns too being "Big Double","Little Tricker" and the various others that get eaten by BigDouble. ... Read more

Book Description
Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is the seminal novel of the 1960s that has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. Here is the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially the tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the struggle through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the seemingly mute half-Indian patient who witnesses and understands McMurphy's heroic attempt to do battle with the awesome powers that keep them all imprisoned.

With a Preface and Illustrations by the author
Introduction by Robert Faggan ... Read more

Customer Reviews (62)

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kasey *****


One of the most important pieces of literature ever, and not just for American literature. One Flew Over The Cuckoos nest is simply put....perfect. It is the classic tail of good versus evil as told through the eyes of an Indian Cheif as he watches his once comfortable solitude be interupted by a one McMurphy who is just claiming insanity to escape a court ordered work farm. The head nurse, Nurse Racthed is maybe the most hanious villion in all of American literature. The book cronicles the up rising of the insane wards 'inmates' and their struggle to maintain their new found power. Easily one of the five best novels ever written.

an american classic
All part of the great american adventure. Randall P. McMurphy is my new hero . Very enlightining because we always think about the movie but what I liked about the book was, it was chief's story as much as macks. I feel the movie was censored. I must admit when McMurpy spoke it was with Jack Nicholson's voice

A sixties novel that remains current today
I knew this book as one of the anthems of the sixties, bringing to the fore the themes of rebellion against arbitrary authority and the rejection of conformity. But I did not actually read the book till recently.

I found that Kesey's "sixties" novel passes the test of great literature. It transcends its moment in time and gains universality. The struggle between the individual and the demands of society is nowhere portrayed as sharply and brilliantly as in this novel. McMurphy is a bit extreme, as is Nurse Ratched, but the interplay of extremes is fascinating.

Do not ignore the fact that Bromden, the narrator, actually shows serious signs of mental illness. His constant references to the "Combine" and his fear of the "fog" are paranoid delusions. It's an amazing tribute to Kesey's skill that he chose to tell the story this way rather than in a more conventional mode of narration, and that he succeeded.

This entertaining and often hilarious read remains
This review is for the Penguin Books paperback edition, 2003, with illustrations by Ken Kesey and introduction by Robert Faggen.ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, first published in 1962, was Ken Kesey's debut novel.

The setting is a ward at a hospital for the mentally ill, probably in the late fifty's.Chief Nurse Ratched has absolute control over her ward.Through insinuation and intimidation, she has oppressed the patients, aides, junior nurses and even the ward doctor into wimps.We see this through the eyes of the narrator, Big Chief Bromden Jr., a half-Indian who pretends he is a deaf-mute.The staff ignores him, and allows him to clean the staff room during their meetings.He's the all knowing fly on the wall.

Enter the new admission, Randal Patrick McMurphy, the roughneck gambler who got himself transferred to a mental hospital to escape the rigors of a prison work farm.McMurphy considers most of the patients essentially sane, and cannot understand why they have allowed Nurse Ratched to dominate and humiliate them.McMurphy rallies his fellow inmates towards mutiny in a long battle to undermine Nurse Ratched's authority.

Weaved into ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST is a social commentary on the mid-century ideas for treatment of those who could not or would not conform to normality.The novel, and the subsequent movie and play, undoubtedly helped popularize the need for change.Although that is behind us, this entertaining and often hilarious read remains.

Do not be misled by the teens writing bad reviews about Cuckoo's Nest....
As I commented on one young reviewer's post...there should be a rule stating that if you have not read the book then you should not be allowed to write a review for it or even rate it. Most of the poor reviews and low ratings for this novel are from ignorant teenagers whose reviews are barely coherent and furthermore who have not even actually read the book beyond a few pages.Rant over, thanks.

Moving on, I have owned this book for several years but simply never got around to reading it until now.Things to keep in mind: I did see a stage production of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, but I have never seen the movie.I am not going to summarize the book, I will just get to my point.I will say that Cuckoo's Nest is not by any means a breezy read, and I also had a little bit of difficulty in the beginning fully comprehending some of what was going on mainly because it is not written in any typical fashion and yes, it is written from the perspective of a mental patient whose perception is not always clear...or is it?Not only that but Kesey was volunteering to take part in LSD testing during the time he wrote the book, which he wrote from his experience working in a Veteran's hospital.The first portion of the book is a bit slow, but once you get past the introductions, so to speak, and adjust to the style of the narrator's prose it takes a turn and you can't help but care for these characters and feel what they feel and go through and how they change and evolve.You might even see some of your own experiences or selves in the situations in Cuckoo's Nest, mental patients or not.

I finished what started as a difficult read within two days and it turned out to be one of the most rewarding novels I have read in a long time.I actually cried; this is now one of only three books that has ever hit me in such a way!It's an inspiring and sad story about the power of ideas, spirit, conformity and freedom.Although it may be a little rough at the start, I highly recommend getting through that part and finishing the story...you'll be glad you did! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

this is just great
this was just great. for those of us who couldn't be there for perry lane, the bus trip, or the acid tests, this is a great account of the time. you don't realize how important kesey was to the movement until you read this. on the bus is really a quick bio of kesey. it helps you to understand how kesey took over where kerouac left off. you really feel as if you know kesey and neal after finishing this book. if you are a bohemian, beat, hippie, or any combination, then this is the book to get.

Great Book, Lots of Pictures of the Pranksters
I bought the book after reading Electric Kool-Aide Acid Test for the third time.I really wanted to know more about what Mountain Girl, Cassidy, Gretchin Fetchin, and Babbs looked like, and scenes from the Trip.What a great book.I would recommend it to anyone who is reading, has read, or will be reading the book, Electric Kool-Aide Acid Test.This would be a great companion as your were reading it, and were exposed to the characters in the book.

A must for any who wishes to travel further...
Anyone who is a Kesey fan MUST read this book.It is basically the photo album which correlates with Wolfe's Electric Kool-Ade Acid Test.It gives more insight into the minds of the pranksters and others.I highlyrecommend this book to any who is interested in the counterculture.Thebook as well as the trip are truly legendary.

a great one night's reading....i inhaled it!!
i bought this book after reading The Electic Kool Aid Acid Tests,primarily because i wanted to compare the photography to wolfe's narrative.I'm afraid that it hasn't satiated my craving for more..now i am seekingGarage Sale & Furthur Inquiry.Anyone who loves what the 60's were allabout and feels slighted for not yet being around then....'either you're onthe bus,or you're off the bus'!

The book you want to read about the counterculture
This is an excellent book, one that not only tells you what it was like in those days between "beats" and "hippies," but it shows you in pictures.This is a brilliant idea for a book and one that makes mewish I had been there. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

A sterling collection of shorter works
This collection of writings chronicling Kesey's life in the decades following his dual notoriety as leader of the Merry Pranksters and one of the brightest literary lights of his generation is full of surprises.Kesey pulls no punches in outlining how the golden dream of the '60s turned to ashes over time, with many of its symbolic leaders falling away.He spares no one, least of all himself, in these pages.

And yet, this is not a grim or depressing read.Detailing with tremendous humor and gusto his journeys to China and Egypt, as well as offering poignant observations on the passing of personal heroes like John Lennon and Neal Casssdy, Kesey emerges as a fully realized person whose flaws only make him more fascinating.

While Demon Box can hardly compare to a towering masterwork like Sometime a Great Notion, it is a deeply rewarding book.One that can be revisited on numerous occasions with enhanced, not diminished, enjoyment.

kesey from the sixties to the eighties
ken kesey is one of my favorite authors. sometimes a great notion is one the best novels i have ever read. after reading the electric kool aid acid test, demon box is a logical followup.

this series of short stories has highs and lows. the very best is now we know how many holes it takes to fill the albert hall. written about the death of john lennon, kesey, through interactions with people immediately before, at the time of,and immediately after the murder, shows the transition of culture from the sixties to the eighties. the death of lennon is the end of the dream of the sixties. it alone is worth the purchase of the book.

another great story is the tranny man over the border. its most interesting part deals with kesey's father.

a story about his farm animals, abdul and ebenezer, is hilarious.

this book gives the kesey fans a better understanding of the man, his family, and his friends.

Kesey's semi-autobiography
Using Kerouac's technique of writing autobiographical fiction (the events may be true, but the names have been changed), Kesey presents DEMON BOX, a series of short shorties and vinettes depicting his life on his farm in Oregon.

Relating a variety of experiences, ranging from scary hangers on to adventures with farm animals, and fallout from the drug haze of the '60's, Kesey vividly captures specific times and places. His humor, characterization and descriptions of geographical space (my native Oregon)all remain intact and on a level with his finest work.

Some vinettes are obviously more memorable than others and often the writing seems unfocused and in need of editing.

This is really a small matter considering that this is the closest to a autobiography the world will ever get. DEMON BOX certainly makes for a strong and worthwhile read.

amazing in places
ken kesey is my favourite author, his books just beg to be read and this was no exception. it's a collection of short stories and so of course it's not all going to be great, though the parts you least expect to like are for the best part the highlight of the book. the story about killer, the stories written from the viewpoint of his grandmother and the return to the mental ward which was the inspiration for one flew over the cuckoos nest are all great stories and there are so many others. read and enjoy. prepare to be baffled, confused and dumbstruck but above all prepare to be taken to other places, better times and marvel in the genius that was ken kesey. may he rest in peace.

Kesey, gone but not forgotten
The passing of Kesey last month led me to the Demon Box. I immediately fell under his spell...again. His classic third person writings are on glorious display here. Most short story collections usually are interspersed with good and bad and that is the case here. However, the good ones are great and Kesey has turned me on once again with his psycho-traumas. Kesey proves he is the best at stream of conscience writing. From the bulls on his farm to John Lennon on the night he died to his reluctance to revisit the ward, Kesey very neatly puts it all in perspective. A truly enjoyable read. He will be missed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Just Amazing!
I am amazed by the this book.I think I'd almost forgot what good writing was!This story about how the Inuits came to know the "sea people" - sea lions is beautifully written and wonderful.I bought this at a budget book store and can't believe it was ever out of print.Just read it, you'll love it!

Buy this book!
Ksey is as stunning a children's writer as he is a novelist.His words coupled with Neil Waldman's stunning watercolors will take you and your child on an immaginative flight through this amazing folk tale. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Entertaining
This book tells the story of the first Pendleton Round-Up.The Round-Up was organized to settle once and for all who was the greatest cowboy in the world.Contestants arrived from across the continent to vie for the prize, a magnificent saddle.Three of the men who came to try their luck were Jackson Sundown, a Nez Perce Indian, George Fletcher, an African American from Pendleton, and Jonathan E. Lee Spain, a youngster from Tennessee.When the final scores were tallied, these three came out in a draw, so special events had to be added to the contest to determine the winner.

The book tells the story from Spain's point-of-view.As one of the youngest contestants, his experience with rodeo competitions was limited.The authors take us behind the scenes to see how the rodeo favorites took him under their wing, teaching him more than just how to compete in the ring.The story is quite entertaining, with a full cast of characters, from Buffalo Bill to a young girl named Meyerhoff, who could ride like the wind.The only odd part of the story is the beginning, which is set in modern times, with Spain as an old man- -it's a bit hard to understand where the plot is going at first, but once it finally gets going, there's no stopping it.

Not Kesey's best but still worth a read
I agree that this isn't Kesey's best work, but I have a personal reason for loving this book -- my great-Grandfather Parsons Motanic is a character (and he was a character) in this novel.Kesey never claimed that this was a true and factual account of the Pendleton round up, and he apologized to the people of Pendleton for taking liberties with the story.He got most of the details regarding my great-Grandfather wrong but I still enjoy the book and absolutely love that Kesey and Babbs included a picture of Parsons Motanic in the book.The narrative is jerky (much like motion pictures of the time) but some of the language is lyrical and almost lives up to Kesey's early works.

Not a Dime Novel or a History,
this novel recycles fact into fiction to create a tale about the original Pendleton Roundup.There's a heap of synthesis here, from oral and written histories, old photographs, interviews, newspaper articles and conversations.Kesey connects them and supplies imaginary material to create a farce with a gonzo tilt, as if he were on acid and explaining to Hunter Thompson.Kesey uses local color well and has an ear for period phrases,even when slapping them on with a palate knife, but that's the fun of it--watching Kesey stretch his brain around facts.The book is really about the author and how he chooses to indulge himself, not about what happened in Pendleton or what the reader should think about what went on there.In fact, the way Kesey jumps from one time frame to another shows how little he's concerned with keeping things straight for the reader.This book is bent.You can enjoy its distortions or look away, but you can't deny the brilliance or uniqueness of its colors.One burr under my saddle is that his cowboys aren't as "strong, silent and truthful" as I'd expect.Pendleton must have been far more polite and stuffy than Kesey lets on.But bizarre distortion reflects his intention of zonking out on history until it assumes a form more pleasing to him.In taking this trail, he proves that the humblest writer scribblng a dime novel from dubious fact is more of an author than all the librarians at the Library of Congress.The point, after all, is the mind in the act of making the mind.If connections seem bizarre, well, that's just Kesey taking on reality, whether the time is now or a century ago.

Not Kesey's best, but worthwhile all the same
During an interview on Bravo TV's excellent series INSIDE THE ACTOR'S STUDIO, Dennis Hopper (an artistic, historical and spiritual brother of Ken Kesey) shared a brilliant anecdote illustrating the nature of art. While teaching a lesson on painting, Thomas Hart Benton told Dennis Hopper to "Think loose and paint tight".

The late Ken Kesey's unique literary gifts and contributions lay in his incredible ability to "think loose and write tightly."

In both of his great works, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST and SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION, as well as some of his journalistic writing, Kesey brilliantly channeled magnificent, electric, free-floating, randomly abstract and stream of conscious ideas into tight, elegant sentences. Kesey forged the missing link between the spontaneous prose of Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs and the Beats with the laser-like precision of Hemingway and Fitzgerald.

While LAST GO ROUND certainly makes for a fast and fun read, it does not represent his finest work. Attempting to write a combination camp fire story/dime store novel Kesey allows himself to invert his precious balance.

Thinking tightly in the surprisingly demanding genre bounds of oral history and pulp, Kesey simply tries too hard. LAST GO ROUND lacks the spontaneous element of creation that courses throughout all his greatest work. Creatively he appears to be straining and reaching for ideas that should come easily.

While the creativity seems pushed, the writing itself appears unpolished and unfocused, relatively devoid of the razor sharp perceptions that one expects from a great author.

Ultimately though, this is really a small matter. Based on a historical event- The first Pendleton Round-Up (based in my hometown), Kesey does infuse his narrative with rich local color and texture. Having met the real George Fletcher when he was aged and in a nursing home, the story also has strong personal connections for me. That, and my personally autographed copy of the book from the late Kesey makes LAST GO ROUND a valued sentimental possession.

Not a classic by any stretch, but certainly worth reading. Especially for fans of Kesey.

What's History got to do with it?
If you are looking for a complete and perfect, factual, historical and deathly boring scholarly tome on the first big Pendleton rodeo, this isn't it. What this is, is a great little book that tells a great yarn about some people who may or may not have any resemblance to people that may or may not have been in Pendleton, OR around the time that this book is set.
The characters are vivid and the relationship between them is both ribald & enlightening. The young Spain comes up against the elder Jackson & Fletcher. They show him around their world, a world that they have made a niche in for themselves in, and Spain comes out the other side older & wiser. Kesey points out many of the injustices that faced the Indians and Afro Americans in the new west. Spain learns about strength, weakness and right and wrong is an age where they are still working out what these things mean.
Kesey shows some of the great mastery of language that made him a hero to many readers with Sometimes a Great Notion. There are sections of this book that are as good as any he ever wrote. (As Spain is nodding off to sleep in Jackson's teepee he watches the smoke curl toward the roof, turn into snakes and then into tiny delicate horses he doesn't want to scare away.)
This is a great read. Apparently there are people who have an issue with Kesey for taking people out of history and creating a story from their legends, and having a different interpretation form the accepted legend. Kesey was a storyteller, not a historian. There are great pictures of the real people whose story Kesey has attempted to fictionalize. If you want a fun and light book from a master storyteller, this is a good choice.Don't get hung up with facts, enjoy yourself and buy this book. ... Read more

Book Description
Between 1974 and 1981 Ken Kesey self-published six issues of a literary magazine called Spit in the Ocean. After the revolutionary novelist's death in the fall of 2001, one of his closest friends, acclaimed writer Ed McClanahan, decided to carry out Kesey's vision and put together a final issue of Spit as a tribute to Kesey's genius and imperturbable spirit. Featuring contributions from cultural luminaries-including Robert Stone, Paul Krassner, Wendell Berry, Bill Walton, and Grateful Dead lyricists Robert Hunter and John Perry Barlow-as well as "regular folk," and several pieces by Kesey himself, Spit in the Ocean #7 is a loving and fitting homage to the gigantic and unique spirit of the merriest of the Merry Pranksters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Only Two?
Only two reviews for this (well, now three)?How unfortunate.A lovely, insightfully odd, and sometimes twisted tome.Good reading for this distant admirer of the thoughts and processes of the time, the place, and the man.

A WONDERFUL MAN
This book is loving remembrances of people who knew Kesey.Halfwaythrough the book I forced myself to slow down, because I did not want to finish the book so fast.I wanted to savor the innate wisdom and humor of Ken Kesey for as long as possible.The world is a richer place because of his passing through it, and this book shares some of his life with us.He truly fought the good fight.His spirit is carried on by the many friends he had, and I thank them for sharing with us.

A Wonderful Celebration Of The Late, Great Ken Kesey
Do you love the writings of Ken Kesey? Buy this.

Do you want to relive a magic moment in the past, or want a better understanding of what the spirit of the 60s was all about? Buy this!

Do you want to laugh, cry, and have a great time? Buy this!!

Spit in the Ocean #7 brings to a conclusion a project Ken Kesey started more than a quarter of a century ago. In 1974, he laid out plans to self-publish seven issues of a literary magazine by this title, each issue to have a different theme and editor. By 1981, six issues had appeared, but the leader of the Merry Pranksters was ready to move on to other ventures.

Now, two year's after Kesey's departure at age 66, his friend Ed McClanahan has edited that final issue of "Spit," appropriately all about the man who gave the world so much joy. There are contributions from famous names like Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Wolfe and Larry McMurtry, but there's also lots from others who were touched by Kesey's boundless spirit and zest for life.

There are letters, interviews, memoirs, song lyrics, photos and more between these covers. I bet Kesey would have loved it. If they could have somehow included a DVD and scratch-and-sniff, he would have loved it even better. This book does a wonderful service in keeping alive the spirit of the writer, painter, filmmaker, jester, teacher, activist, wrestler, leader and lover of life named Ken Kesey.--William C. Hall ... Read more

Book Description
A collection of notes, manuscripts and drawings By Ken Kesey selected to illustrate the writer'screative process. From the University of Oregon Library Special Collections, originally published in 1977. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

* * T r I p P y * *
"Are you on the bus or off the bus?" That was the crucial question posed by proto-hippies Ken Kesey, Neal Cassady and their band of Merry Pranksters who toured the country in the original Magic Bus on the first Magical Mystery Tour, most famously recounted by Tom Wolfe in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. In The Further Inquiry, Kesey examines the trip 25 years after the fact through a surreal courtroom drama. While the text itself is not as engrossing as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Kesey's first book which catapulted him to early fame at 23), devotees of Beat will find the bus tramscript snippets of interest and the layout and full-color pages throughout make this big bad hardback a treasure worth hunting.

The exceptionally good design anticipates hypertext in a way which few printed books have done (the collaborations of McCluhan and Fiore being other notable examples). With color photographs, film stills, and other enhanced imagery, the book is a visual feast with many whimsical touches, including a black-and-white flipbook movie of a dancing Cassady in the right margin. It is less an inquiry than a celebration. As one character proclaims of Cassady: "He was joyous. He could take social and emotional and cosmic changes just like he could take ninety-degree corners...on four wheels or two. My god, didn't you ever read On the Road? He was a living legend!"

Further Lives On!
This book is about the ghost of Neal Cassady being put on trial for his part in the Merry Prankster bus trip. Kesey wrote a pretty funny book which touches on the highlights of the famous bus trip told through a courtroomdrama with various Pranksters testifying. The book has a lot of interestingphotographs taken from the trip. Do not read this book looking for a lot ofdetail about the trip and the Pranksters(Tom Wolfe's "Electric KoolAid Test" covers that). This book is a fun, quick read.

a work of genius!!!
what the hell?? i can't beleive the book's out of print, this bokk is amazing!! a work of pure genius!!!!!! ken kesey retells the entire story of the pranksters and the further bus in script form, with over 100 colorpics!!!!!!!!!! get this book!!!!!! ... Read more

Book Description
A visually arresting deluxe edition of Ken Kesey’s counterculture classic

Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. Now in a new deluxe edition with a foreword by Chuck Palahniuk and cover by Joe Sacco, here is the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially the tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the struggle through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the seemingly mute half-Indian patient who witnesses and understands McMurphy’s heroic attempt to do battle with the powers that keep them all imprisoned. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Nirse Ratched, the drag-queen of the rat-shed, with footnotes
This book deserves to be a classic and may remain one for quite a long time. The first reason is that it is an adventure book in a strange country, beyond all frontiers and borders, in a psychic world, that of an asylum. It is full of suspense and typically the fight between two people, an inmate, a man, on one hand, a nurse, a woman, on the other hand. Both white with the rest of the personnel being black and the rest of the inmates being europeans, except for one who is an Indian. Clear cut adventure and action with blood, violence, wit and enough sex to be appealing. The second reason is that it is an extremely detailed trip down into the psychiatric health system, into the institutionalizing of all displeasing people, all disrupting people, all disquieting people, in one word people that cannot live in society without causing some kind of a stir. All types are studied here and all cases are refused as being the results of some repressed personal sexual drive. It may be the case, but most of the time it is just plain repressed individuals, rejected individualities, refused personalities. They are locked up away from society for this society to go on thinking all its members are beautiful, clever and brilliantly aware of what the future will be and what they have to do to make it come faster. But that is not all. The novel is an allegory too, an allegory of what changing a society may be, of what historical change may mean. The allegory follows a pattern. Change can only come from the rebellion of the victims of the dominant social order, the Combine as Chrief Bromden calls it. This is the typical revolutionary pattern. But Kesey adds the fact that this rebellion of the main victims can only come if some particular person arrives among them and wakes up in them the energies they need to become rebellious, to recapture their freedom from the Combine. The pattern of the Savior, the guru, etc. But this pattern is defeated in a way because the Combine's strategy will be to isolate this leader, victimize him in order to reduce his influence, or even destroy him if necessary, in this case with a good old lobotomy that leaves him a vegetable for everyone to admire in fear and awe. And yet things will fail for the Combine, because in any modern democratic society people are individuals and they use their individual rights to vote with their feet against the Combine. In a word the Combine fails because everyone runs away from it and leves it alone in the battlefield which is no longer a battlefield but a plain empty wasteland. That's how the Combine is forced to accept change and to change. This optimistic ending is contained in the symbolic last scene or episode, that of the self-liberation and escape of the Indian Chief. He finds out and we find out with him that nothing was wrong with him, except that his presence was disruptive for the plans of the Combine that required his village to be bought up and its inhabitants to be scattered and taken care of with good old fire-water. And that is the last level of allegory : the repressed past of a country, people, culture, individual will always finds its way to freedom and regeneration, and then the whole world will have to make do with it. The Combine, the establishment of any society, can always sacrifice some people, leaders or not, on the altar of their established power, sooner or later this established power will crumble under the pushing from those it has repressed and exploited since it took over from another establishment before it. Cyclical instating of one establishment against another and of its falling down in front of a third one. Is there any meaning in these historical cycles ? No one knows and no one can know, though quite too many people pretend to know and have a ball of crystal in the back of their eyes. One flaw however at the beginning of Part IV: Chief Bromden loses his grip on the narrator's point of view and suddenly knows the private thoughts of our dear Queen Ratched.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Paris Dauphine & University of Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne

Living is easy with eyes closed; misunderstanding all you se
The book, One Flew Over the Cukoos Nest, written through the point of view of an Native American, named Bromden, who has a sophisticated way of looking at things. He sees right through the facade of the physical andinto the hearts of man.The subtleties are not to decieve this simple man,but they do imprison him.He lives in an asylum for rehabilitation intosociety, yet their life affirming egoes are put down by the "BigNurse" whom acts as if conforming is to be spiritually dead.Tochange all of this is R.S. McMurphy, a country wit who has the biggest egoof em all, boasting to win every bet even life.He doesn't plan to stay inthis nut house, he is saner than any man could possibly be; he loves to bealive.By being in the asylum, he contradicts all activity that occurs, helaughs and sings, andeveryone else, is dead.

McMurphy's antics disruptthe Nurses control over the asylum, and they start what can be called apsychological war.The Nurse is declared savior of the asylum, yet throughBromdens insight we clearly see the opposite, as the men in the asylum aredestroyed by the pressure placed on their minds.These two dominatingcharachters create two choices for the men; to stand up for theiridentities and gamble them in life, or to leave their minds to be molded inthe Nurses structure.The antics of both maintain the book full of thrillsand anticipation as the showdown between the Nurse and McMurphy comes tohand.The ending will move you.This has the benefits of genius, KenKessey writes so that every detail be investigated, and he affirms thatwith every defeat comes a more intricate victory.

One Flew over the Cooko's Nest
The book One Flew over the cooko's nest was a really good book.The way that the author wrote it through the mind of one of the characters I think was pretty cool.My favorite part of the book was when McMurpy taughtCheif and all of the other men how to stand up for themselves and not letNurse Ratched control them or their decitions.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - A Must-Read!
This book may not be uplifting, but is masterfully written because it grabs hold of the reader and does not let go.I could hardly put this book down, and when I did, the only thing I could think about was how much I hated the Big Nurse.She is truly one of the worst villains I have everencountered in literature.She needed psychological help perhaps more thanany of her mental patients.The symbolism and imagery used throughout thebook was wonderful and I thought about this book long after I finished it. The ending was bittersweet, yet satisfying.I would recommend this book tojust about anyone.

Baaaaaaa!
I like how the story functions as a metaphorical apologia and still have an exacting terra incognita.When Broom describes the way Pete's hand turning into ball, he says that with a feeling like that was anexcrescence, or an abnormal growth.He says everything like it was sweetas a cyclamen and cheap as a flophouse.In recapulation, the book wasgreat.It shows a man's look from the outside of a place where heshouldn't be. ... Read more

Book Description
The imaginative characters and innovative story structure made Ken Kesey?s debut novel ripe for commentary. Take a closer look at One Flew Over the Cuckoo?s Nest, which also enjoyed critical success as a play and a film.

The title, Ken Kesey's One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest, part of Chelsea House Publishers' Modern Critical Interpretations series, presents the most important 20th-century criticism on Ken Kesey's One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest through extracts of critical essays by well-known literary critics.This collection of criticism also features a short biography on Ken Kesey, a chronology of the author's life, and an introductory essay written by Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Yale University. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
I felt that this book was extremely well written.I enjoyed the entire book from start to finish.I liked how Kesey used McMurphy to make all the characters stronger, and I really liked when the Chief finally broke his silence.I felt that was very important, and it showed that McMurphy had a positive effect on the people around him.I enjoyed the end of the book when the Chief escaped by throwing the control panel through the window, a seemingly impossible feat.When he smothered McMurphy it made sense because McMurphy would have never wanted the nurse to get the better of him, he'd rather be dead.I rank this book a 5 and i would recommend it to any reader who enjoys to read. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2007. The length of the article is 1181 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: First, Quixote.(Entertainment)(Then, there's more - involving Ken Kesey, `La Mancha' playwright Dale Wasserman, wild times in L.A. and a brand-new play coming to Eugene)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: March 22, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: C1

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
Word count: 5986. ... Read more