Following the astonishing success of his first novel, 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 ...Following the astonishing success of his first novel, 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.