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.