Product Details

The novel is a semi-fictionalized "tall tale" based on the legendary 1911 Pendleton Round-Up in Oregon. It centers on three diverse cowboys—a popular Black cowboy named George Fletcher, a Nez Perce Indian cowboy named Jackson Sundown, and a young white rookie from Tennessee named Jonathan E. Lee Spain—as they compete for the first World Championship Broncbusting title. Kesey blends historical facts with larger-than-life characterizations and humor to explore themes of race, male bonding, and the end of the pioneer West. The book also includes 16 pages of rare, authentic photographs from the original 1911 rodeo.