Rating: 
Summary: Fun, easy reading with an enthralling plot-heroic characters
Review: Although first seen as an assignment, I throughly enjoyed LAST GO ROUND, my first western. Shorter and more consice than Kesey's SAILOR SONG, LAST GO ROUND foucusses on a true tale wih a tall tale twist. Definately Kesey's best since SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION (and shorter with chapters too!)
Rating: 
Summary: Not Kesey's best, but worthwhile all the same
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book, but not the best ever.
Review: For me this was a nostalgic trip back to the days when I sat next to my dad in the "sun bleachers" at Pendleton Round-Up. Mention of framiliar names like, Crabby's, and Hamley's enhanced the authenticity of this book. I didn't think it was near the best ever done by Kesey. I thought it could maybe have been more descriptive and a bit more knowledgable on Rodeo itself. (Maybe talk to some modern day Rodeoers?)
Rating:
Summary: Good Book, but not the best ever.
Review: For me this was a nostalgic trip back to the days when I sat next to my dad in the "sun bleachers" at Pendleton Round-Up. Mention of framiliar names like, Crabby's, and Hamley's enhanced the authenticity of this book. I didn't think it was near the best ever done by Kesey. I thought it could maybe have been more descriptive and a bit more knowledgable on Rodeo itself. (Maybe talk to some modern day Rodeoers?)
Rating:
Summary: Not Kesey's best but still worth a read
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: It's a dime western, not a history book!
Review: I must take issue with Pati Reitenour's complaint that the book was not historically accurate. I'm sure that's true, but that is why it is a "dime western." It is in the tradition of western adventure books published in the 19th century which would take real characters and weave a tall tale from a thread of truth. The point is entertainment, which this book delivers.
Rating:
Summary: It's a dime western, not a history book!
Review: I must take issue with Pati Reitenour's complaint that the book was not historically accurate. I'm sure that's true, but that is why it is a "dime western." It is in the tradition of western adventure books published in the 19th century which would take real characters and weave a tall tale from a thread of truth. The point is entertainment, which this book delivers.
Rating: 
Summary: What's History got to do with it?
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as authentic as you think...
Review: Mr. Kesey evidently did not research the abundant material available for basic facts. John Abraham Spain, 1881 - 1927, was the winner of the 1911 Pendleton Round-Up and was at the time living in Telocaset, Oregon. He was my grandfather's brother. For many years, John and his brother Fred supplied the bucking bronco stock for the Round-Up. Fred Spain was a champion steer wrestler. John Abraham Spain competed for several years winning the All-Around Cowboy title and keeping the coveted Silver Saddle. He went on to compete in New York's Madison Square Garden. He has been inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame and there are several books, including the Pendleton Round-Up Association's publication "Let'er Buck!", that include the story of the 1911 Round-Up as well as a video produced by the Association. Mr. Kesey should at the very least have contacted the Pendleton Round-Up Association ... or any of a number of decendants living in Oregon - some right in Eugene, OR that he has met. I do not know who Jonathean E. Lee Spain from Tennessee was, but he most assuredly did not win the famed 1911 Pendleton Round-Up competion. Now I must seriously question the remaining 'facts' in "Last Go Round - A Dime Western".
Rating:
Summary: Not as authentic as you think...
Review: Mr. Kesey evidently did not research the abundant material available for basic facts. John Abraham Spain, 1881 - 1927, was the winner of the 1911 Pendleton Round-Up and was at the time living in Telocaset, Oregon. He was my grandfather's brother. For many years, John and his brother Fred supplied the bucking bronco stock for the Round-Up. Fred Spain was a champion steer wrestler. John Abraham Spain competed for several years winning the All-Around Cowboy title and keeping the coveted Silver Saddle. He went on to compete in New York's Madison Square Garden. He has been inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame and there are several books, including the Pendleton Round-Up Association's publication "Let'er Buck!", that include the story of the 1911 Round-Up as well as a video produced by the Association. Mr. Kesey should at the very least have contacted the Pendleton Round-Up Association ... or any of a number of decendants living in Oregon - some right in Eugene, OR that he has met. I do not know who Jonathean E. Lee Spain from Tennessee was, but he most assuredly did not win the famed 1911 Pendleton Round-Up competion. Now I must seriously question the remaining 'facts' in "Last Go Round - A Dime Western".
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