Mass Market Paperback, 272 pages
English language
Published Jan. 11, 1976 by New American Library.
He's a boisterous, brawling, fun-loving rebel who swaggers into the ward of a mental hospital and takes over...
He's a lusty, profane, life-loving fighter who rallies the other patients around him by challenging the dictatorship of Big Nurse. He promotes gambling in the ward, smuggles in wine and women. At every turn, he openly defies her rule.
The contest starts as a sport (with McMurphy taking bets on the outcome) but soon it develops into a grim struggle for the minds and hearts of men, into an all-out war between two relentless opponents. Big Nurse, backed by the full power of authority... McMurphy, who has only his own indomitable will. --back cover
Ken Kesey wrote an absolutely perfect story, the plot grips you asking what McMurphy will dare next, written from a perspective that happily contextualizes and compares the exploits of McMurphy, until the very end. This is a must read book for anyone interested psychiatry and a tribute to Ken Kesey's literary power.
