The swansong of Wilbur McCrum
Wilbur McCrum is not a lucky man - a fact that becomes obvious from the moment he first emerges, screaming, into the world - for Wilbur's birth coincides with his sister's death. And as Wilbur (prone to fits and with a pathological fear of cows) grows, he subsequently loses his father, and is then abandoned by his mother. Dispossessed and passed from pillar to post, he's eventually left with no choice but to take to the road, the wind at his back and 'lucky' potato in his pocket. As he searches for a place he can call home - somewhere far away from cows (easier said than done in the Wild West) - he encounters madmen, conmen, wenches and whores; embarks on a career robbing stagecoaches (initially unwittingly); falls in love, and into a well; escapes bounty hunters and body snatchers; and becomes a librarian.
Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction, Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.
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What the reading experience may hold
A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.
Nonfiction · Fiction
Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.
Catalog signals suggest violence, death, or criminal harm. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.
These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.
Balanced tone · Steady pace
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
A good fit if…
Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.
This book's DNA
A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.
This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.
Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc
A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.
This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.
A quick reading snapshot
Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-3304-6508-3
- Language
- English
- Edition record
- OL26462955M
A more thoughtful way into this book
This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
Begin with its place in Nonfiction, then notice where the book resists that label.
Read for connection, not completion.
Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.
Three questions to carry with you
- Whose perspective organizes the story, and whose perspective remains outside it?
- Which sources or lived experiences carry the author’s central argument?
- How does the book change the way you understand its larger subject?
Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.
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Why it fits: shares Nonfiction and Fiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
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Why it fits: shares Fiction and Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.