A young boys perception of his life in Montana. Orphaned and being raised by his grandmother in rugged circumstances he is forced to grow quickly. Wonderful character descriptions and a delightful picture of the West in the 1950's. A calming picturesque read.

In Doig's classic style, this book keeps you intrigued to the last page! A sweet tale of the not so old west and simpler times. Great, easy tread.

The author has an imaginative and creative way of weaving unique characters throughout the story. It's such fun seeing the world through the eyes of the young boy Donal as he uses his "storying" to get into and out of life situations during this adventurous summer.

Donal Cameron is being raised by his grandmother, the cook at the legendary Double W ranch in Ivan Doig’s beloved Two Medicine Country of the Montana Rockies, a landscape that gives full rein to an eleven-year-old’s imagination. But when Gram has to have surgery for “female trouble” in the summer of 1951, all she can think to do is to ship Donal off to her sister in faraway Manitowoc, Wisconsin. There Donal is in for a rude surprise: Aunt Kate–bossy, opinionated, argumentative, and tyrannical—is nothing like her sister. She henpecks her good-natured husband, Herman the German, and Donal can’t seem to get on her good side either. After one contretemps too many, Kate packs him back to the authorities in Montana on the next Greyhound. But as it turns out, Donal isn’t traveling solo: Herman the German has decided to fly the coop with him.
Coming of age story. First one I have read by this author and will try some of his other book. This was an excellent read!

I haven't been on a long bus ride in over 40 years, but after reading the Last Bus to Wisdom, I'm considering buying a ticket to anywhere, just to reacquaint myself with America and those not in such a hurry to get to where they are going.

I've been reading so many psychological thrillers lately and decided to take a break. This book was just the breath of fresh air my mind and spirit needed. This was the last book written by this author and was published after his death. It is a legacy to life in middle America in the early 1950's, the innocence of being a child and the surprises and disappointments of growing up.

Donal (without a "d") Cameron is being raised by his grandmother after his parents are killed in a car crash. Grandma is a cook on a ranch in Montana and announces she is going to need an operation which will require some rehab for a bit afterward. There is nowhere for Donal to stay so she sends him on an 18-hour bus ride to stay with her sister, Miss Kitty, for the summer -- an aunt Donal has never met.

The adventures and adventurous people he meets along the route are both comical and heartwarming. With his autograph book always at his side he captures the names and words of wisdom of travelers and strangers, alike. Feeling afraid and alone at times, he is ecstatic to find that he can buy some "maximum protection" for only a quarter out of a machine in the men's bathroom -- so ecstatic that he spend the last 3 quarters he has in his pocket.

When he finally meets his aunt at the bus station, he realizes that Grandma has been holding out, because Aunt Kitty, whose real name is Kate, looks and sounds just like Kate Smith and his dreams of traveling the globe over the summer while his aunt belts out "God Bless America" are building at an alarming rate, only to be shattered.

The summer is filled with ups and downs, lessons learned, wisdom gained and tears shed. This was a beautiful coming-of-age story that will make any reader (especially those who enjoyed life in the 50's) remember their own summer and the "last bus to wisdom" when the cocoon of childhood was cracked open and the first glimpse of the road to adulthood made itself known.

I closed the cover on this book and slept last night with that old familiar childhood tune running through my head ..... "the wheels of the bus go round and round"

wonderful found family coming to age travel story.

Long, but interesting and humorous.