Review:
"Welsch''s. . .review and analysis of frontier humor is refreshing . . . another gap has been filled on the fascinating subject."--"Journal of the West"
"The book is more than a collection of good tales and jokes; it is, in fact, a serious study about humor. . . . well documented and well written."--"Nebraska History"
"This entertaining and worthwhile book will be of particular interest to those who are interested in plains pioneers, especially if they have a feel for the humorous aspects of rural life. However, even the humorless will profit from reading it because it contributes significantly to our understanding of pioneer life."--"North Dakota History"
From the Back Cover:
Were our forefathers liars? 'You bet they were, ' says Roger Welsch, 'and damned fine ones at that.' From yellowed newspapers, magazines, and forgotten Nebraska Federal Writers' Project files, well-known folklorist and humorist Welsch has produced a book to be treasured. Here are jokes, anecdotes, legends, tall tales, and lugubriously funny poems about the things that preoccupied the pioneer plainsman: weather extremes; soil quality; food and whiskey; an arkload of animals, including grasshoppers, bed bugs, hoop snakes, the ubiquitous mule, and some mighty big fish.
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