Bill Nye's Western Humor - (Bison Book S) (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Although Bill Nye (1850-1896) was America's best known humorist in the late 1880's and early 1890's, his work is little known today--his books long out of print and his columns yellowing in newspaper files. Now T. A. Larson, a dyed-in-the-wool Nye fan for more than thirty years, has assembled the best of Bill Nye's work, most of it dating from the seven Wyoming years when Nye made his name. The selections are chosen from Laramie, Cheyenne, and Denver newspapers and from six books published in the 1890's. The resulting collection is both good fun and a valuable picture of a lively period.

Review Quotes

"Nye's clever use of words and tone will appeal to students who enjoy all sorts of humor and to those who wish to understand the flavor of a historical era through its writings. The editor's helpful introduction and selective bibliography and the inclusion of original illustrations . . . Make this an attractive book, especially for students of western cultural history."--Richard W. Etulain, Pacific Northwest Quarterly

"Presents the cream of Nye's funny creations from his seven Wyoming years, 1876-1883. The eighty-three short selections are from Laramie, Cheyenne, and Denver newspapers, and from six of Nye's books, which were compiled from previous newspaper columns. The columns give insight to the color, politics, Indian questions, agriculture, and human nature of the times."--Arizona and the West

"Nye's technique is precisely the same as Ring Lardner's or Irving Cobb's or today's Art Buchwald's--the clear brief statement of a situation in the opening paragraph and then the outrageous, dead-pan utterly unexpected process of poking wry fun at it. . . . We could certainly use Bill Nye these days."--Marshall Sprague, Colorado Magazine

"Takes an important place among the volumes of western humor now in print."--Western American Literature

About the Author

T. A. Larson (1910-2001). His History of Wyoming is also published by the University of Nebraska Press.