High Cotton : Selected Stories Of Joe R. Lansdale

This collection of Joe R Lansdale stories represents the best of the 'Lansdale' genre -- a strange mixture of dark crime, even darker humour, and adventure tales. The stories are varied in setting and theme, but they are all pure Lansdale -- eerie, amusing, and occasionally horrific. In 'The Pit', modern gladiators square off against one another using Roman methods. An alternate-history tale called 'Trains Not Taken' shows Buffalo Bill as an ambassador and Wild Bill Hickok as a clerk. Lansdale's love of large lizards and humour are evident in the stories 'Godzilla's Twelve Step Program' and 'Bob the Dinosaur Goes to Disneyland'. Twenty-one stories for mature audiences only! The career of Joe R. Lansdale has spanned more than twenty-seven years, in which period he has written over two hundred short stories. This collection is the best of these. As Lansdale states in his Introduction, "...these stories are the ones I think best reflect my work." Some of these are obviously horrific ab initio; others, the realization will slowly, surely creep upon one. Others will visit alternate history, humor, or dark crime. Mixing the impossible, the improbable, and the never-before-thought-of, Lansdale uses his innate East Texas storytelling abilities to perfection. As an added bonus, each story starts with an Introduction by Lansdale, describing the story-behind-the-story. "A folklorist's eye for telling detail and a front-porch raconteur's sense of pace" - New York Times Book Review "A terrifically gifted storyteller." - Washington Post Book World "Like 10-alarm chili, Lansdale is pretty strong stuff." - People Weekly "Lansdale is an immense talent. His ability to generate sidesplitting laughter and gut-wrenching terror on the same page is unique in modern fiction. There's something special going on here, and it ought not be missed." - Booklist This collection of Joe R. Lansdale stories represents the best of the Lansdale genrea strange mixture of dark crime, even darker humor, and adventure tales. The stories are varied in setting and theme, but they are all pure Lansdaleeerie, amusing, and occasionally horrific. In The Pit, modern gladiators square off against one another using Roman methods. An alternate-history tale called Trains Not Taken shows Buffalo Bill as an ambassador and Wild Bill Hickok as a clerk. Lansdales love of large lizards and humor are evident in the stories Godzillas Twelve Step Program and Bob the Dinosaur Goes to Disneyland. The pit Not from Detroit Booty and the beast Steppin' out, summer, '68 Incident on and off a mountain road My dead dog, Bobby Trains not taken Tight little stitches in a dead man's back Dog, cat, and baby Mister weed-eater By bizarre hands The fat man and the elephant The phone woman Letter from the South, two moons west of Nacogdoches By the hair of the head The job Godzilla's twelve step program Drive-in date Bob the dinosaur goes to Disneyland The steel Valentine Night they missed the horror show This collection of Joe R. Lansdale stories represents the best of the "Lansdale" genre-a strange mixture of dark crime, even darker humor, and adventure tales. The stories are varied in setting and theme, but they are all pure Lansdale-eerie, amusing, and occasionally horrific. In "The Pit," modern gladiators square off against one another using Roman methods. An alternate-history tale called "Trains Not Taken" shows Buffalo Bill as an ambassador and Wild Bill Hickok as a clerk. Lansdale's love of large lizards and humor are evident in the stories "Godzilla's Twelve Step Program" and "Bob the Dinosaur Goes to Disneyland."

Author Biography: Joe R. Lansdale has received the American Mystery Award, five Bram Stoker Awards from the Horror Writers of America, the International Crime Writer's Award, and a New York Times Notable Book Award. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas.