Tough Daisies

"The book is indeed delightful,. But it is also informative and thought provoking."—Great Plains Quarterly

"The author has done a fine job of searching the archives and library shelves for material on or containing Kansas humor: tall tales, dark humor, practical jokes, mimical parody, cherished indignations, and the wit and wisdom of homesteaders, cowboys, and townspeople, some of it as dray as the climate. Not only the words, but also the visual images are preserved, described, and analyzed."—Western Historical Quarterly

"Those who know Kansas will agree this is a good book. And those who think they do not know Kansas but have interest in regional history and American humor can learn a lot."—Kansas History

"Haywood’s sampler of Kansas humor from various eras, including tall tales, songs, poems, and cartoons, is an informative and entertaining book that will delight general readers and social historians."—Annals of Iowa

"Much more than a mere anthology of regional humor, Haywood’s volume provides a rich compendium of Kansan lore and an insightful investigation into the character of a state riddled with the same contradictions that underlie the American experience."—Choice

"Kansans have endured because of their humor, and Bob Haywood captures this often ignored side of their state in this delightful book. He chronicles Kansas humor from frontier days, when people struggling to survive made fun about it, to modern times when Kansans joke about keeping what passes for civilization at arm’s length. This is must reading!"—David Dary, author of True Tales of Old-Time Kansas and More True Tales of Old-Time Kansas

"Until now no one has attempted to come to grips with this bundle of contradictions known as Kansas through an analysis of what makes us laugh—or causes others to laugh at us. Like the Kansas character itself, Kansas humor tends to be understated and self-deprecating, but insightful and resilient."—Jim Hoy, coauthor of Plains Folk: A Commonplace of the Great Plains