Dead'r Than Elvis: Tall Tales of Texas Bullsh*t

5/5 ( ratings)

It's always been larger than life; an untamed land where a tin star can hide a dark heart and an outlaw might be your only friend. From the metroplex to the motel, Texas defines itself through its tall tales and truthful lies. Come travel the lost highways of the Lone Star State where the last cowboy band calls the tune, where a broken soul struggles to find a home, where preachers and Sunday school teachers seek sinful delights, and where politicians serve themselves before the public vice. Stand tall as heroes rise from burnt-out lands, from shots fired with no help in sight, from prison cells to honky tonks, to shadows cast by an outlaw moon, to the campfire's glow on a ghostly night.

Dead'r Than Elvis: Tall Tales of Texas Bullsh*t is a collection of modern myths celebrating the good, the bad, and the downright weird of this mystical land that has the big brass balls to call itself... TEXAS. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll scratch your head and wonder why, but in the end you'll realize - by God, it's Texas!

"Dead'r Than Elvis is an anthology of short stories that could only come from the Great State of Texas. A delightful confluence of intriguing characters, from a honky tonk band leader to a black man falsely accused, Roberts takes you on a tour of the historical ins and outs of being a true Texan. Roberts never fails to engage, and this book will keep you too busy to notice the bluebonnets blooming outside your window."
-- Liz Dixon Evans

"Being a "displaced Texan" I often gravitate to things that remind me of home. This book is like BBQ Brisket and Dr. Pepper with a side of Blue Bell Ice Cream. The stories depict Texan culture so accurately, it's effortless to immerse myself into them."
-- Lee Heber

"Considering the title, I expected this book to contain some bawdy tales of over-the-top Texans, and it does, but it also has some scares and some real heartbreak. I laughed out loud at some of the stories and I cried for others . These stories capture the spirit of Texas and with a Texas-size heart."
-- Lisa Grant

"Anthony Roberts has a gift for dialogue and dialect. I can almost hear my cattle-rustlin’, moonshiner, sheriff grandpappy-in-law in some of these stories. He could have easily been included in this colorful, crazy, cast-of-characters. Even though these are fictional stories, having lived in the South, and having had a couple of adventures in Texas, it wouldn't surprise me if many of these tales were based in truth."
-- Barbara Gilliland Harrison

"If these aren’t the Tall Tales we all heard as kids, then they are well told and every bit as true to Texas. Honky tonks and Western Swing, gunshot lawmen, small-town politicians, sex-starved preachers, drunken outlaws, rattlesnake hunters, cowgirls brawling in the streets and even a lost, heart-broke dawg. Yep, it sure ain’t your grandpa’s Pecos Bill but it’s clear that the author knows and loves the Great State of Texas."
-- R. T. Reynolds