Hotter'n Pecos : And Other West Texas Lies

These collected tales - some taller than others - offer revealing glimpses into how and why West Texans are different.

Rugged enough to make the harshest of environments their own, this species thrives in hundred-degree-plus heat and near-zero humidity.

Folks like the crop duster who nearly sets his plane down in the bed of a pickup, the 'boll weevil' whose naivete is tested in the oil patch, and Frank the 'Goofy Roofer', who enters a bullfight with nothing more than a denim jacket and a bottle of beer, are far from rare.

All these yarns contain a grain of truth, and some of them actually happened just as related.

Most of them have a humorous bent; some are reasonably serious; a few are totally outrageous.

But all of them illustrate the character of this distinctive region of the Lone Star State.

Whether they concern ranchers, farmers, or oilfield hands; weather, work, or play, all reflect the essential nature of West Texans.

Weaver's lively anecdotes prove several truths about Texas west of the hundredth meridian: you may learn how not to haul hogs, ride in rodeos, conduct bullfights, or drill oil wells - and you may well meet petroleum promoters, coon hunters, chuck-wagon cooks, cotton farmers, and even college professors - but you won't encounter an uninteresting character where things get hotter than Pecos.