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A review by dajna
The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings by Jan Harold Brunvand
4.0
This reader wants to thank Openlibrary.org
This book is not available in Italy (well, I couldn't find it anywhere) and I was almost tempted to delete it from my to-read list.
I'm fond of urban legends and this book is a sort of must-read for whoever wants to know more about classic tales of folklore. You'll find the whole lot: the vanishing hitchhiker, the dead granma whose body is stolen with the car, the babysitter cooking the baby in the oven and the old lady drying her poodle in the microwave. And more, of course. But the important chapter is the last one: professor Brunvand explains how to address such tales and their storytellers, how to collect and verify the stories.
I think Brunvand is a good teacher. He knows how to keep you interested and he knows how to explain thing to a casual reader like me. I'd like to know his opinions about the new means of spreading folklore, such as the infamous "read! this is real! please share!" posts on Facebook.
This book is not available in Italy (well, I couldn't find it anywhere) and I was almost tempted to delete it from my to-read list.
I'm fond of urban legends and this book is a sort of must-read for whoever wants to know more about classic tales of folklore. You'll find the whole lot: the vanishing hitchhiker, the dead granma whose body is stolen with the car, the babysitter cooking the baby in the oven and the old lady drying her poodle in the microwave. And more, of course. But the important chapter is the last one: professor Brunvand explains how to address such tales and their storytellers, how to collect and verify the stories.
I think Brunvand is a good teacher. He knows how to keep you interested and he knows how to explain thing to a casual reader like me. I'd like to know his opinions about the new means of spreading folklore, such as the infamous "read! this is real! please share!" posts on Facebook.