Myths, Legends, and Folktales of America: An Anthology - Hardcover

Leeming, David; Page, Jake

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195117832 ISBN 13: 9780195117837

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1999

Synopsis

In this marvelous collection, David Leeming and Jake Page have gathered together the great myths and legends of America, ranging from the creation stories of the first inhabitants, to the tall-tales of the Western frontier, to the legendary outlaws of the 1920s.
Here is a thoroughly engaging chronicle, a book unrivaled in its scope, embracing Big Foot and Windingo, Hiawatha and Uncle Sam, Paul Revere and Billy the Kid, the Iroquois Flying Head and Elvis. The editors cast their nets widely. Under myths, for instance, Leeming and Page include "the melting pot," "manifest destiny," and Henry Adams's "dynamo." And under "Heroes and Heroines," they have assembled everyone from Honest Abe Lincoln and George Washington, to Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, and Martin Luther King. For each myth or hero, the editors include an excerpt--often the definitive rendering of the story in question--so that for Moby Dick, we find a passage from Melville's classic, and for Brer Rabbit, the "Tar Baby" tale by Joel Chandler Harris. And along the way, the editors reveal how waves of immigrants, encountering this strange land for the first time, adapted their religion and folklore to help make sense of a new and astounding place. Thus a central Asian god becomes the Great Spirit of Native American myth, and an Aztec goddess is transformed into Our Lady of Guadaloupe.
Ranging from the coyote trickster, to Johnny Appleseed, to John Henry and Stagolee, this wonderful collection illuminates the mythmaking process, and sheds much light on what it means to be American.

About this title

About the Author:

David Leeming was formerly Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Connecticut and is the author of many books including The World of Myth, Mythology: The Voyage of the Hero, and Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney, all published by OUP. Jake Page is an essayist, science writer, novelist, and co-author with his wife Susanne of both Hopi and Navajo. Leeming and Page have collaborated in the past on Goddess and God, both published by OUP. Leeming and Page live in New Mexico.

From Library Journal:

This entertaining anthology presents the astonishing breadth of American folklore, embracing beliefs, myths, sketches, and tall tales that reflect the American experience. Though modest in length, it effectively covers America's polyglot society, ranging from Native Americans to African Americans, Asian Americans, and European Americans. Assembled from original documents and secondary sources, the vignettes reveal a country full of characters vital to our collective memory, from Paul Revere to Superman. The headnotes are exceptionally informative. The editors, who collaborated previously on God: Myths of the Male Divine (LJ 1/96), here continue in the spirit of the late Ben Botkin (e.g., A Treasury of American Folklore, 1944). Deftly arranged and clearly written, this anthology celebrates the diversity and rich heritage shared by all Americans.?Richard K. Burns, MSLS, Hatboro, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0195117832
• ISBN 13: 9780195117837
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240