Too Good to Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends

Too Good to Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends PDF Author: Jan Harold Brunvand
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393104168
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 485

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Book Description
"If you enjoy these too-good-to-be-true tales, Brunvand's new book will give you hours of pleasure."—Chicago Tribune A fabulously entertaining book from the ultimate authority on those almost believable tales that always happen to a "friend of a friend." Alligators in the sewers? A pet in the microwave? A tragic misunderstanding of the function of cruise control? No, it didn't really happen to your friend's sister's neighbor: it's an urban legend. And no matter how savvy you think you are, you are sure to find in this collection of over 200 tales at least one story you would have sworn was true. Jan Harold Brunvand has been collecting and studying this modern folklore for over twenty years. In Too Good to Be True he captures the best stories in their best retellings, along with their latest variations and examples of how the stories have changed as they move from person to person and place to place. To help you find your favorite, Brunvand has arranged the tales thematically. "Bringing Up Baby" is full of episodes of child-rearing gone wrong, including the grisly tale of the drugged out baby-sitter who mistakes the kid for a turkey. "Funny Business" showcases stories of infamous lapses in customer service, such as the story of the shockingly expensive chocolate chip cookie recipe. And "The Criminal Mind" features both brilliant --if they were real --scams, as well as the purported antics of the less mentally gifted. Whether you want to become an expert debunker or just have plenty of laughs, this book will surprise and entertain you. Illustrated throughout. "Informative and entertaining.... Brunvand has collected more than 200 of the most-repeated and best-known examples of modern folk-myth."—Tampa Tribune "[N]ot only an entertaining anthology, but an excellent introduction to the study of folklore itself."—Publishers Weekly "A fun read... . All the classics are here from the killer upstairs to the Kentucky Fried Rat."—New City "Resonant stories that express our hidden anxieties ... make us laugh, [or] arouse our fascinated horror."—San Francisco Chronicle Book Review "Informative and entertaining... . Brunvand has collected more than 200 of the most-repeated and best-known examples of modern folk-myth."—Tampa Tribune "[N]ot only an entertaining anthology, but an excellent introduction to the study of folklore itself."—Publishers Weekly

Too Good to Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends

Too Good to Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends PDF Author: Jan Harold Brunvand
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393104168
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 485

Get Book Here

Book Description
"If you enjoy these too-good-to-be-true tales, Brunvand's new book will give you hours of pleasure."—Chicago Tribune A fabulously entertaining book from the ultimate authority on those almost believable tales that always happen to a "friend of a friend." Alligators in the sewers? A pet in the microwave? A tragic misunderstanding of the function of cruise control? No, it didn't really happen to your friend's sister's neighbor: it's an urban legend. And no matter how savvy you think you are, you are sure to find in this collection of over 200 tales at least one story you would have sworn was true. Jan Harold Brunvand has been collecting and studying this modern folklore for over twenty years. In Too Good to Be True he captures the best stories in their best retellings, along with their latest variations and examples of how the stories have changed as they move from person to person and place to place. To help you find your favorite, Brunvand has arranged the tales thematically. "Bringing Up Baby" is full of episodes of child-rearing gone wrong, including the grisly tale of the drugged out baby-sitter who mistakes the kid for a turkey. "Funny Business" showcases stories of infamous lapses in customer service, such as the story of the shockingly expensive chocolate chip cookie recipe. And "The Criminal Mind" features both brilliant --if they were real --scams, as well as the purported antics of the less mentally gifted. Whether you want to become an expert debunker or just have plenty of laughs, this book will surprise and entertain you. Illustrated throughout. "Informative and entertaining.... Brunvand has collected more than 200 of the most-repeated and best-known examples of modern folk-myth."—Tampa Tribune "[N]ot only an entertaining anthology, but an excellent introduction to the study of folklore itself."—Publishers Weekly "A fun read... . All the classics are here from the killer upstairs to the Kentucky Fried Rat."—New City "Resonant stories that express our hidden anxieties ... make us laugh, [or] arouse our fascinated horror."—San Francisco Chronicle Book Review "Informative and entertaining... . Brunvand has collected more than 200 of the most-repeated and best-known examples of modern folk-myth."—Tampa Tribune "[N]ot only an entertaining anthology, but an excellent introduction to the study of folklore itself."—Publishers Weekly

City of Ruin

City of Ruin PDF Author: Mark Charan Newton
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 0230752713
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 520

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Book Description
City of Ruin is the second book in Mark Charan Newton's Legends of the Red Sun fantasy series. Villiren is a city of sin that's being torn apart from the inside. Hybrid creatures shamble through shadows and barely human gangs fight turf wars for control of the streets. Amidst this chaos, Commander Brynd Lathraea, commander of the Night Guard, must plan the defence of Viliren against a race that has broken through from another realm and already slaughtered hundreds of thousands of the Empire’s people. When a Night Guard soldier goes missing, Brynd needs help. Investigator Jeryd discovers this is not the only disappearance from the streets of Villiren. It seems that a serial killer of the most horrific kind is on the loose, taking hundreds of people from their own homes. A killer that cannot possibly be human. The entire population of Villiren must unite to face an impossible surge of violent and unnatural enemies or the city will fall. But how can you save a city that's already a ruin?

The Correspondence of Henrik Ibsen

The Correspondence of Henrik Ibsen PDF Author: Henrik Ibsen
Publisher: Ardent Media
ISBN:
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
Excerpt from The Correspondence of Henrik Ibsen ON the 3lst of May 1880, Henrik Ibsen wrote to his publisher, Frederik Hegel, that he had begun a little book in which he intended to give some account of the outward and inward conditions under which each one of his works had come into being (letter It was to be called From Simian, to Rome, and was to give descriptions of his life at Skien and Grimstad, Bergen and Christiania, Dresden, Munich, and Rome. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Be Afraid Be Very Afraid

Be Afraid Be Very Afraid PDF Author: Harold Jan Brunvand
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393326130
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
A collection of over ninety frightening urban legends, arranged by theme.

Arkham Tales

Arkham Tales PDF Author: James Ambuehl
Publisher: Chaosium Inc.
ISBN: 1568821859
Category : Cities and towns
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
Nestled along the Massachusetts coast, the small town of Arkham has existed for centuries. It is the source of countless rumors and legends. Tales of Arkham are whispered by those who have visited it, each telling a different and remarkable account. Reports of impossible occurrences, peculiar happenings and bizarre events, tales that test the sanity of the reader are to be found here. Magic, mysteries, monsters, mayhem, and ancient malignancies form the foundation of this unforgettable Eastern town. Collected in this volume are the strange and terrifying stories of the legend-haunted city.

The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings

The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings PDF Author: Jan Harold Brunvand
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393346536
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
The groundbreaking book that launched America's urban legend obsession! Folklore scholar Jan Harold Brunvand assembles the best-known urban legends—including "The Hook," "The Spider in the Hairdo," and "The Baby-Sitter and the Man Upstairs"—and provides an enlightening and entertaining analysis of their variants and evolution. The Vanishing Hitchhiker was Professor Brunvand's first popular book on urban legends, and it remains a classic. The culmination of twenty years of collection and research, this book is a must-have for urban legend lovers.

Urban Legends

Urban Legends PDF Author: Carrie E. Benes
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271037660
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
Between 1250 and 1350, numerous Italian city-states jockeyed for position in a cutthroat political climate. Seeking to legitimate and ennoble their autonomy, they turned to ancient Rome for concrete and symbolic sources of identity. Each city-state appropriated classical symbols, ancient materials, and Roman myths to legitimate its regime as a logical successor to&—or continuation of&—Roman rule. In Urban Legends, Carrie Bene&š illuminates this role of the classical past in the construction of late medieval Italian urban identity.

Contemporary Legend

Contemporary Legend PDF Author: Gillian Bennett
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135812195
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
First published in 1996. For most of the time since the Grimm brothers first contrasted the fairy tale (Märchen) and the legend (Sage), the former has enjoyed the greater reputation among folklorists. Only in recent years, and with the work of such scholars as Gillian Bennett and Paul Smith, has it been recognized that—both as art and as news—the legend is now central to contemporary culture in a way that the Märchen no longer is. The present book is the first collection of essays on legend to appear in English since 1971. Nevertheless, its publication consolidates a gradual shift which has taken place over the last two decades, in which English-language scholarship has taken the lead in the study of certain kinds of legends—variously dubbed modern horror legends, urban legends, urban myths or, here, contemporary legends.

Encyclopedia of Urban Legends [2 volumes]

Encyclopedia of Urban Legends [2 volumes] PDF Author: Jan Harold Brunvand
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 159884721X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 820

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Book Description
This revised edition of the original reference standard for urban legends provides an updated anthology of common myths and stories, and presents expanded coverage of international legends and tales shared and popularized online. From roasted babies to vanishing hitchhikers to housewives in football helmets, this exhaustive and highly readable encyclopedia provides descriptions of hundreds of individual legends and their variations, examines legend themes, and explains scholarly approaches to the genre. Revised and expanded to include updated versions of the entries from the award-winning first edition, this work provides additional entries on a wide range of new topics that include terrorism, recent political events, and Hurricane Katrina. Entries in Encyclopedia of Urban Legends, Updated and Expanded Edition discuss the presence of urban legends in comic books, literature, film, music, and many other areas of popular culture, as well as the existence of "too good to be true" stories in Argentina, China, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and several other countries. Serving as both an anthology of stories as well as a reference work, this encyclopedia will serve as a valuable resource for students and a source book for journalists, professional folklorists, and others who are researching or interested in urban legends.

Peking

Peking PDF Author: Susan Naquin
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520923454
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 862

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Book Description
The central character in Susan Naquin's extraordinary new book is the city of Peking during the Ming and Qing periods. Using the city's temples as her point of entry, Naquin carefully excavates Peking's varied public arenas, the city's transformation over five centuries, its human engagements, and its rich cultural imprint. This study shows how modern Beijing's glittering image as China's great and ancient capital came into being and reveals the shifting identities of a much more complex past, one whose rich social and cultural history Naquin splendidly evokes. Temples, by providing a place where diverse groups could gather without the imprimatur of family or state, made possible a surprising assortment of community-building and identity-defining activities. By revealing how religious establishments of all kinds were used for fairs, markets, charity, tourism, politics, and leisured sociability, Naquin shows their decisive impact on Peking and, at the same time, illuminates their little-appreciated role in Chinese cities generally. Lacking most of the conventional sources for urban history, she has relied particularly on a trove of commemorative inscriptions that express ideas about the relationship between human beings and gods, about community service and public responsibility, about remembering and being remembered. The result is a book that will be essential reading in the field of Chinese studies for years to come.