The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.39 (898 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0393951693 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 224 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-08-04 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"Entertaining one-day read, but only for fun" according to Bob G. - author, investor, entrepreneur. I bought this book to get a better understanding of WHY urban myths and other word-of-mouth stories are passed along in our society. Basically, this is the first of many books later published by Brunvand which documents examples of popular urban legends.. Not A Book About Urban Legends A Customer I bought this book thinking that it was a collection of short stories about urban legends. I was partly right. It does have short stories but it also contains a explaination about each and every one including varations of a story. I would recommend that unless this is a book report for school or college that you should save your money and try and find it in a used book store or buy it used from a seller on amazon. It is not worth the money to buy it new.. "Groundbreaking study of contemporary folklore" according to David Bonesteel. Jan Harold Brunvand collects some of the most well-known urban legends in the US, traces them to their possible origins, and explores their importance to society as reinforcers of conventional morality. I remember seeing the author interviewed on the David Letterman Show back when the book was first published in the early 80s. It took me a long time to get around to reading it, but the topic is timeless and Brunvand's analysis has not aged at all. Today, we have websites such as Snopes to he
The book that launched America's urban legend obsession!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.
Jan Harold Brunvand lives in Salt Lake City, where he is professor emeritus at the University of Utah. He is the author of numerous books, including The Vanishing Hitchhiker; The Choking Doberman; The Baby Train; Too Good to Be True; and Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid.
"A uniquely entertaining book, edifying scholarship, diverting social history."A uniquely entertaining book, edifying scholarship, diverting social history. --Elaine Kendall"