American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales [3 volumes]
American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales [3 volumes]

Author: Christopher R. Fee

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2016-08-29

Total Pages: 1842

ISBN-13:

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A fascinating survey of the entire history of tall tales, folklore, and mythology in the United States from earliest times to the present, including stories and myths from the modern era that have become an essential part of contemporary popular culture. Folklore has been a part of American culture for as long as humans have inhabited North America, and increasingly formed an intrinsic part of American culture as diverse peoples from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania arrived. In modern times, folklore and tall tales experienced a rejuvenation with the emergence of urban legends and the growing popularity of science fiction and conspiracy theories, with mass media such as comic books, television, and films contributing to the retelling of old myths. This multi-volume encyclopedia will teach readers the central myths and legends that have formed American culture since its earliest years of settlement. Its entries provide a fascinating glimpse into the collective American imagination over the past 400 years through the stories that have shaped it. Organized alphabetically, the coverage includes Native American creation myths, "tall tales" like George Washington chopping down his father's cherry tree and the adventures of "King of the Wild Frontier" Davy Crockett, through to today's "urban myths." Each entry explains the myth or legend and its importance and provides detailed information about the people and events involved. Each entry also includes a short bibliography that will direct students or interested general readers toward other sources for further investigation. Special attention is paid to African American folklore, Asian American folklore, and the folklore of other traditions that are often overlooked or marginalized in other studies of the topic.

Folks Call me Appleseed John
Folks Call me Appleseed John

Author: Andrew Glass

Publisher: StarWalk Kids Media

Published: 2014-06-30

Total Pages: 47

ISBN-13: 1630833428

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There are many tall tales about Johnny Appleseed, but many people don't know that John Chapman was a tale-spinner himself. Here he narrates one of his favorites--all about the time his half brother Nathaniel came to live with him in the wilderness of western Pennsylvania.

A Colossal Hoax
A Colossal Hoax

Author: Scott Tribble

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Published: 2008-12-16

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 074256472X

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In October 1869, as America stood on the brink of becoming a thoroughly modern nation, workers unearthed what appeared to be a petrified ten-foot giant on a remote farm in upstate New York. The discovery caused a sensation. Over the next several months, newspapers devoted daily headlines to the story and tens of thousands of Americans—including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the great showman P. T. Barnum—flocked to see the giant on exhibition. In the colossus, many saw evidence that their continent, and the tiny hamlet of Cardiff, had ties to Biblical history. American science also weighed in on the discovery, and in doing so revealed its own growing pains, including the shortcomings of traditional education, the weaknesses of archaeological methodology, as well as the vexing presence of amateurs and charlatans within its ranks. A national debate ensued over the giant's origins, and was played out in the daily press. Ultimately, the discovery proved to be an elaborate hoax. Still, the story of the Cardiff Giant reveals many things about America in the post-Civil War years. After four years of destruction on an unimagined scale, Americans had increasingly turned their attention to the renewal of progress. But the story of the Cardiff Giant seemed to shed light on a complicated, mysterious past, and for a time scientists, clergymen, newspaper editors, and ordinary Americans struggled to make sense of it. Hucksters, of course, did their best to take advantage of it. The Cardiff Giant was one of the leading questions of the day, and how citizens answered it said much about Americans in 1869 as well as about America more generally.

Encyclopedia of American Folklore
Encyclopedia of American Folklore

Author: Linda Watts

Publisher: Infobase Holdings, Inc

Published: 2020-07-01

Total Pages: 462

ISBN-13: 1646930002

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Folklore has been described as the unwritten literature of a culture: its songs, stories, sayings, games, rituals, beliefs, and ways of life. Encyclopedia of American Folklore helps readers explore topics, terms, themes, figures, and issues related to this popular subject. This comprehensive reference guide addresses the needs of multiple audiences, including high school, college, and public libraries, archive and museum collections, storytellers, and independent researchers. Its content and organization correspond to the ways educators integrate folklore within literacy and wider learning objectives for language arts and cultural studies at the secondary level. This well-rounded resource connects United States folk forms with their cultural origin, historical context, and social function. Appendixes include a bibliography, a category index, and a discussion of starting points for researching American folklore. References and bibliographic material throughout the text highlight recently published and commonly available materials for further study. Coverage includes: Folk heroes and legendary figures, including Paul Bunyan and Yankee Doodle Fables, fairy tales, and myths often featured in American folklore, including "Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Princess and the Pea" American authors who have added to or modified folklore traditions, including Washington Irving Historical events that gave rise to folklore, including the civil rights movement and the Revolutionary War Terms in folklore studies, such as fieldwork and the folklife movement Holidays and observances, such as Christmas and Kwanzaa Topics related to folklore in everyday life, such as sports folklore and courtship/dating folklore Folklore related to cultural groups, such as Appalachian folklore and African-American folklore and more.

Historic Haunted America
Historic Haunted America

Author: Michael Norman

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2007-09-18

Total Pages: 674

ISBN-13: 1466805153

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Continuing the success of the nationally acclaimed Haunted America, Historic Haunted America is a further investigation into North American ghost legends. This chilling collection documents yesterday's and today's most terrifying hauntings in the United States and Canada in more than seventy-five shocking stories! At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Industrial Revolution in America [3 volumes]
The Industrial Revolution in America [3 volumes]

Author: Kevin Hillstrom

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2005-04-25

Total Pages: 925

ISBN-13: 1851096256

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An impressive set of books on the Industrial Revolution, these comprehensive volumes cover the history of steam shipping, iron and steel production, and railroads—three interrelated enterprises that helped shift the Industrial Revolution into overdrive. The first set of volumes in ABC-CLIO's breakthrough Industrial Revolution in America series features separate histories of three closely related industries whose maturation fueled the Industrial Revolution in the United States during the late 19th and 20th centuries, fundamentally changing the way Americans lived their lives. With this set, students will learn how the steamship—the first great American contribution to the world's technology—helped turn the nation's waterways into a forerunner of our superhighways; how the Andrew Carnegie–led American steel industry surpassed its British rivals, marking a momentous power shift among industrialized nations; and how the railroads, spurred by some of the United States's most dynamic entrepreneurs (Cornelius Vanderbilt, John Pierpont Morgan, Jay Gould), moved from a single transcontinental link to become the most influential and far-reaching technological innovation of the Industrial Age, extending into virtually every facet of American culture and commerce.