Myths, Legends, and Folktales of America: An Anthology

by David A. Leeming and Jake Page

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195117832
• ISBN13: 9780195117837
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Myths, Legends and Folktales of America

A surpirse indeed. I was actually expecting and anthology of folktales ranging from Paul Bunyan to Casey Jones and Johnny Appleseed etc. Although most of these also appear in the book, the book delves into the historical roots of many of the belief systems of american indians as well. Tracing European, African and Asian beliefs/myths/legends about creation and the development of (wo)mankind makes for fascinating reading. How these belief systems intermingled and adapted to thier new environment and formed a basis for the new "American way of life" - highly recommended reading!