Synopses & Reviews
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.
Synopsis
This marvelous collection brings together the great myths and legends of the United States--from the creation stories of the first inhabitants, to the tall tales of the Western frontier, to the legendary outlaws of the 1920s, and beyond. This thoroughly engaging anthology is sweeping in its scope, embracing Big Foot and Windigo, Hiawatha and Uncle Sam, Paul Revere and Billy the Kid, and even the Iroquois Flying Head and Elvis. In the book's section on dogmas and icons, for instance, Leeming and Page discuss the American melting pot, the notion of manifest destiny, and the imposing historical and literary figure of Henry Adams. And under Heroes and Heroines, they have assembled everyone from "Honest Abe" Lincoln and George "I Cannot Tell a Lie" Washington to Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, and Martin Luther King, Jr. For every myth or hero rendered here, the editors include an informative yet readable excerpt, often the definitive account of the story in question. Taken as a whole, Myths, Legends, and Folktales of America reveals how waves of immigrants, encountering this strange land for the first time, adapted their religions, beliefs, and folklore to help make sense of a new and astounding place. Covering Johnny Appleseed and Stagolee as well as Paul Bunyan and Moby Dick, this wonderful anthology illuminates our nation's myth-making, enriching our idea of what it means to be American.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-214) and index.
About the Author
David Leeming is a former Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Connecticut and also the author of many books, including
The World of Myth,
Mythology: The Voyage of the Hero, and
Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney.
Jake Page is an essayist, science writer, novelist, and co-author with his wife Susanne of the books
Hopi and
Navajo. Leeming and Page have collaborated in the past on
Goddess and
God, both published by Oxford.
Table of Contents
Introduction
I DEITIES, DEMIDEITIES, DOGMAS, AND ICONS FOR A NEW LAND
Native American
Creation Myths
Zuni: The Separation of the First Parents
A Cherokee Earth-diver Creation Myth
A Tewa Emergence Creation Myth
A Hawaiian Creation Myth
Goddesses
A Navaho Myth of Changing Woman
A Sioux Myth of White Buffalo Woman
An Inuit Myth of Sedna
Trickster Gods
A Karuk Myth of Coyote
A Tsimshian Myth of Raven
The Indian and the White Man
A Brule Sioux Myth of the Coming of the White Man
European American
Hispanic Visions
The Virgin of Guadalupe
La Llorona
The Sacred Earth of Chimayo
The Penitentes--the Passion
"Anglo" Visions
The Work Ethic--Cotton Mather
The Almighty Dollar--Benjamin Franklin
God and the Elect--Jonathan Edwards
The Melting Pot--Crevecoeur
Manifest Destiny--Richard Yates and William Gilpin
Miss Liberty
Uncle Sam
Yankee Doodle
The Transcendental Deity--Ralph Waldo Emerson
Technology Apotheosized--Henry David Thoreau
The Dynamo--Henry Adams
The Book of Mormon
The Devil in the West--Charles O. Brown
African American
The Spiritual
God and the Devil--"The Devil's Doing"
"The Creation"--James Weldon Johnson
The Nation of Islam
Voodoo
Asian American
Hare Krishna and Other Movements
"Amitabha's Song"--Gary Snyder
II NEW WORLD MYTHICAL MONSTERS AND FABULOUS CREATURES
Native American
Hopi Ogres
The Iroquois Flying Head
The Chinook Ship Monster
European American
Bigfoot
The Jersey Devil
Moby Dick
African American
"A Boarhog for a Husband"
"The Poor Man and the Snake
Asian American
The Dragon
III NEW WORLD HEROES AND HEROINES
Native American
The Wabanaki Glooskap--The Fight with the Water Monster
The Tewa Water Jar Boy
The Iroquois Hiawatha
The Ojibwa Corn Hero
An Oneida Maiden Hero
Geronimo--Apache Hero
Custer's Last Stand--Two Versions
European American
Patriotic Heroes
George Washington--"I Cannot Tell a Lie"
Abraham Lincoln--"Honest Abe"
Paul Revere--The Midnight Ride
American Loners, Frontiersmen, and Tall Tales
Johnny Appleseed
Davy Crockett
Mike Fink
Paul Bunyan
Joe Magarac
Mountain Men
Miners
Betsey and the Mole
The Yankee Pedlar
Western Outlaws and Lawmen
Billy the Kid
Jesse James
Wild Bill Hickok
Wyatt Earp
The Hanging Judge
The Cowboy
The Cowboy's Prayer
Pecos Bill
Women of the Frontier
Annie Oakley
Calamity Jane
Bad Men and Bad Women
Ma Barker
Bonnie and Clyde
The Comic Book Hero
Superman
The Rock Hero
Elvis--"Jesus and Elvis"
African American
The Slave Rebels
Gabriel Prosser and Denmark Vesey
Nat Turner
Tricksters and the Black Tall Tale
Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby
Stagolee
John Henry
Blues Lovers and Legends in Cool
"Frankie and Johnny"
Bessie Smith
Billie Holiday--"Lady Sings the Blues"
Leader Heroes
Martin Luther King, Jr.--"I Have a Dream"
Malcolm X--"To Mississippi Youth"
Asian American
Yeh-Shen
The Guru
Conclusion
Bibliography
Text Credits
Index