David Holt (1) (1946–)

This was a lot of fun. The introduction explains what modern urban legends are and sets up some of the different kinds found here. And then come the legends themselves—what an interesting set of tales! These are all allegedly true* stories that are so ridiculous that they couldn’t possibly be real. (Don’t worry. They aren’t.) But they’re a fun diversion, and more than that, they illuminate much that is funny (or scary) in our modern lives. One can learn so much about a culture by show more the stories it produces, and some of these tales, bizarre as they are, speak to life in America. For example, there are a handful of tales about the September 11 attacks; their presence here shows the different ways that this tragedy has become part of the fabric of our society. This book is full of stories about danger, freak accidents, injustice, karma, and yes, even potty humor. An eclectic mix, for sure: Interesting, poignant, or just really, really, strange.

*Not really true. Although, to be fair, at least one of them is. I was able to verify one of these legends as real, based on information found on a government website that corroborated this tale and provided further information.

Just a quick note about the content. I am deeply saddened to see negative reviews for this book on the basis that these aren't real urban legends. These ARE urban legends, plain and simple. According to a study of urban legends as published in the journal Innovative Higher Education, urban legends are defined thus: "an urban legend is a specific type of folklore that centers on an event involving ordinary people in recent times; circulates widely, often by email; and purports to be true, whether or not the events described in the tale actually occurred." This peer-reviewed journal article did not invent the definition; on the contrary, they retrieved it from snopes.com, a website dedicated to investigating urban legends and discovering the truth. So the academic world and the practical, experienced professionals all agree on what an urban legend is. And that's exactly what these stories are: ordinary people, circulated widely, and allegedly true. This is an excellent collection, and if urban legends aren't your thing, that's fine. But I hate to see this book judged so harshly for being exactly what it claims to be. Its very introduction lays out clearly what it is and what it hopes to achieve. And it's an incredible journey. show less

A fun collection of urban legends. Some were familiar to me, and some weren't, but they were tremendous fun to read. Entertaining, certainly, this book also provides an intriguing look at urban legends' roles as cultural artifacts. Overall, it was quite informative.

This is my favorite storytelling book! I stumbled across it by accident in Borders and have been raving about it ever since. It is my bible. Each multicultural tale is fully indexed to audience age, type of tale, and country of origen. All tales are donated by world class professional tellers who not only put their stories in the public domain, but also add story background information and tips for telling the tales. Small list of acknowledgments serves as a mini-bibliography. I have turned show more to it many times when I need a story for a quick tell or a more involved program. While I love them all, "The Barking Mouse" and "Dog Tails" are now part of my permanent repertoire. 02/07 show less

There’s a lot of humor in this small book. It’s likely intended for older children, but adults will certainly appreciate the collection of short vignettes. At least one is true, as verified by fcc.gov, but I would take the rest with a grain of salt . . better make that a tablespoon! Still, it’s funny and entertaining, a quick read when you need a lift. And I bet you’ll be telling your friends about what you’ve read.