Subjects:  1. Folklore    2. Reference    3. Social life and customs    4. Trivia    5. United States    6. Urban folklore   

Reviews (3)

Drawing upon more than twenty years of study and analysis
Drawing upon more than twenty years of study and analysis, by Gary Fine (Professor of Sociology, Northwestern University) and Patricia Turner (Vice-Provost of Undergraduate Studies and Professor of African American and African Studies, University of California, Davis) Whispers On The Color Line: Rumor And Race In America is a superbly presented, collaborative treatise on narrative folklore prevelent in contemporary American society in the form of legends and stories informally circulated among the general public, and which have served to confuse and reinforce misinformation regarding a wide range of social issues. These are tales traveling mostly by word-of-mouth and focusing a diversity of subjects ranging from alleged governmental conspiracies, to possible food tampering, to the foibles of celebrities. An impressive, seminal, and scholarly work, Whispers On The Color Line addresses how these gossip ladened tales reflect attitudes that blacks and whites have about each other, and how such stories serve a pervasive social purpose of "expressing the inexpressible. Whispers On The Color Line is a ground breaking work and highly recommended for Contemporary Sociology, Social Anthropology, African-American Studies, and American Popular Culture Studies supplemental reading lists and academic reference collections.

Behind the Rumors
If you're interested in rumors -- and you've definitely heard some of the rumors and legends recounted here -- you may well enjoy this thoughtful examination of why such tales spread, and how they morph according to the racial makeup of the people who repeat them. It's an academic book, butthe style is quite accessible, if a bit stilted at times. The most important point made here is that while rumors about, say, the ownership of a fast-food chain or shadowy government programs, might be absurd in their specifics, they tell deeper truths about the way we (white and black) think about corporations and the government. Thoughtful and thought-provoking. Interesting stuff.

If you've ever wondered...
We've all heard the rumors.The rumors that Tommy Hilfiger is a racist.The rumors that Liz Claiborne is a Satinist.The rumors that KFC serves fried rats and that's why it can no longer legally be called Kentucky Fried Chicken.And most of us probably take these rumors with, at least, a grain of salt.Believability issues asside, from where do these rumor stem?What is the meaning behind them?Read more

Subjects:  1. African Americans    2. Folklore    3. Folklore & Mythology - Folklore    4. Minority Studies - General    5. Minority Studies - Race Relations    6. Social Science    7. Sociology    8. Sociology - Urban    9. United States    10. Urban folklore    11. Whites    12. Black studies    13. History / Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies)    14. Racism & racial discrimination    15. Social & cultural anthropology    16. USA   

Subjects:  1. Culture    2. Folklore    3. French Americans    4. Literature: Classics    5. Lowell    6. Massachusetts    7. Massachusetts - Local History    8. Social change    9. Urban folklore    10. Cultural studies    11. Local history    12. USA   

Reviews (1)

An interpretation of aesthetic culture of subaltern groups
Few works have attempted to intrepret and explain aesthetic and artistic movements among poor and subaltern groups.By focusing on the development of rivalry of popular and elite culture in Calcultta, Banerjee's TheParlour and the Streets, was a groundbreaking work which posits how lowerclasses or castes mock the elite culture, and in turn create their ownmeaning.His interpretation of how elite culture responded to subalternculture, by reinforcing its dinstiveness as in the choice of new bhadraloktoward Western education. The originality of Banerjee's work is hisexplanation of how the elite in Calcutta managed to turn from an initialdisdain and outright struggle with lower social groups into a hegemonicposition in which the elite learned to expropriate, promote and expand folkculture as an apartheid system of cultural division.It is equally anantedote to Eurocentric theories of history and aesthetics as it istestament of the ability of subaltern groups to make their own historythrough resilience. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Calcutta    2. Calcutta (India)    3. Elite (Social sciences)    4. History    5. History: World    6. India    7. Intellectual life    8. Popular Culture    9. Social life and customs    10. Urban folklore    11. Cultural studies   

Subjects:  1. American wit and humor    2. Folklore    3. Folklore & Mythology    4. Folklore & Mythology - Folklore    5. Humor    6. Office practice    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. United States    10. Urban folklore   

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. English as a Second Language    5. Juvenile literature    6. Urban folklore    7. Urban follore    8. English    9. English language readers    10. Trivia & curious facts   

Reviews (5)

Fun for grownups too
I'm a fan of urban legends, and have read Dr. Brunvan's books, so I picked this up for my son. We had a good time reading it (its gross in some parts, but he didn't mind!) also has an chapter by Dr.Brunvan. I'd recommend it.

Great book for middle-graders
My students loved this book, and the two others in this series. We did a unit on folklore, and these "modern" legends really brought the topic to life for them. Thanks to the publisher for bringing these out.

gross and funny!
I like R.L.Stine books and this book was like that but it was stories like that. I would tell you if you like R.L>stine books that you would like to read this and look at the pictures. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Fiction    4. Horror & Ghost Stories    5. Horror fiction    6. Horror stories    7. Humorous Stories    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Urban folklore   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Ireland    2. Folklore    3. Folklore & Mythology - Folklore    4. History    5. History: World    6. Scotland    7. Sociology    8. Sociology - Urban    9. Urban folklore    10. English    11. Humour collections & anthologies    12. True Stories   

Subjects:  1. Folklore    2. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    3. Linguistics    4. Superstition    5. United States    6. Urban folklore   

Reviews (6)

A Christian response to urban legends, Y2K fever, etc.
This isn't a bad little book. The author relates many urban myths and then refutes them (although the refutations aren't as thorough nor as entertaining as those on David and Barbara Mikkelson's Urban Legends Reference Pages Web site), and quotes voluminous amounts of Scripture to show that listening to and repeating such tales is displeasing to God. Finally!
One of the most annioying things about e-mail is how normally sane, rational people will take a half-plausible message with a few capital words and blissfully send it to their entire address book without a second thought. Calling all Christians--Read this book NOW
I've often told others that Christians are the most gullible people in the world, and I am one! The first two or three times I saw a petition to sign stopping Madeline Murray O'Hair's supposed campaign for eliminating Christian television (about 25 years ago) I thought there might be something to it. When I kept seeing the same petition endless times over the past 25 years, I began to suspect that it might be a hoax. After hearing the "Vanishing Hitchhiker" story (even from the pulpit!) a few times, I became aware that nobody who told this story actually had talked to a person to whom this supposedly happened (it was a friend of my wife's second cousin, or some such thing). Pretty fishy! And the story about the drillers who drilled deep enough to find hell, so to speak, well, that was too ridiculous for me to believe the first time I heard it, although many did and still do. So before you forward that next e-mail message that Aunt Martha sent you about the Satan worshipers at Proctor and Gamble, please read this book. It debunks most of the "urban legends" that have been passed on by well-meaning Christians and others. (Although it does miss one very popular urban legend that is making the rounds right now: have you heard the one about the guy God told to bring the gallon of milk to this stranger's house in the middle of the night?) The author also has some valuable chapters concerning how people over the years have tried to set the date for Christ's return and have attempted to expose the identity of the antichrist. He also discusses the recent Y2K panic that never panned out. Read more

Subjects:  1. Body, Mind & Spirit    2. Christianity    3. Christianity - Christian Life - Pop Culture Issues    4. Folklore & Mythology    5. New Age    6. New Thought    7. Religion - Contemporary Issues    8. Religion - Socialissues    9. Religious aspects    10. United States    11. Urban folklore   

Reviews (4)

Informative, but...
This book is kinda cool. It delivers a lot of information and shocking stories that are both interesting and unbelievebale. The only thing that bugs me is the fact that the information is delivered like a book report or news broadcast. The author doesn't really go in depth or use her opinion that much and it's a little bit dry. If you like your myths straight forward, buy this book, but if you prefer a little more color, perhaps you should look elsewhere.

Interpreting Rumors and Legends
Many of the books on urban legends and rumors avoid discussion of stories told specifically within African-American communities.This book compensates for this lack of attention, and it provides interesting insights into the legends, rumors,and beliefs that Turner documents.She has arranged this book as a social history that stretches back to slavery times and extends into contemporary history.There are continuities and variations in the stories, but the overall themes remain the same.Mainly, the stories provide ways to understand how the history of racial tension in America is expressed through folklore and fantasy.In this respect, the book provides interesting ways to read the legends for psychological insight as Turner provides an interesting discussion of ways in which ideological constructs become expressed in fantasy.

Wonderful even-handed review of myopia in all races!
Dr. Patricia Turner's overview of rumor in the white communities and black communities of the past is excellent.She traces themes down through time, showing us how we all are grabbed and held prisoner by what we want tobelieve.Her delineation of what divides "them" from"us" is thought-provoking--and we all should be greatly intriguedby the people in her book who believe what they believe, in spite of logicand factual material available to them.We need more books like this andmore authors like her.This should be required reading in a wide range ofcourses everywhere, because rumor is alive and well. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. African American Studies - History    2. African Americans    3. Black American Folklore    4. Ethnic Studies    5. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - Histor    6. Ethnic Studies - General    7. Folklore    8. Folklore & Mythology    9. Rumor    10. Sociology    11. United States    12. Urban folklore    13. Black studies    14. Communication Studies    15. Cultural studies    16. Social Science / Ethnic Studies    17. USA   

Subjects:  1. Legends    2. Social life and customs    3. Tales    4. United States    5. Urban folklore   

Reviews (2)

there was no '0 star' rating
On a scale of suckage, I would have given the book a 5.But it specifies that 5 stars represents the best book, so the lowest possible score is a 1.It would have gotten the same rating if someone simply shat onto some pages and published it.I would prefer that book.On the suggestion box above, I suggested "death" instead of this book.However, it did not work when I clicked submit.But I would suggest ingesting massive amounts of bleach rather than spending time reading this book.Notice how it was originally nearly 30 dollars, and is now marked down to about 2? Smooth transaction. Prompt payment. A++++++++++.

there was no '0 star' rating
On a scale of suckage, I would have given the book a 5.But it specifies that 5 stars represents the best book, so the lowest possible score is a 1.It would have gotten the same rating if someone simply shat onto some pages and published it.I would prefer that book.On the suggestion box above, I suggested "death" instead of this book.However, it did not work when I clicked submit.But I would suggest ingesting massive amounts of bleach rather than spending time reading this book.Notice how it was originally nearly 30 dollars, and is now marked down to about 2? Smooth transaction. Prompt payment. A++++++++++. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Crime    2. Folklore    3. Folklore & Mythology - Folklore    4. Literature: Folklore/Mythology    5. New York    6. New York (State)    7. Sociology    8. Urban folklore    9. Victimology    10. Victims of crimes    11. Crime & criminology   

Reviews (1)

Great short stories.
The short stories are very humouous and cross all age lines.I would recommend this excellent book to students, teachers, and parents.The grade levels are from 7th through the 12th. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Fiction    4. Humorous Stories    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Schools    7. Urban folklore   

Subjects:  1. City and town life    2. Customs & Traditions    3. Social life and customs    4. Sociology    5. United States    6. Urban folklore    7. Customs & folklore   

Reviews (19)

A Nice Collection
Alligators in the Sewer is a collection of 223 urban legends.The book was published back in 1999 and a lot of the legends within have been republished many times on both the Internet and in other later published urban legend books.Also TV programs such as Myth Busters have debunked some of these such as the scuba diver in the forest fire.Still this book is a good collection, a great read and most of the big well known legends are in here.
Enjoyable read
This book is highly entertaining with a fair bit of whimsy. Not as exhausting as many(most?) of the other urban legend books. A very good first foray into ULs.

I love this book =)
This book was a good read, It has a lot of urban legends, some I have heard before, and some I have not. It is easy to read and the stories are short, about a page each. The thing that I think was the "neatest" was in the back of the book, there are some blank pages to write your own urban legends, which I thought was good, because I have heard some that are not in this book, and some I have heard differently than what this book tells, like the Jersey Devil. Anywhoo!! Easy to read, short, cute stories that leave you wondering if they're based on true stories or not!! =) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Folklore    2. General    3. Humor    4. Legends    5. United States    6. Urban folklore    7. Controversial Knowledge & Mysteries   

Subjects:  1. African Americans    2. Folklore    3. Philadelphia    4. Urban folklore   

Subjects:  1. Llorona (Legendary character)    2. Los Angeles    3. Urban folklore   

Subjects:  1. Folklore    2. Satanism    3. Urban folklore   

Subjects:  1. Bibliographies & Indexes    2. Bibliography    3. Folklore    4. Legends    5. Literature: Classics    6. Reference    7. Urban folklore