Too Good to Be True

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Have you heard the one about the new computer owner who mistook the CD ROM player for a cup holder Or the woman who thought her brains were oozing out of a gunshot wound, when the truth was that when her Pillsbury Poppin Fresh can exploded, striking her on the head with the lid, the goo she felt was biscuit dough Jan Harold Brunvand, professor emeritus at the University of Utah and author of numerous urban legend collections, including The Vanishing Hitchhiker, The Choking Doberman, Curses Broiled Again, and American Folklore An Encyclopedia, has been studying urban legends for some 20 years, and his new book, Too Good to Be True, relates than 200 of these indestructible tales. There are relatively recent stories based on modern technology, such as the classic microwaved pet, and yarns that have been making the urban legend circuit for decades, such as the solid cement Cadillac story, which can be traced back to the 1940s, at least, involving a cement truck driver who spies a new Cadillac convertible in his driveway and his wife talking to some strange man He dumps his load of concrete on the Cadillac, but later discovers the stranger was a car dealer and the car was to be a gift from his wife, one she d spent years saving her pennies for. The stories are grouped by subject, including Dog Tales and Just Desserts, Sexcapades and Losing Face There are baby stories and work stories, criminal tales and college anecdotes, plus stories of mistaken identity, human nature, and technology Brunvand achieves , however, than a mere compendium of highly entertaining stories He discusses the nature of urban legends those almost believable, addictively retellable tales that always happened to a friend of a friend FOAF, in folklorist parlance and for each individual story, Brunvand includes as much of its history as he has been able to trace, including newspaper accounts, alternative versions, and the story s natural cycle, that is, how many years, typically, between resurfacings The result is an exceptionally engaging book and a great resource for debunking that next story, as heard from a friend by that unnamed acquaintance of unassailable honesty, that sounds just a little too perfect to swallow wholeStephanie Gold Free Read Books Too Good to Be True by Jan Harold Brunvand – kino-fada.fr We have all heard one in our day, but this book is packed to the brim with some outrageous stories Are they true, a dream perhaps or just a delusion of a madman Loved reading these and duscovering many new ones.Although this book isof an intellectual study rather than simply a volume of tall tales, Brunvand s compilation still makes for an interesting read These urban legends are tall tales which could have occurred easily within our society Often, Brunvand tries to get to the bottom of the story by tracing it to its source although often with little success It s obvious that many of the stories have had their facts changed too many times for the entertainment value and there are some things Although this book isof an intellectual study rather than simply a volume of tall tales, Brunvand s compilation still makes for an interesting read These urban legends are tall tales which could have occurred easily within our society Often, Brunvand tries to get to the bottom of the story by tracing it to its so...Es un libro que tard en leer y en el que ten a una idea en mente y me consegu con algo completamente distinto.Todos conocemos muchas historias que parecen demasiado buenas para ser verdad, otras que son tan absurdas que es raro que alguien las crea y otras que parecen sacadas del d a a d a Todas ellas, son consideradas de alguna forma leyendas urbanas, esas que han contado tanto que hay muchas versiones o se remontan a much simo tiempo atr s.En este libro, el autor se encarg de seleccionar y Es un libro que tard en leer y en el q...This book was alright Some of the urban legends were interesting and some were really eerie Others seemed repetitive which I realize is an indicator that it s an urban legend but nonetheless made it dull at times.Le leggende metropolitane sono sempre state una mia passione e ogni tanto mi fa piacere riaffrontare questa curiosa dimostrazione della malata creativit umana PIn questo volume, accanto ai grandi classici del genere, troviamo aneddoti me...Loads of urban legends and their origin stories It s like an encyclopedia of urban legends No one can resist picking up this book and flipping through it Unfortunately some sections are inappropriate for MS and under so I won t be adding this to the school library.My introduction to urban legends came early, and at the hands of my auntie When I was a kid, my brother and I would spend the latter half of the week at our grandparents and, while they did their weekly food shop, we d be left under the charge of Auntie Lisa, who d soon have us squealing and our hair standing on end as she told us about The Dead Roommate, the Maniac on the Car Roof, The Call From INSIDE The House, and The Licked Hand these are the first I remember hearing, along with one about My introduction to urban legends came early, and at the hands of my auntie When I was a kid, my brother and I would spend the latter half of the week at our grandparents and, while they did their weekly food shop, we d be left under the charge of Auntie Lisa, who d soon have us squealing and our hair standing on end as she told us about The Dead Roommate, the Maniac on the Car Roof, The Call From INSIDE The House, and The Licked Hand these are the first I remember hearing, along with one about an old woman who comes to the door and you notice she has a missing finger.I can t remember the rest of the story, but I can remember nearly hitting the ceiling whenever Lisa would get to the end and screech YOU DID IT and lunge for us Got us Every.Damn.Time I m now looking forward to my own niece and nephew becoming old enough for me to scare the bejeesus out of, and this book should be a good source for me to...Una complet sima recopilaci n, extra das de cartas recibidas por el autor a trav s de una columna de peri dico, de las m s famosas leyendas urbanas como el jinete sin cabeza, la planta con bichos carn voros, el asesino que est en el asiento de atr s del coche, la autoestopista fantasma..etc y sus diferentes variaciones dependiendo del pa s de origen.Un buen libro, sin duda, para refrescar aquellas fant sticas a la par que terribles historias que hemos escuchado, y para conocer nuevas.Entre mis Una complet sima recopilaci n, extra das de cartas recibidas por el autor a trav s de una columna de peri dico, de las m s famosas leyendas urbanas como el jinete sin cabeza, la planta con bichos carn voros, el asesino que est en el asiento de atr s del coche, la autoestopista fantasma..etc y sus diferentes variaciones dependiendo del pa s de origen.Un buen libro, sin duda, para refrescar aquellas fant sticas a la par que terribles historias que hemos escuchado, y para conocer nuevas.Entre mis favoritas El cerebro desparramadoLa mascota mexicanaLa man...This is perhaps the most comprehensive of Brunvand s work Although, I wish it were as analytical as some of his others He writes interesting books about those stories we are all sure are true and exposing them as legends He also does a fantastic job of expaling what makes an Urban Legend an Urban Legend as opposed to just a rumor or a piece of gossip Brunvand is also careful to explain and explore situations where the legends have truth to and in them for example, the idea that people p This is perhaps the most comprehensive of Brunvand s work Although, I wish it were as analytical as some of his others He writes interesting books about those stories we are ...Second only to the Darwin Awards I think urban legends are some of the best and most misquoted stories of exaggeration and impossibility in current oral circulation Don t get me wrong I am sure we all have a personal story we are adamant is true to the point of blindly arguing their truth if they are questioned BUT you have to admit their sheer impossibility ...

Too Good to Be True
  • 25 March 2017
  • Paperback
  • 0965010492 Other Editions 14
  • Jan Harold Brunvand
  • Too Good to Be True