Storyteller Tony Bonning brings together stories from one of the most enigmatic regions of Scotland: a land hemmed in by rivers and mountains; a land that vigorously maintained its independence, and by doing so, has many unique tales and legends. Here you will meet strange beasts, creatures and even stranger folk; here you will meet men and women capable of tricking even the Devil himself, and here you will find the very tale that inspired Robert Burns's most famous poem, Tam o'Shanter. With each Story told in an engaging style, and illustrated with unique line drawings, these humorous, clever and enchanting folk tales are sure to be enjoyed and shared time and again.

Proving conclusively that `mad folks and proverbs reveal many truths', this is an authoritative and hugely browsable treasury of over 15,000 sayings, adages, and maxims commonly used in the United States and Canada.

Based on oral as well as written sources, it covers thousands of uniquely American proverbs as well as those hailing from classical, biblical, European, and English literature. The culmination of over 40 years' research, the dictionary includes nuggets of wisdom on all aspects of life: weather, romance, food, families, politics, health, religion, and the arts, and includes thousands of proverbs that have never previously been recorded.

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

A helpful and easy-to-use guide that takes you from the White House to a backyard barbecue in Texas style.

Examining all the rites of passage in our lives from birth to funerals, Texas Manners takes Emily Post and adds a special Texas twist.

Invitations and thank-you notes, table manners, job interviews, cotillions, quinceaneras, college preparation, entertaining tips, planning a wedding; these are just a few of the subjects that are explained and described in this handy and instructive resource.

The detailed table of contents and index make this a user-friendly guide to all your entertainment and etiquette questions.

In Greek mythology the beautiful Narcissus glimpsed his own reflection in the waters of a spring and fell in love. But his was an impossible passion and, filled with despair, he pined away. Over the years the myth has inspired painters, writers, and film directors, as well as philosophers and psychoanalysts. The tragic story of Narcissus, in love with himself, and of Echo, the nymph in love with him, lies at the heart of this collection of essays exploring the origins of the myth and some of its many cultural manifestations and meanings relating to the self and the self's relationship to the other. Through their discussion of the myth and its ramifications, the contributors to this volume broaden our understanding of one of the fundamental myths of Western culture.

"A marvelous book, at once comprehensive and highly readable, a fascinating analysis of doomsday cults and apocalyptic anxiety." --Michael Owen Jones, University of California, Los Angeles "The End of the World As We Know It makes accessible to both scholars and general readers the amazing panorama of millenarian scenarios abounding in America at the end of the millennium." --Robert S. Ellwood, University of Southern California "Will stand for some time as the best survey and analysis of the meaning and place of apocalypticism and millennialism in American culture." --Religion and Literature "Fascinating and] intelligent . . . should be required reading." --Psychotronic From religious tomes to current folk prophesies, recorded history reveals a plethora of narratives predicting or showcasing the end of the world. The incident at Waco, the subway bombing by the Japanese cult Aum Supreme Truth, and the tragedy at Jonestown are just a few examples of such apocalyptic scenarios. And these are not isolated incidents; millions of Americans today believe the end of the world is inevitable, either by a divinely ordained plan, nuclear catastrophe, extraterrestrial invasion, or gradual environmental decay, Examining the doomsday scenarios and apocalyptic predictions of visionaries, televangelists, survivalists, and various other endtimes enthusiasts, as well as popular culture, film, music, fashion, and humor, Daniel Wojcik sheds new light on America's fascination with worldly destruction and transformation. He explores the origins of contemporary apocalyptic beliefs and compares religious and secular apocalyptic speculation, showing us the routes our belief systems have traveled over the centuries to arrive at the dawn of a new millennium. Included in his sweeping examination are premillennial prophecy traditions, prophecies associated with visions of the Virgin Mary, secular ideas about nuclear apocalypse, the transformation of apocalyptic prophecy in the post-Cold War era, and emerging apocalyptic ideas associated with UFOs and extraterrestrials. Timely, yet of lasting importance, The End of the World as We Know It is a comprehensive cultural and historical portrait of an age-old phenomenon and a fascinating guide to contemporary apocalyptic fever. Daniel Wojcik is Associate Professor of English and Folklore at the University of Oregon and author of Punk and Neo-Tribal Body Art. He received his Ph.D. in Folklore and Mythology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book constitutes the first attempt to gather into a single body as many Judeo-Spanish tales published in Latin characters as could be assembled. It represents a major contribution to Sephardic and Hispanic studies, as well as to comparative folklore scholarship in a world-wide perspective.

For nearly 70 years, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has played a crucial role in developing policies and recommendations for dealing with intangible cultural heritage. What has been the effect of such sweeping global policies on those actually affected by them? How connected is UNESCO with what is happening every day, on the ground, in local communities? Drawing upon six communities ranging across three continents-from India, South Korea, Malawi, Japan, Macedonia and China-and focusing on festival, ritual, and dance, this volume illuminates the complexities and challenges faced by those who find themselves drawn, in different ways, into UNESCO's orbit. Some struggle to incorporate UNESCO recognition into their own local understanding of tradition; others cope with the fallout of a failed intangible cultural heritage nomination. By exploring locally, by looking outward from the inside, the essays show how a normative policy such as UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage policy can take on specific associations and inflections. A number of the key questions and themes emerge across the case studies and three accompanying commentaries: issues of terminology; power struggles between local, national and international stakeholders; the value of international recognition; and what forces shape selection processes. With examples from around the world, and a balance of local experiences with broader perspectives, this volume provides a unique comparative approach to timely questions of tradition and change in a rapidly globalizing world.

First Published in 2005. The true folk riddle of oral traditions that have been rapidly disappearing from the face of the earth in the last hundred years is one of the most ancient threads of culture. One of the smallest genres of verbal culture-usually under a dozen of words, it is an intensely articulated utterance. It is eccentric and as such breaks every logical mould. This volume presents results of a study driven by the sheer intellectual curiosity of the author.

Cold facts and impersonal statistics may be the bacon of Texas history, but the tall tales and interesting side stories are the sizzle. In this book, C.F. Charlie Eckhardt presents some of the Texas history sizzle that is often ignored when pure historians write about the Lone Star State. He adds to the flavor of Texas history with tales about such things as the first Texas revolution, the first English speaking person in Texas, and the little known counterrevolution of 1838-1840. Charlie examines the expulsion of the Cherokees from Texas and provides details of some of the more famous Indian fights. Charlie also shows his romantic side with the legend of the famous Yellow Rose of Texas.

The Mesopotamian influence on Greek mythology in literary works of the epic period is considerable - yet it is a largely unexplored field. In this book Charles Penglase investigates major Mesopotamian and Greek myths. His examination concentrates on journey myths. A major breakthrough is achieved in the recognition of the extent of Mesopotamian influence and in the understanding of the colourful myths involved. The results are of significant interest, especially to scholars and students of ancient Greek and Near Eastern religion and mythology.

The Mythology of Modern Law is a radical reappraisal of the role of myth in modern society. Peter Fitzpatrick uses the example of law, as an integral category of modern social thought, to challenge the claims of modernity which deny the relevance of myth to modern society.

From the mysterious disappearance of hijacker D.B. Cooper to persistent rumors of bigfoot, this selection of thirteen stories from Oregon's past explores some of the Beaver State's most compelling mysteries and debunks some of its most famous myths. Read about the mysterious disappearances of several people over the years around Mount Emily, relive the gruesome discovery of three murdered trappers near the Deschutes River, and learn why many people believe an eleven-ton meteorite might be hidden in the mountains of southwestern Oregon.

This book may set down the myth of June Cleaver once and for all. Chad Dell deftly details a 1950s revolution in the making: millions of women of all ages flocked to wrestling arenas across the country, drawn to a parade of glistening bodies, purple satin capes and characters such as Gorgeous George and Killer Kowalski while millions more roared their approvals as they watched on television. Dell's analysis of television broadcasts, media artifacts, fan club ephemera and interviews with wrestlers and their fans paints a new portrait of women in the 1950s who embraced the power of their passions.

"Blood Will Tell" explores the ways in which writers, thinkers, and politicians used blood and vampire related imagery to express social and cultural anxieties in the decades leading up to the First World War. Covering a wide variety of topics, including science, citizenship, gender, and anti-Semitism, Robinson demonstrates how sin which rhetoric tied to blood and vampires permeated political discourse and transcended the disparate cultures of Great Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, forming a cohesive political and cultural metaphor. It is an excellent resource for students of nineteenth century cultural history and for those interested in the historical roots of the West's obsession with vampires.

Kansas Myths and Legends explores unusual events, unsolved crimes, and legends in Kansas's history. Each episode included in the book is a story unto itself, and the tone and style of the book is lively and easy to read for a general audience interested in Kansas history. The more than a dozen stories answer questions such as: Is it possible that a family of four living on the Kansas prairie got away with serial murder for more than three years and escaped to another part of the country to continue their killing spree? Are there still remnants of a late widow's fortune buried throughout her property? Is the well-marked grave of Buffalo Bill Cody indeed his final resting place, or did some loyal friends surreptitiously remove him from Colorado and fulfill his last wish to be buried near his namesake town? From rumors of the Dalton gang's buried treasures to the disappearance of an entire town, Kansas Myths and Legends makes history fun and pulls back the curtain on some of the state's most fascinating and compelling stories.

William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew has succeeded in surviving in contemporary culture, and has even managed to penetrate to the most modern media of mass communications. This book, first published in 1991, examines some of the different literary and oral versions of The Taming of the Shrew. This book is ideal for students of literature, drama, and theatre studies.

Untying the Knot collects eighteen previously unpublished essays on the riddle-a genre of discourse found in virtually every human culture. Hasan-Rokem and Shulman have drawn these essays from a variety of cultural perspectives and disciplines; linguists, anthropologists, folklorists, and religion and literature scholars consider riddling practices in Hebrew, Finnish, Indian languages, Chinese, and classical Greek. The authors seek to understand the peculiar expressive power of the riddle, and the cultural logic of its particular uses; they scrutinize the riddle's logical structure and linguistic strategies, as well as its affinity to neighboring genres such as enigmas, puzzles, oracular prophecy, proverbs, and dreams. In this way, they begin to answer how riddles relate to the conceptual structures of a particular culture, and how they come to represent a culture's cosmology or cognitive map of the world. More importantly, these essays reveal the human need for symbolic ordering-riddles being one such form of cultural ritual.

Enjoy a collection of classical stories, culled from the greatest storytellers of all time, offering up tales of animals and other enchanted creatures to delight readers young and old. As fables, each story demonstrates a moral lesson or a piece of advice for readers-some of whom may be struggling with related problems, difficulties, and stumbling blocks addressed by the lessons in each tale. Whether it's a rousing tale of stone soup, a tortoise and eagle, country and city mice, or foxes, hens, and farmers, readers of all ages will be entertained by the fresh story approach of Aesop, Robert Dodsley, Phaedrus, and others, some retold from tales of cultures as diverse as those of Native Alaska, Africa, Arabia, the Far East, and more.

The accomplishments and enduring influence of renowned anthropologist Dell Hymes are showcased in these essays by leading practitioners in the field. Hymes (1927-2009) is arguably best known for his pioneering work in ethnopoetics, a studied approach to Native verbal art that elucidates cultural significance and aesthetic form. As these essays amply demonstrate, nearly six decades later ethnopoetics and Hymes's focus on narrative inequality and voice provide a still valuable critical lens for current research in anthropology and folklore. Through ethnopoetics, so much can be understood in diverse cultural settings and situations: gleaning the voices of individual Koryak storytellers and aesthetic sensibilities from century-old wax cylinder recordings; understanding the similarities and differences between Apache life stories told 58 years apart; how Navajo punning and an expressive device illuminate the work of a Navajo poet; decolonizing Western Mono and Yokuts stories by bringing to the surface the performances behind the texts written down by scholars long ago; and keenly appreciating the potency of language revitalization projects among First Nations communities in the Yukon and northwestern California. Fascinating and topical, these essays not only honor a legacy but also point the way forward.

Who is Osiris? Which god was invoked by common folk to bring good luck? Who is the patron of childbirth? Such questions are answered in this updated and comprehensive dictionary of Egyptian mythology. This fascinating volume has alphabetically arranged entries on all the major gods, goddesses, myths, and themes of Egyptian mythology. In addition, there are entries on such topics as amulets, mummies, and pyramids; a chronology of Egyptian dynasties; a detailed introduction; and a complete annotated bibliography. Fifty pen-and-ink drawings by the author capture the spirit of ancient Egyptian art. In reworking this edition, Bianchi has attempted to retain Anthony Mercatante's sensitive approach to the religion of ancient Egypt, but has modified his treatment to bring it into conformity with more recent academic opinion. In addition, the annotated bibliography has been completely revised to eliminate outdated works and incorporate recent scholarship. The result should be useful to student and amateur alike.

First Published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.