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The Choking Doberman: And Other Urban Legends

"A wonderfully entertaining book of American folklore and humor."―Elaine Kendall, Los Angeles Times Book Review Professor Jan Harold Brunvand expands his examination of the phenomenon of urban legends, those improbable, believable stories that always happen to a "friend of a friend."

Paperback: 256 pages

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (December 17, 2003)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0393303217

ISBN-13: 978-0393303216

Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches

Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,923,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #45 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Urban Legends #3600 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Sociology > Urban #5458 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Folklore & Mythology

The Choking Doberman (1984) is folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand's follow-up to The Vanishing Hitchhiker. Unlike that previous work, however, The Choking Doberman is less didactic and more just plain fun, with newer stories, a wider variety of legends, and less academic analysis. Highly recommended for general audiences.

The Choking Doberman, the second in a series of books examining urban legend and folklore, is a rare find not only for its attention to the friend-of-a-friend stories that we've all heard, but also for its perhaps unintended window into the evolution of modern legends. Written in 1986, the myths and legends regarding computers and other modern inventions reviewed in the book, as well as the means by which such stories were disseminated, reflect the growing influence of information technology -- old legends about "cable lice" proliferating in phone or power cables have given way to doomsday viruses and other computer-age legends. I also was amused to discover so many legends being integrated into movies and television, such as the "baby on the car roof" (Raising Arizona), the woman who punishes her philandering husband with superglue (Reservoir Dogs), etc. Just goes to show that a good story always deserves a retelling.

I bought this book because the title was too strange to pass up. I found it to be thought-provoking and very well written. Although it's not a scary-story book, and the author proved all the legends weren't true, I didn't get any sleep the night after I read it! If you like spooky books, I highly reccomend "The Choking Doberman."

When the author claims that no girl was ever date raped from a spiked drink EVER, I the average modern reader may agree that old folklorists are probably as naive as storytelling teenagers.It is certainly annoying that people will believe even the most obvious yarns, and most of the stories here are obviously just legend. But a scholar should perhaps not categorically deny that no such stories could have any sort of true origin. We don't know if there was once a killer in someone's back seat, or in their medieval wagon of hay. Probably there wasn't but we don't know.I came to this book looking for a specific tale that my friends claim happened to a friend and found it.* Very satisfying. But after reading this and the previous book I am perhaps no longer the world's biggest skeptic after all.* elevator scene, Norwegian girl goes abroad for the first time to NYC, enters an elevator with what will later prove to be Eddie Murphy and two big friends or bodyguards with sunglasses. No dog in this version. "Hit the floor" in reference to floor buttons, at which point she ducks.

I read this book first for a college course, and bought a copy when one of my kids came home with a story beginning "My friend has this friend who..." It's great for teaching your kids (8 and up!) not to be gullible, and to appreciate folklore for what it is. A good "feel" for these kinds of stories can help identify slick sales pitches as well as the urban folklore that circulates in school and camp. Also a thoroughly enjoyable read for adults

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