Richard Roeper
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By: New Page Books
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Subjects -> Entertainment -> Humor -> Urban Legends
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> World Literature -> Mythology -> General
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> World Literature -> Mythology -> General AAS
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21
Average rating: 3.5 of 5
History Is Myth....Or....? 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.
In this book there are many of those Urban Legends that we've heard of that have been circulating since we can remember. And, there are also many tales that we haven't heard of. Today we get most of these myths via email, but before email came to be, I remember hearing...."this happened....I heard that....so-and-so said....did you know that....?" And beyond the humor, are the effects these tall-tales can have on the people and places they're about. Many of these "alleged" rumors were followed up in the form of questions from journalists during media interviews. Often, the media will investigate a rumor (urban myth) to see if there is any merit to it. Once debunked as false however, the rumor lives on in peoples' minds.HIV positive Hyperdermic needles left in the coin returns of pay phones. Those unfortunate people who went out on the town to wake up in hotel bathtub filled with ice, and a note left to call the Doctor because their Kidney had been removed. And what's to that gerbil rumor involving a celebrity we all know? Well, that's false too. That particular myth has been tagged on other celebrities going back to the 70s.
Who started these tales? When? How did they get spread?
In addition to listing and describing these interesting myths, Roeper notes of the origins, means and methods of their growth, and the current believability status of many of them. Good coffee table book. It'll occupy some of the folks you'll bring over.
Editorial Review:
Now available in paperback, this book has been updated to include more humorous, entertaining myths that keep the rumor mills churning. Richard Roeper, the current co-host of Ebert & Roeper and the Movies, knows a lot about urban legends-tales so deliciously tasty that you desperately want it to be true. Find out:
Does the "bonsai kitten" Web site celebrate cruelty to animals -- or is it just a tasteless joke?
What's the real story behind the so-called Ivy League porn film supposedly in production at Yale?
Could it really be true that a man named George Turklebaum dropped dead at his desk-and none of his co-workers noticed for five days?
Each of these stories and hundreds more like them have been told and retold, embellished and reworked. They're fun to hear or read, and even more fun to retell. They're part of our contemporary folklore.
