I certainly haven't had a formal education in American folklore, but simply growing up in America and attending school has exposed me to all manner of stories pertaining to this country. I was surprised by how many I recognized. A popular example is George Washington cutting down the cherry tree ("I cannot tell a lie"). But there were far more stories I'd never even heard of. This coffee table-sized book is hundreds of pages and is comprised dense text and photos so you can expect to find here pretty much EVERY story from American folklore.

I would supplement this book with another more recent book called Americanon: An Unexpected U.S. History in Thirteen Bestselling Books by Jess McHugh. Both volumes delve into how we, as Americans, see ourselves as compared to the stories we share. That whole notion of Americans being victims of their own overconfidence? That's rooted in our national identity. I would take it further and say all of the westward expansion from the founding to the present was the product of the restless explorer-wannabe seeking a better life elsewhere.

"Hardly anyone now alive can remember all the way back to the time when technology and the mass media had not yet begun to dominated our way of life."

The above quote appears near the end of the book, a book published in 1978, and I did a double-take appreciating how true it was then and how much more true that statement is today. ( )

This was the book in my childhood that kicked off my interest in folklore and mythology. I adore it and it has a wide array of lore included. It may not be a great book for in-depth information, but it's a good survey of American folklore. ( )

This book contains a wide, colorful selection of classic American folklore. Stories once swapped by coal miners deep beneath the ground, tales once told around the fire by 18th century fur trappers. If you're a fan of Americana, or even just short stories of interesting note, this is a worthwhile read. ( )