Amazon.com Review
Alan Axelrod and Harry Oster have done a great service to the folklorists of the world. Their
Dictionary of American Folklore--an encyclopedic compilation of 750 entries enhanced by 228 photographs and drawings--honors, defines, and explains the many components that make up the patchwork quilt of American folklore. And for every subject they treat, they provide a thorough picture, from all angles. Take music, for example. Axelrod and Oster include musicians such as Elvis, Stephen Foster, Bessie Smith, and Burl Ives; specific songs such as "I Gave My Love a Cherry," and "Shenandoah"; music genres such as jazz, blues, rap, and, naturally, folk music; and instruments such as the harmonica and the fiddle.
In addition to music, there are entries on history, politics, economy, and civil movements. Numerous pages are devoted to Abraham Lincoln, and there are biographies for Joe Hill, Eliot Ness, Crazy Horse, and Henry Ford, as well. The Dictionary discusses graffiti, ghost stories, and Ouiji boards, architectural trends such as Colonial Revival, and a variety of humor genres, from tall tales and playing the Dirty Dozens to telling Dumb Dora and Little Willie jokes. There are entries for painters, such as Norman Rockwell; dancers, such as Martha Graham; and crafts, including passages on quilts and tattoos. And there are sports figures (Yogi Berra's sayings get a full treatment), and writers, too, such as Zora Neale Hurston, Herman Melville, and H.L. Mencken.
The A-to-Z design enables fast access if you know what you want to look up, but it also provides seemingly endless opportunities for happy browsing. Open to the M's and you'll find Marilyn Monroe, Mickey Mouse, and midwives. Skip back to the J's and there's the jitterbug, John Henry, and Juneteenth. Tailor-made for folklorists, historians, and American Studies students, The Folklore Dictionary is a boon to anyone with browsing time to spare. --Stephanie Gold
From Library Journal
This extraordinarily entertaining if finally somewhat limited volume is a winsome overview of themes common to American folklore, tradition, and popular culture, particularly those covered in folklore studies. It consists of 750 entries and over 200 black-and-white illustrations. Entries vary from brief definitions to full essays. Folklore, heroes, common phrases, folk speech, regional and professional lore, and music are included. See Also references and a brief listing of suggested readings accompany most entries. The coverage is uneven, however: major topics such as "line dancing" are given 56 words, while the Empire State Building (folklore?) gets a full page of text; "Primitive Art" is covered in 50 words, but Elvis Presley gets one and a half pages. While the book's scope is impressive and intriguing and the writing avoids the dead hand of academic jargon, it is less than exhaustive and is ultimately unsuccessful as a standard reference. Other publications, such as Funk & Wagnall's Standard Dictionary of Folkore, Mythology and Legend (1984) as well as John Brunvand's American Folklore (1996) are more focused and complete. Nevertheless, the absorbing, readable panorama this provides makes it an engrossing selection for all readers. Recommended for general collections.
-Richard K. Burns, MSLS, Hatboro, PA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
