The Choking Doberman: And Other Urban Legends [Paperback]

Jan Harold Brunvand (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2003

"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."

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This is a fascinating book, but I still say all those stories actually happened to the mother of a friend of mine's doctor's wife.” (Roy Blount Jr. )

About the Author

Jan Harold Brunvand lives in Salt Lake City, where he is professor emeritus at the University of Utah. He is the author of numerous books, including The Vanishing Hitchhiker; The Choking Doberman; The Baby Train; Too Good to Be True; and Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (December 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393303217
• ISBN-13: 978-0393303216
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable and fun follow-up to "The Vanishing Hitchhiker", October 8, 1997

By 

"snopes" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Choking Doberman: And Other Urban Legends (Paperback)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye-opening and enjoyable read, March 18, 1998

By 

Kelly J. Snowden "rationalist" (Redding, California USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Choking Doberman: And Other Urban Legends (Paperback)

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-Written and Enjoyable, July 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Choking Doberman: And Other Urban Legends (Paperback)

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."