The Choking Doberman: And Other Urban Legends (Paperback)

~ (Author) "What is more welcome on a routine day than a new and intriguing true story or rumor told in the first person?..." (more)
Key Phrases: restroom legends, sex legends, mutilated boy, The Choking Doberman, New York, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A wonderfully entertaining book of American folklore and humor. -- Elaine Kendall, Los Angeles Times Book 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. )

Product Description

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."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (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: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #661,269 in Books (See Bestsellers 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" (Agoura Hills, CA USA) - See all my reviews

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)

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

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."