The Inland Whale: Nine Stories Retold from California Indian Legends (Paperback)

by Theodora Kroeber (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Nine tales, selected and retold here by anthropologist and author Theodora Kroeber for the adult general-interest reader. The new foreword by her son, Karl Kroeber, provides context about the author's methods and describes his own personal connection to the stories themselves. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap
PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION:

"Thanks to Mrs. Kroeber's simple, supple style, the stories all succeed as stories; they please, engage, move, or divert without depending for their effect on their exotic source."--The New Yorker

"The varying but almost always superb story style of these narratives will speak to all."--New York Herald Tribune

"This is a jewel of a book."--San Francisco Chronicle

"These stories enlarge life. They remind us of Shakespeare and Aeschylus. . .. That Mrs. Kroeber's book should generate such thoughts is proof of its power and beauty."--New York Times Book Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Baby-Preschool
  
• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (September 1, 1963)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520006763
• ISBN-13: 978-0520006768
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,650,181 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Voices of the First Americans, June 29, 2003

By	Douglas LaRose (Santa Barbara, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inland Whale: Nine Stories Retold from California Indian Legends (Textbook Binding)

Kroeber heard these stories mostly from Natives who had begun their syncretism with the modern world. These stories are rightly told in a contemporary fashion. For instance, Eskimo kinship terms are utilized to establish kindred, (grandfather, uncle, etc.) instead of the more traditional, descriptive anthropological method of using terms such as "fathers-mothers-sister."

Theodora Kroeber can be congratulated for this great little book of traditional stories from California's Native Americans. Lessons can be learned, values can be taught, and more importantly, the people who originally inhabited these lands can have their voices heard. This book is appropriate for all age groups, but I would insist also that this book be read to youngsters, who could indubitably benefit from the lessons taught within.

Truly a great piece of ethnographic work and literature simultaneously.