A Treasury of American Folklore

by B.A. Botkin

This spectacular collection of five hundred stories and one hundred songs represents the best of American tall tales, yarns, myths, ballads, and more, about such legends as Buffalo Bill and Jesse James.

Genres: Fiction, Folklore, Mythology, Short Stories, Reference, Folk Tales, Anthologies

932 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an incredible and accessible compendium of the folklore of pre-Civil War America. A rich mine for any writer, especially those concerned with American archetypes. The only caveat is the cultural mindset it reveals in its compilation of old tales and characters, especially regarding issues of ethnic identity—the author, and the older stories he collected, were products of their time, and not always in a good way.

[Rissa (rissasreading) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this an interesting read for sure. On my quest to read as much folklore from around the world as possible I found this collection to be the most dry. There wasn't much spirituality here and the few stories that featured ghosts or witches or anything spiritual were very few.
I definitely can understand how the American mentality was shaped when reading these stories and how it showcases the history. There was a lot of focus on criminals, bad boys, and hard workers. There was also quite a bit of racism in this and I think it was the most interesting to see the original rhymes I knew growing up.
This is definitely an interesting and insightful read.

[Doria · Rating 2 out of 5]

This massive compendium of American folklore seeks to be completist, but falls far short. It’s a weighty doorstop that runs over 900 pages, yet it overwhelmingly prioritizes - and valorizes- some of the country’s most heinous crimes and racist actions, while giving short shrift to the rich expanses of non-white American folklore and lived experiences.

Over hundreds of pages, a thickly braided narrative is rigidly constructed, retold in a thousand ways, hammered down with almost violent insistence. In essence, a case is being made for a certain kind of American Story being “The” American story. At this point in history, we know better - or we should.

What seeks to be a pluralistic gathering succeeds only in exposing systemic racist and sexist systems and deeply-enshrined beliefs, an unexamined way of looking at the world and this continent that is rooted in white supremacy and entitlement. Yes, a lot of scholarly labor went into the painstaking gathering process, no doubt. But the scholarship that provided the impetus for this book is rooted in a narrow and outdated and appallingly supremacist mindset that blinkers and limits and ultimately poisons the collection. It is thus of very limited utility for historians, a museum piece to be handled with caution.

[Forked Radish]

PART ONE: HEROES AND BOASTERS
I. BACKWOODS BOASTERS
“The Shooting Cup”: The beginning of the Mikeiad
“Mike Fink, the Indian, and the Deer”
“Mile Teaches Peg a Lesson”
“The Disgraced Scalp Lock” by T.B.Thorpe: ⭐️⭐️⭐️: An Indian’s scalp lock is like a squirrel’s tail. Sawyer in the Tom sense?
“Trimming a Darky’s Heel” by John S. Robb: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: The heel’l heal, so no biggie. “doggeries [drinking places]”
“The Death of Mike Fink”
II. PSEUDO BAD MEN
III. KILLERS
IV. FREE LANCES
V. MIRACLE MEN
VI. PATRON SAINTS

[WITCHCRAFT · Rating 5 out of 5]

You might think you have a general idea of what "American folklore" is. Johnny Appleseed, John Henry, lumberjacks and fearsome critters. But boy howdy will this book prove you wrong. There's so much more, and it gets weird and goes bizarre places you'd never imagined. Bookmark your favorites and share them around a campfire, it's good times.

[Hazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

warning: lots of racism

If you can make your way through all the racism this book is great. The stories in general are quite creative and interesting. I feel like we have a lot of fairy tales and folklore passed down from Europe, but a lot of the folklore that was created in America is largely lost or unknown. It's really interesting to see some of that.

[James Violand · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful compendium of everything written concerning traditional Americana. From tall tales like Pecos Bill to rhymes for skipping rope and from songs of indigent sharecroppers to yarns by Davey Crockett’ if you want the flavor of the American people’s history, this is it.

[Marv · Rating 5 out of 5]

*

[Jessica Baumgartner · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some amazing stories in this book. I appreciate how well preserved the writing is. But some of the tales in here read like boring ramblings. I've gone through and folded down the pages of the good stuff and it's maybe a third of the book; the rest of it isn't much to take in.

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book printed in 1944. I gave it to jenn for christmas last year.

[Michael]

You get a sense of the history of the West. It's hard to know where you're goin' if ya don't know where ya been.

[Roquinn]

A Treasury of American Folklore by B.A. Botkin (1944)