Folktales and Legends of the Middle West

Book excerpt: “Entertaining, informative, appealing, charming, and a thoroughly compelling read from first page to last . . . unreservedly recommended.” —Midwest Book Review America’s first superheroes lived in the Midwest. There was Nanabozho, the Ojibway man-god who conquered the King of Fish, took control of the North Wind, and inspired Longfellow’s The Song of Hiawatha. Paul Bunyan, the larger-than-life North Woods lumberjack, created Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes with his giant footsteps. More recently, Pittsburgh steelworker Joe Magerac squeezed out rails between his fingers, and Rosie the Riveter churned out the planes that won the world's most terrible war. In Folktales and Legends of the Middle West, Edward McClelland collects these stories and more. Readers will learn the sea shanties of the Great Lakes sailors and the spirituals of the slaves following the North Star across the Ohio River, and be frightened by tales of the Lake Erie Monster and Wisconsin's dangerous Hodag. A history of the region as told through its folklore, music, and legends, this is a book every Midwestern family should own. “Much of the pleasure in these tales might be called “truthful hyperbole” today. But instead of simply declaring feats of strength or eating to have been “the best,” the stories craft unforgettable images.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch