( 5 reviews )
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( 3 of 3 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jan 30 2006
It is hard to review a book like this...or is it easy? The book is a collection of modern urban legends and the truth (or untruth) behind them. I guess you could criticize his selection of legends to cover, but that is more a personal choice. The truth is, Roeper does a solid job of reviewing the legend in question and then delving into the story behind it. It succeeds exactly where it intends to succeed. It is a light-hearted, entertaining book. This is a book you can read 10 minutes at a time and always come away entertained.
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Oct 10 2004
"Urban Legends" by Richard Roeper is a light read perfect for a teen audience. This book touches on most of the common urban legends, the welcome to the world of AIDS urban legend, whether Tupac is really dead, Tommy Hilfiger on Oprah and other urban legends that have been rehashed over time. The book dispells what is truth and what is fiction. Overall though this book doesn't really tell readers what can't be found on the Internet or in other books. It's an entertaining book.
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( 3 of 4 found this review helpful ) Posted: May 3 2003
In this book there are many of those Urban Legends that we've heard of that have been circulating since we can remember. And, there are also many tales that we haven't heard of. Today we get most of these myths via email, but before email came to be, I remember hearing...."this happened....I heard that....so-and-so said....did you know that....?" And beyond the humor, are the effects these tall-tales can have on the people and places they're about. Many of these "alleged" rumors were followed up in the form of questions from journalists during media interviews. Often, the media will investigate a rumor (urban myth) to see if there is any merit to it. Once debunked as false however, the rumor lives on in peoples' minds.HIV positive Hyperdermic needles left in the coin returns of pay phones. Those unfortunate people who went out on the town to wake up in hotel bathtub filled with ice, and a note left to call the Doctor because their Kidney had been removed. And what's to that gerbil rumor involving a celebrity we all know? Well, that's false too. That particular myth has been tagged on other celebrities going back to the 70s.Who started these tales? When? How did they get spread?In addition to listing and describing these interesting myths, Roeper notes of the origins, means and methods of their growth, and the current believability status of many of them. Good coffee table book. It'll occupy some of the folks you'll bring over.
