This book contains over 250 folktales and, even more importantly, it was published as an affordable, mass market paperback for a general audience. That meant it reached a very wide audience back in the day, and it also means there are abundant used copies you can find at used booksellers too. The book is almost 400 pages long, and it was just 75 cents back in the day.
On the cover is one of my all-time favorite stories: it's Sam and the Mermaid! Even better: the book contains not one or two but three different versions of that story. I can't find the artist for the cover art credit anywhere, but it sure is a great cover!
Here is a listing of the chapter headings: Animal and Bird Stories ~ Old Master and John ~ Colored Man and White Man ~ Hoodoos and Two-Heads ~ Spirits and Hants ~ Witches and Mermaids ~ The Lord and the Devil ~ Wonders ~ Horrors ~ Protest Tales ~ Scare Tales ~ Fool Tales ~ Lying Tales ~ Preachers ~ Irishmen.
Many of these stories come from Dorson's work with storytellers in Arkansas and Michigan, but unlike the other book which was arranged in two parts geographically, and then by theme, this book is organized entirely by themes, so all the animal stories are together, all the ghost stories are together, etc. This book is dedicated to the memory of James Douglas Suggs, the remarkable storyteller in Michigan who told so many of the stories found in this book. You'll find Suggs's own life story included as part of the book.
As in the Arkansas/Michigan book, each story is accompanied by a preliminary note with comparative information and other commentary. For example:
The bibliography and commentary can then become a jumping-off point for further reading and research, including lots of materials available at the Internet Archive of course!
by Richard Dorson
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