Paul Bunyan: How a Terrible Timber Feller Became a Legend

"Paul Bunyan"...who ever thought he was anything but a fable...' D. Laurence Rogers discovered a series of clues linking infamous nineteenth-century lumberjack Fabian Joe Fournier to the development of famous Paul Bunyan. Totally preposterous'...not quite. This amazing sequence of research will convince & amaze every American with even a casual interest in the legend of Paul Bunyan. No scholar of American history would have even dreamed that the bar brawling Fournier would turn out to be a Prince Charming after his death, but this book details how it happened. From storytellers adding Fournier's exploits to the fame of one "Bon Jean," hero of the French Canadian revolution, to a newspaper writer who put the tale in story & poem form, to authors who embellished the tales, Bunyan's persona takes shape. H.L. Mencken, promoter of Bunyan, coaxed an article for American Mercury & later a book for Alfred Knopf from James Stevens, most popular of the early authors. American & British literati adopted Bunyan until folklore experts debunked the tales as "fakelore." It's time to take a new look at Paul Bunyan, real hero of the working man, says Rogers. Order from Publishers Distribution Service, 6893 Sullivan Road, Grawn, MI 49637, FAX: 616/276-5197, orders 800/345-0096.Rogers, D. Laurence is the author of 'Paul Bunyan: How a Terrible Timber Feller Became a Legend', published 1993 under ISBN 9780963536907 and ISBN 0963536907.