King Arthur In America

King Arthur in America analyzes the tremendous appeal of the Arthurian legends in America by examining the ways that Americans have found to democratize the Matter of Britain and to incorporate aspects of it not only into America's own mythologies but also into literature, film, social history, and popular culture.

In American fiction, two forms of the Arthurian myth are commonly found: the use of the myth for political reasons, and the use of the myth for the continuation of an aesthetic tradition that can be traced back to the earliest use of the Arthurian cycle by writers in the British Isles. This work traces the use of the legend from Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court to Donald Barthelme's novel The King. It discusses how Twain used the myth to take a stand against England, how it served cultural and aesthetic purposes in John Steinbeck's writing, how Raymond Chandler used it in complex texts with less obvious Arthurian allusions that carried strong cultural and even political associations, how John Gardner used aspects of the myth to embellish already existing narrative structures and to underscore philosophic debates, and how Donald Barthelme suggests the continuing interest of American writers in the Arthurian legend today in his novels. Also discussed is the effect of World War II on American literature and the Arthurian myth and the Camelot image surrounding the Kennedys.

Three sixth-century Welsh poems have miraculously survived to provide new information on Arthur's life. Most astonishing of all, they record a disastrous sea voyage to a distant land where the Britons fought torrid battles against the inhabitants but were eventually decimated. From details in the poems Dr MacCann shows that this land was America.

The Story of King Arthur and His Knights consists of a large series of episodes in the legend of the mythological first king of Britain King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. First part of the book tells how young Arthur pulled a sword out of an anvil, how he learned of his royal lineage, and how he thus became king. Second part tells the stories of Merlin, Sir Pellias, Sir Gawaine and other noble knights.

The legend of King Arthur is embedded in British and American culture. Contemporary America, in particular, is a rich breeding ground for the Arthurian mythos, not only in films, novels, short stories, and fantasy and science fiction, but in other areas of popular and mass culture as well. This work is a collection of 18 previously unpublished essays that demonstrate the impressive extent to which the Arthurian legend continues to permeate contemporary culture beyond film and literature. The essays cover the Arthurian legend in economics, ethics, education, entertainment, music, fun and games, the Internet, and esoterica. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

The epic true story of an extreme athlete, a stray dog, and how they found each other—now a major motion picture from Lionsgate starring Mark Walhberg and Simu Liu. “A miraculous tale.”—Washington Post “Like all great tales, this one had an intriguing start: a small good deed with enormous consequences for the dog and his rescuers, the basis for a heroic and heartwarming story.”—Forbes When you're racing 435 miles through the jungles and mountains of South America, the last thing you need is a stray dog tagging along. But that's exactly what happened to Mikael Lindnord, captain of a Swedish adventure racing team, when he threw a scruffy but dignified mongrel a meatball one afternoon. When the team left the next day, the dog followed. Try as they might, they couldn't lose him—and soon Mikael realized that he didn't want to. Crossing rivers, battling illness and injury, and struggling through some of the toughest terrain on the planet, the team and the dog walked, kayaked, cycled, and climbed together toward the finish line, where Mikael decided he would save the dog, now named Arthur, and bring him back to his family in Sweden, whatever it took. Illustrated with candid photographs, Arthur provides a testament to the amazing bond between dogs and people.

Presents the author's reinterpretation of tales from Malory's Morte d'Arthur.

Centuries ago, when the earth was still young and sorcerers and fairies were believed to roam the misty forest, a mortal man changed history. Arthur, born into a dark world of savage violence, united the Britons against their enemies at the battle of Mount Badon. For centuries, Britons shared Arthur's story around their campfires. Eventually, the story passed out of the Dark Ages and into modern literature. Follow Arthur, his wife Guinevere, and the knights of the Round Table as the story evolves from a world of warlords and bloodshed into a kingdom of mythical medieval knights, sorcerers, love, and ultimately, betrayal.