false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1188343298m/1786934.jpg 1786934 3 Who was the real John Henry? The story of this legendary African-American figure has come down to us in so many songs, stories, and plays, that the facts are often lost. Historian Scott Nelson brings John Henry alive for young readers in his personal quest for the <i>true story</i> of the man behind the myth. Nelson presents the famous folk song as a mystery to be unraveled, identifying the embedded clues within the lyrics, which he examines to uncover many surprising truths. He investigates the legend and reveals the real John Henry in this beautifully illustrated book. <br><br>Nelson&#8217;s narrative is multilayered, interweaving the story of the building of the railroads, the period of Reconstruction, folk tales, American mythology, and an exploration of the tradition of work songs and their evolution into blues and rock and roll. This is also the story of the author&#8217;s search for the flesh-and-blood man who became an American folk hero; Nelson gives a first-person account of how the historian works, showing history as a process of discovery. Readers rediscover an African-American folk hero. We meet John Henry, the man who worked for the railroad, driving steel spikes. When the railroad threatens to replace workers with a steam-powered hammer, John Henry bets that he can drive the beams into the ground faster than the machine. He wins the contest, but dies in the effort. <br><br>Nelson&#8217;s vibrant text, combined with archival images, brings a new perspective and focus to the life and times of this American legend. 1785833 26 12 2007 Ain't Nothing but a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry total:72|5:34|4:26|3:8|2:4|1:0| 72 306 101 34 4 1 false false Sun Aug 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 03 10:57:49 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 03 14:03:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Jul 30 19:29:29 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 23 11:55:50 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Mon Feb 02 21:43:19 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 21:56:43 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Dec 31 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 31 14:31:42 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 31 14:31:42 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 09:55:37 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 09:56:52 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Mar 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 09 13:48:18 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 09 13:52:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Feb 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 08 20:20:48 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 08 20:20:48 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 29 08:32:55 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 29 08:46:14 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jun 05 15:26:39 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 15:29:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jun 18 19:47:01 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 19:50:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Dec 21 11:16:43 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 21 11:40:20 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 02 09:52:14 -0700 2008 Fri May 02 10:17:22 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Nov 05 09:01:09 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 05 09:08:33 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jul 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 13:23:34 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 13:25:40 -0700 2009 A great teaching tool about research, and also a great way to show kids that history can be very interesting. Excellent resources for further research in...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 10 14:47:27 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 10 15:02:49 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jun 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 22 07:34:49 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 22 16:05:43 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 31 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 31 13:44:09 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 31 13:50:46 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jul 16 07:12:53 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 07:14:29 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 18 13:19:36 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 18 15:35:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 02 16:50:01 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 02 16:54:26 -0700 2008
The story in this book is two-fold: first, of the story behind the real John Henry -- yes, he was apparently a real person-- and second, of historian Scott Reynolds Nelson's journey to find th...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1786934