Post by Cary Friedman on May 30, 2011 17:54:18 GMT -5
www.comicvine.com/myvine/razzatazz/book-review-wisdom-from-the-batcave/87-66330/
Book Review of Wisdom from the Batcave
RazzaTazz -- March 11, 2011
Most books exploring the plausibility of superheroes deal with the most practical of questions, usually regarding whether the stuff they do is any way possible. When it comes to Batman though, writers often look past the “is it possible?†aspect of the character and instead look at more of a “how-to.†It seems as though most people just accept that if a person was the world’s greatest athlete, a billionaire and high level genius that it would all be possible. So there are some training guides out there about how to become Batman, but a few books look at a different aspect of the character. Two books I which I have run across look at the moral consequences of being Batman. One is “Batman and Philosophy†which I haven’t finished yet but hope some day to review here as well (it was at the top of my reading list at one point and I got about 100 pages in, but now its down in like 10th spot). The other though and a much easier read and less academically written, “Wisdom from the Batcave.†If anything I would say this has the style more of a self-help book than a serious discussion of morality, but as it is written by a rabbi, a lot of moral and ethical questions still get across.
The book draws on heavily from the comics, almost every chapter is no more than 6 or 7 pages, and there is always a panel or two from a comic or cartoon. What I liked most was that this book is more of a framing of “how-to†book for how to live your life framed around Batman but not defined by him. There are lots of other good quotes in there as well as some interesting parables and anecdotes. I can’t help but love this book, it’s the type that you can read in parts and in any order as you like, and if you start one part you will finish it because you keep going back for more.
Thank you!
-- Cary
Book Review of Wisdom from the Batcave
RazzaTazz -- March 11, 2011
Most books exploring the plausibility of superheroes deal with the most practical of questions, usually regarding whether the stuff they do is any way possible. When it comes to Batman though, writers often look past the “is it possible?†aspect of the character and instead look at more of a “how-to.†It seems as though most people just accept that if a person was the world’s greatest athlete, a billionaire and high level genius that it would all be possible. So there are some training guides out there about how to become Batman, but a few books look at a different aspect of the character. Two books I which I have run across look at the moral consequences of being Batman. One is “Batman and Philosophy†which I haven’t finished yet but hope some day to review here as well (it was at the top of my reading list at one point and I got about 100 pages in, but now its down in like 10th spot). The other though and a much easier read and less academically written, “Wisdom from the Batcave.†If anything I would say this has the style more of a self-help book than a serious discussion of morality, but as it is written by a rabbi, a lot of moral and ethical questions still get across.
The book draws on heavily from the comics, almost every chapter is no more than 6 or 7 pages, and there is always a panel or two from a comic or cartoon. What I liked most was that this book is more of a framing of “how-to†book for how to live your life framed around Batman but not defined by him. There are lots of other good quotes in there as well as some interesting parables and anecdotes. I can’t help but love this book, it’s the type that you can read in parts and in any order as you like, and if you start one part you will finish it because you keep going back for more.
* * * * * * * * * *
Thank you!
-- Cary