The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture follows the same template Glen Weldon used in his Superman: The Unauthorized Biography. After some general remarks, Weldon takes a chronological approach to the evolution of Batman. Initially, the focus is on Bob Kane and Bill Finger producing a character that is a direct rip-off of The Shadow. But, over time, Batman changes into something other than an a vigilante. Robin, The Boy Wonder, is added (the first comic side-kick, according to Weldon). The comic book industry goes through turmoil in the 1950s and Batman changes again. Weldon spends a whole chapter on the Batman TV show starring Adam West and Burt Ward (Weldon’s first exposure to Batman). After the campy series goes into reruns, it continues to hold a fan base. But the Seventies finds Batman going to the Dark Side. Weldon documents the change from a detective to an avenger with a violent streak. This new, more ruthless Batman shows up in the movies of the Nineties. The new millennium brings the Christian Bale Batman movies directed by Christopher Nolan. And, now we have to contend with Ben Aflick as Batman. If you’re a Batman fan, you’ll love The Caped Crusade. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction: Batman, Nerd
1. Origin and Growing Pains (1939-1949)
2. Panic and Aftermath (1948-1964)
3. Same Bat-Time (1965-1969)
4. Back to the Shadows (1969-1985)
5. Bat-Noir (1986-1988)
6. The Goth of Gotham (1989-1996)
7. The Caped Crusade (1992-20003)
8. Trilogy of Terror (2005-2012)
9. The Unified Theory (2004- )
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INDEX
IMAGE CREDITS

Ted Cruz, running a distant third in next Tuesday’s Republican Primary in New York, holds a “Town Hall Meeting” at SUNY at Buffalo (about 15 minutes from my house) with Chuck Todd of MSNBC today. The event will be taped and broadcast tonight at 8 P.M. on MSNBC. So far, Cruz has been heckled and harassed since he arrived in New York City last week. This is not Cruz country. Donald Trump arrives in Buffalo over the weekend. If John Kasich was in town, no one noticed. It’s been a long time since New York had an impact on the primary process. A big Trump win could make the prospects of a Cruz comeback remote and a “Contested Convention” less likely. I still think the Republican Convention in Cleveland in July will resemble the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Chaos!

If you’re a fan of P.G. Wodehouse’s wonderful Jeeves and Bertie, you’ll find Nigel Cawthorne’s slim little book a delight. Cawthorne provides outlines of the thirty-five short stories and eleven novels. From “Extricating Young Gussie” to Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen, this book is a celebration of the clever stories and unforgettable characters in the series. In addition, Cawthorne also discusses the many adaptations of the Jeeves and Bertie Saga for stage and movies and TV. Nigel Cawthorne has also written A Brief Guide to James Bond and A Brief History of Sherlock Holmes. I can recommend both volumes in addition to this one. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction
Chapter 1: P.G. Wodehouse
Chapter 2: The Birth of Jeeves and Wooster
Chapter 3: The Short Stories
Chapter 4: The Novels
Chapter 5: Bertram Wilberforce Wooster
Chapter 6: Jeeves
Chapter 7: Aunts and Uncles
Chapter 8: Fiancees and Sweethearts
Chapter 9: Drones and Other Acquintances
Chapter 10: Old Hardened Arteries and Rozzers
Chapter 11: Stage and Screen
Bibliography
Index

Back in 2003, DC Comics published Superman/Batman issues 1-6. The premise was Lex Luthor becomes President of the U.S. and Superman and Batman become Public Enemies as a result. Lex Luthor manages to entice other superheroes like Captain Atom, Power Girl, Katana, and Starfire into working for his Government. Watching superheroes battle each other is one of the attractions of the graphic novels and this new animated movie. This package includes the six graphic novels and two Blu-ray disks with the 69-minute movie and a disk full of extras. If you’re a fan of Superman and Batman, you’ll enjoy this wonderful package. GRADE: B+

Ever wonder why the U.S. economy is so sluggish? Or why our roads and bridges are crumbling? Or why our schools continue to decline? Michael Mandelbaum thinks he has the answer to those perplexing questions. Mandelbaum wrote Mission Failure to show how American foreign policy has not only produced failures, they were expensive failures! Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo during the Clinton Administration started the expensive military adventures. Then the Bush Administration started two wars, first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq. And didn’t raise taxes to pay for them. If you look at the $19 trillion debt the U.S. is burdened with, much of that money was spent on frivolous and ill-considered military actions. From 1993 to 2014 the outcomes of American foreign policy have failed. Mandelbaum provides convincing evidence that U.S. interests over the past 20 years would have been better served by fixing our infrastructure and improving our education system.

Mission Failure suggests strategies the new Administration in 2017 could implement to reverse this two-decade pattern of failure and waste. I was saddened and enlightened by this brilliant book. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: China, the Global Economy, and Russia ; A New Administration in a New World ; China and Human Rights ; Economics as Foreign Policy ; Russia: The Good Deed ; Russia: The Bad Deed
Chapter 3: Humanitarian Intervention ; The Innovation ; Somalia, Haiti, Rwanda ; Bosnia ; Kosovo ; Famous Victories
Chapter 4: The War on Terror and Afghanistan ; To the World Trade Center ; The War on Terror ; Afghanistan: Success ; Afghanistan: Failure ; Afghanistan: The Long Goodbye
Chapter 5: Iraq ; From War to War ; From Success to Failure ; The Wars After the War ; The Home Front ; Exit and Reentry
Chapter 6: The Middle East ; The Center of the World ; The Peace Process ; Land for War ; The Democracy Agenda ; The Arab Spring
Chapter 7: The Restoration ; The End of the Post-Cold War Era ; The Bubbles Burst ; The Rogues ; The Rise of China ; The Revenge of Russia
Chapter 8: Conclusion

Peter Wolf is the vocalist and composer for the J. Geils Band. The J. Geils Band had their heyday in the 1970s and 1980s. But Peter Wolf continued writing songs and releasing solo albums. The just released A Cure for Loneliness on Concord Records is one of Wolf’s best albums. I liked the blend of styles and the variety of songs. Ever wonder what that old J. Geils Band hit “Love Stinks” sounds like in a bluegrass version? It’s here. And Wolf covers the old Fifties hit, “Tragedy,” with the right amount of emotion. My favorite songs on this CD are “Peace of Mind” and the song that was supposed to be a duet with Bobby Womack, “It’s Raining.” Womack died before the recording session so Wolf dedicates the song to Bobby and sings it solo. If you’re in the mood for an eclectic, entertaining album, you’ve come to the right place with A Cure for Loneliness. Take a listen below. GRADE: B+
TRACK LIST:
1. Rolling On
2. It Was Always So Easy (To Find an Unhappy Woman)
3. Peace of Mind
4. How Do You Know
5. Fun for Awhile
6. Wastin’ Time
7. Some Other Time, Some Other Place
8. It’s Raining
9. Love Stinks
10. Mr. Mistake
11. Tragedy
12. Stranger

Mark Twain’s Life on the Mississippi is the Wall Street Journal Book Club choice for April. I hadn’t read Life on the Mississippi before but I had a copy on my shelves for years so I figured I’d read it now. The big attraction of the book is the process Mark Twain goes through to become a pilot of a riverboat. Twain has to learn 1,200 miles of river in order to maneuver his steamboat to its destination. And, then Twain has to learn another 1,200 miles of river to get back to the beginning! Life on the river back in the 1860s is wild and varied. Sadly, by the end of the Civil War, the economy of the Mississippi completely changed and Twain had to find a new profession. You can read more about Life on the Mississippi here. This is the first non-fiction book the Wall Street Journal Book Club picked for its readers. I enjoyed it. Do you have a favorite Mark Twain book?

Edward Gorey provided cover artwork for hundreds of hardcovers and paperbacks from 1953 to 2000. This wonderful book collects a small fraction of that artwork but what’s here is breath-taking! The book was edited by Gorey enthusiast Steven Heller who is the co-chair of the MFA Design: Designer as Author program at the School of Visual Arts, New York. Heller’s informative introduction shows the range of artistic subjects Gorey tackled in his covers. Also, one of my favorites, The Dark Beasts (1964) by Frank Belknap Long, is included in this marvelous volume. If you’re a fan of paperback artwork, this is a must-buy!

Bill Clinton showed up in Western New York yesterday to fire up volunteers for Hillary. Donald Trump plans a visit to Buffalo in a week or so. No word on when Bernie Sanders will come to town. Today, Ted Cruz was heckled in New York City so he might be wary about coming here.

Most of my students support Bernie Sanders. When asked why, they tell me: “Bernie is going to give me a free college education.” Who do you think will win the New York Primary on April 19?

Iain Pears, best known for An Instance of the Fingerpost and a series of art mysteries like The Immaculate Deception, comes up with an entertaining cautionary tale with Arcadia. In the future, a genius mathematician named Angela Meerson invents a machine which is supposed to access parallel universes. In this dystopian future, the Earth is overcrowded with 35 billion people struggling to live. Parallel universes could solve that problem: the Government could send excess population to new worlds. But Angela thinks her machine doesn’t access parallel works; she thinks it’s a time machine. Angela destroys all of her notes and data and goes through the machine. She ends up in Europe in 1936.

Angel invents another machine, one that creates a “pocket universe.” When a young girl named Rosie accidentally enters this new world, her presence triggers unanticipated forces. The story bounces around from the future to the pocket universe–called Anterwold–to post World War II Britain. I enjoyed the characters and the importance of Story in this novel. And, as a bonus, Iain Pears throws in a murder mystery. If you’re in the mood for a clever adventure novel, Arcadia will provide hours of enjoyment. GRADE: A-