Quick Reviews

Here are some books I have read recently:

Holy Superheroes! by Greg Garrett

This nonfiction books examines the impact of faith and spirituality in comic books. The book is less than 200 pages so the examination is cursory but informative. I enjoyed the book mainly because I enjoy both the intersection of the two different elements, as well as each element individually. Some of the sections were thought provoking, while the post-9/11 chapter is very touching. The book is rife with quotes from founding fathers and great social reformers which make the book worthwhile in itself. If you have a little time to kill and enjoy thinking about spirituality or what role comic books have in our society as side from providing scantly clad women illustrations for the teenager male population, pick up Garrett's book.



July, July by Tim O'Brien

Tim O'Brien is a wonderful storyteller. He's also a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul. A fun fact for me when I was talking to Prof. Dick Lesicko about the book in March. O'Brien was a member of Lesicko's debate team. Anyways, I have been impressed with O'Brien ever since I read The Things They Carried (the collection of narratives not just the short story of the same title). This book is about a class reunion (at Mac but in the book it's Darton Hall) of former hippies and Vietnam Vets. It's an interesting examination of what happens in life after college, when you have to put form to your dreams and theories. It's a quick read and a good summertime book.



Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

As I wrote in my review of Fragile Things I like Gaiman's writing style and fantasy worlds. He always has an excellent amalgam of wit, history, religion, philosophy, and the spectacular. The premise of this novel is that there is a world beneath London, literally an Underground London, were people go when they fall through the cracks or are forgotten. This alternative London is full of knights, lords, monsters, and bounty hunters. The novel is about a man that stumbles into this world after trying to help a young woman and desparately tries to get his old life back. Another great summertime or travel book.



How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer

Foer aims to explain globalization and the geopolitics of certain regions through their passion and treatment of football (soccer). It's an interesting book, and surprisingly on point with some regions international politics. I learned a lot about the history of certain European clubs like Milan, Barcelona, and the nasty sectarian history and fighting between Reading and Celtic. Rarely in the United States do we hear any news about the football clubs around the world. Every four years soccer is a blip on our radars for the World Cup and then back to exile, making it hard to understand the world's passion for the sport. While Foer doesn't actually believe that soccer/football explains the positives and negatives of globalization he does provide a clear argument for the extension of certain world ailments (i.e. sectarian strife, crime syndicates, ethnics divides, and the Jewish Question) onto and into football clubs around the world.


In the end, I would reccommend all of these books for summer reading. None of them are too heavy for a nice summer day.