History & Criticism Books

The Marvel Encyclopedia

Daniel Wallace, Tom Brevoort, Andrew J. Darling, Tom DeFalco, Peter Sanderson, Michael Teitelbaum

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 76 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great Marvel's "All in one"edition 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book as a gift for my 14 years old son. He loves it. If you like comics, or if you are passionate fun of Marvel's best characters having this book IS A MUST.

Editorial Review:

Marvel Comics' character roster boasts some of the best known and most popular characters ever conceived-heroes that are international household names, both as comic book stars and movie stars, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk and Wolverine. This unique, one-volume encyclopedia contains more than 1000 of Marvel's greatest, with full details of their powers and their thrill-packed careers. The encyclopedia's range of spectacular art features eye-popping work by Marvel's finest artists, while the authoritative text is supplied by a team of top Marvel comic book writers. In addition, double-page features, illustrated with classic covers, trace the fascinating story of Marvel Comics through the decades. The Marvel Comics Encyclopedia is an essential book both for new fans and for those who grew up loving the excitement, heroism and humor of the Marvel Universe. Includes a foreword by Stan Lee.

The Annotated Alice: The Definitive Edition

Lewis Carroll

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"What is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversations!"

Readers who share Alice's taste in books will be more than satisfied with The Annotated Alice, a volume that includes not only pictures and conversations, but a thorough gloss on the text as well. There may be some, like G.K. Chesterton, who abhor the notion of putting Lewis Carroll's masterpiece under a microscope and analyzing it within an inch of its whimsical life. But as Martin Gardner points out in his introduction, so much of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass is composed of private jokes and details of Victorian manners and mores that modern audiences are not likely to catch. Yes, Alice can be enjoyed on its own merits, but The Annotated Alice appeals to the nosy parker in all of us. Thus we learn, for example, that the source of the mouse's tale may have been Alfred Lord Tennyson who "once told Carroll that he had dreamed a lengthy poem about fairies, which began with very long lines, then the lines got shorter and shorter until the poem ended with fifty or sixty lines of two syllables each." And that, contrary to popular belief, the Mad Hatter character was not a parody of then Prime Minister Gladstone, but rather was based on an Oxford furniture dealer named Theophilus Carter.

Gardner's annotations run the gamut from the factual and historical to the speculative and are, in their own way, quite as fascinating as the text they refer to. Occasionally, he even comments on himself, as when he quotes a fellow annotator of Alice, James Kincaid: "The historical context does not call for a gloss but the passage provides an opportunity to point out the ambivalence that may attend the central figure and her desire to grow up." And then follows with a charming riposte: "I thank Mr. Kincaid for supporting my own rambling." There's a lot of information in the margins (indeed, the page is pretty evenly divided between Carroll's text and Gardner's), but the ramblings turn out to be well worth the time. So hand over your old copy of Lewis Carroll's classic to the kids--this Alice in Wonderland is intended entirely for adults. --Alix Wilber

Fact, Fiction, and Folklore in Harry Potter's World: An Unofficial Guide

George Beahm

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Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Did you know that—

• J. K. Rowling's characters share a lot in common with J. R. R. Tolkien's characters?
• Many of the magical items in Harry's world actually have equivalents in ours?
• Some of Rowling's beasts have been around for hundreds of years?

Find out the stories behind the stories

With more than 300 entries, from bite-sized appetizers to meaty entrees, this book provides fun and fascinating facts behind the world myths, legends, literature, and history embedded in the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling, who holds a degree in French and the classics.

Arranged alphabetically in four sections—the fabulous beasts, the prominent wizards, the magical artifacts, and the places where the wizarding world hangs out—this comprehensive resource is entertaining and educational: Abominable Snowman to zombies, wizards Falco Aesalon to Bowman Wright, amulets to the wizard’s wireless, and the apothecary store to Zonko’s Joke Shop—it’s all covered here.

With seventy illustrations by five-time Hugo award winner Tim Kirk and newcomer Britton McDaniel, this Harry Potter companion is a visual and narrative treat that belongs on the shelf of every fan.

With Fact, Fiction, and Folklore in Harry Potter's World you can explore the fascinating connections in the enchanting world of Harry Potter.

Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A Good Excuse to Enjoy Harry Potter as an Adult 4 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

I very much enjoyed reading "Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts". As one who reads the Potter books mostly for the escapism, it was interesting to have the help of professional philosophers help me delve into the deeper meanings contained in the books. This book also helped me to appreciate JKR's talent even more. I believe she must have more than a cursery knowledge of philosophy herself. My favorite essays were "Feminism and Equal Opportunity:Herminone and the Women of Hogwarts", "Heaven, Hell and Harry Potter" "Magic,Muggles and Moral Imagination" and "The Prophecy-Driven Life: Foreknowledge and Freedom at Hogwarts" All of the essays had at least one "ah HA" moment where the brain went into high gear and really started purring. The essay "Space, Time and Magic" caused the usual brain cramp that all time travel conundrums do and I enjoyed it as much as I always enjoy such discussions with the addition that new concepts were introduced of which I had previously been unaware. I was not aquainted with the terms "tensed" and "tenseless" time. This book is probably not for the expert philosopher as these concepts will be basics but for someone of my experience (almost none) studying philosophy,it was a great read. Just like a good movie, don't leave before the credits are done; the bios at the end are amusing.

Editorial Review:

Harry Potter has put a spell on millions of readers, and they all want to find out more about the deeper meaning of his adventures. In Harry Potter and Philosophy, 17 experts in the field of philosophy unlock some of Hogwarts' secret panels, uncovering surprising insights that are enlightening both for wizards and for the most discerning muggles. Individual chapters look at such topics as life revealed in the Mirror of Erised; the ethics of magic; Moaning Myrtle, Nearly Headless Nick, and the relation of the mind to the brain; and the character of Hermione as a case of "sublimated feminism." Also examined in this witty collection are how Aristotle would have run a school for wizards; whether the Potter stories undermine religion and morality; how to tell good people from evil ones through the characters in these novels; and what dementors and boggarts can teach readers about happiness, fear, and the soul.

The Return of the Shadow: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part One (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 6)

J.R.R. Tolkien

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this sixth volume of The History of Middle-earth the story reaches The Lord of the Rings. In The Return of the Shadow (an abandoned title for the first volume) Christopher Tolkien describes, with full citation of the earliest notes, outline plans, and narrative drafts, the intricate evolution of The Fellowship of the Ring and the gradual emergence of the conceptions that transformed what J.R.R. Tolkien for long believed would be a far shorter book, 'a sequel to The Hobbit'. The enlargement of Bilbo's 'magic ring' into the supremely potent and dangerous Ruling Ring of the Dark Lord is traced and the precise moment is seen when, in an astonishing and unforeseen leap in the earliest narrative, a Black Rider first rode into the Shire, his significance still unknown. The character of the hobbit called Trotter (afterwards Strider or Aragorn) is developed while his indentity remains an absolute puzzle, and the suspicion only very slowly becomes certainty that he must after all be a Man. The hobbits, Frodo's companions, undergo intricate permutations of name and personality, and other major figures appear in strange modes: a sinister Treebeard, in league with the Enemy, a ferocious and malevolent Farmer Maggot.

The story in this book ends at the point where J.R.R. Tolkien halted in the story for a long time, as the Company of the Ring, still lacking Legolas and Gimli, stood before the tomb of Balin in the Mines of Moria. The Return of the Shadow is illustrated with reproductions of the first maps and notable pages from the earliest manuscripts.

The War of the Ring: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Three (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 8)

J.R.R. Tolkien

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In The War of the Ring Christopher Tolkien takes up the story of the writing of The Lord of the Rings with the Battle of Helm's Deep and the drowning of Isengard by the Ents. This is followed by an account of how Frodo, Sam and Gollum were finally brought to the Pass of Kirith Ungol, at which point J.R.R. Tolkien wrote at the time: 'I have got the hero into such a fix that not even an author will be able to extricate him without labour and difficulty'. Then comes the war in Gondor, and the book ends with the parley between Gandalf and the ambassador of the Dark Lord before the Black Gate of Mordor.

In describing his intentions for The Return of the King J.R.R. Tolkien said that 'It will probably work out very differently from this plan when it really gets written, as the thing seems to write itself once it gets going'; and in The War of the Ring totally unforeseen developmenst that would become central to the narrative are seen at the moment of their emergence: the palantir bursting into fragments on the stairs of Orthanc, its nature as unknown to the author as to those who saw it fall, or the entry of Faramir into the story ('I am sure I did not invent him, though I like him, but there he came walking into the woods of Ithilien').

The book is illustrated with plans and drawings of the changing conceptions of Orthanc, Dunharrow, Minas Tirith and the tunnels of Shelob's Lair.

The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre (Cornell Paperbacks)

Tzvetan Todorov

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

What Todorov Means! 5 out of 5 stars.
21 of 22 people found this review helpful.

This book is a great achievement in criticism, but one should be warned that Todorov is not talking about elves and dragons when he uses the term "Fantastic." In this book Todorov advances his definition of the fantastic as a "hesitation" or inability to decide whether events in a narrative are natural or supernatural. Thus, the book deals more with straight supernatural fiction, than with what we usually think of as "fantasy" fiction. All in all, Todorov is insightful and his book is a great companion to anyone who enjoys French, English, or American supernatural fiction.

Structuralist view of 'the fantastic' 4 out of 5 stars.
18 of 19 people found this review helpful.

Those interested in the structuralist criticism of the 1960s-70s will find the most joy here, with Todorov applying the rigorous structuralist stance to one of literature's most fascinating genres. His demolition of Northrop Frye's approach to 'genre' in Chapter 1 is still cogent after thirty years (and an amusing read in its own right), but it's Todorov's chapters on the 'themes of the fantastic', and his conclusion on its role in literature generally, which are most compelling. This is not, however, an easy read. As Robert Scholes notes in his foreword, "neither structuralism itself nor poetics in general is noted for its ability to charm readers." You don't say. Fortunately, Todorov uses many examples from well known fantastic texts - such as 'The Arabian Nights' and the works of Edgar Alan Poe - and also from lesser known French works which will have you rushing out to the antiquarian bookstore to hunt them down. You can accept or reject the structuralist position - but if nothing else, this book will open up a whole new world of 'fantastic' novels for you to enjoy.

The Psychology of Harry Potter: An Unauthorized Examination of the Boy Who Lived (Psychology of Popular Culture series)

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A solid collection of psychology essays 5 out of 5 stars.
39 of 43 people found this review helpful.

This is a nice compendium of essays associating Harry Potter with a range of topics in psychology. It stacks up well to other collections of critical essays and applications that take the Harry Potter books as their starting point.

The book is actually 326 pages and has an introduction and 22 chapters. Since the Table of Contents isn't available above, here are the chapters:

Introduction
Neil Mulholland, Ph.D.

What Do Students Learn from Hogwarts Classes?
Robin S. Rosenberg, Ph.D.

Harry's Curiosity
Susan Engel with Sam Levin

Intergroup Conflict in the World of Harry Potter
Kevin J. Apple and Melissa J. Beers

"Have You Got What it Takes to Train Security Trolls?": Career Counseling for Wizards
Shoshana D. Kerewsky, Psy.D., and Lissa Joy Geiken, M.Ed.

Hogwarts Academy: Common Sense and Magic
Charles W. Kalish and Emma C. Kalish

Attachment Styles at Hogwarts: From Infancy to Adulthood
Wind Goodfriend, Ph.D.

What Harry and Fawkes Have in Common: The Transformative Power of Grief
Misty Hook

Harry Potter and the Resilience to Adversity
Richard E. Heyman and Danielle M. Provenzano

Discovering Magic
Karl S. Rosengren and Emily C. Rosengren

The Magical World of Muggles
Carol Nemeroff

Time and Time Again: Muggle's Watch, the Wizard's Clock
Peter A. Hancock and Michelle K. Gardner

The Social Dynamics of Power and Cooperation in the Wizarding World
Nancy Franklin

Mental Illness in the World of Wizardry
Jessica Leigh Murakami

"Dobby Had to Iron His Hands, Sir!": Self-Inflicted Cuts, Burns, and Bruises in Harry Potter
E. David Klonsky, Ph.D., and Rebecca Laptook, M.A.

The Werewolf in the Wardrobe
Siamak Tundra Naficy

Exploring the Dark Side: Harry Potter and the Psychology of Evil
Christopher J. Patrick and Sarah K. Patrick

Harry Potter and the Word That Shall Not Be Named
Mikhail Lyubansky

Evolution, Development, and the Magic of Harry Potter
David H. Rakison and Caroline Simard

Using Psychological Treatment with Harry
Neil Mulholland, Ph.D.

Defense Against the Real Dark Arts
Patricia A. Rippetoe

Resisting Social Influence: Lessons from Harry Potter
Melanie C. Green

Harry Potter and the Magic of Transformation
Laurie J. Pahel

Editorial Review:

** COMPLETELY UNAUTHORIZED **

Leading psychologists delve into the world and characters of Harry Potter in this revealing look at J. K. Rowling's constructed universe, using the characters and their puzzling situations to offer insight into real-world psychology. Designed to appeal to both fans of pop culture and students of psychology, this unique blend of scholarship and contemporary criticism consists of essays by professional psychologists hailing from schools and clinical practices throughout the world. Every major area of psychology is covered as the contributors tackle such heady questions as Is Harry a cranky adolescent or suffering from real post-traumatic-stress disorder? Is Voldemort evil incarnate or a misguided boy now twisted beyond recognition? and Is Snape treacherous or struggling for redemption?, revealing the fictional world's complex psychological brew.

Superman vs. Hollywood: How Fiendish Producers, Devious Directors, and Warring Writers Grounded an American Icon (Cappella Books)

Jake Rossen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

You would believe a man could (almost) fly 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I was expecting a picture laden history of the large scale Superman movies from the 70's and eighties when I first thought about buying this book and was a little put out by the fact there were not a lot of pictures in it. However, the information inside the covers of this book was eye opening indeed and didn't need pictures to illustrate the point.

If you're looking for all the juicy, digging up the dirt on celebrities trivia on what went on behind the scenes in any of the incarnations of Superman, this really isn't the place to look.

If you're looking for a well researched history on all the trials and tribulations involved in getting Superman off the pages of comic books and up into the sky via radio serials, TV live action series and cartoons or cinemas, this is the book for you.

The author has dug deep and gathered together a wide cross section of information that shows just how hard it is to get a idea past the post. From writers who have no idea how to write the Superman character to studio execs who are only interested in the after market merchandising and how to save a few million dollars by compromising the vision.

The fact that Superman actually got to fly is pretty amazing.

Editorial Review:

Superman has fought for nearly seven decades to conquer radio, television, and film—but his battles behind the scenes have proved a far greater threat than any fictional foe. For the first time, one book unearths all the details of his turbulent adventures in Tinseltown.

Based on extensive interviews with producers, screenwriters, cast members, and crew, Superman vs. Hollywood spills the beans on Marlon Brando’s eccentricities; the challenges of making Superman appear to fly; the casting process that at various points had Superman being played by Sylvester Stallone, Neil Diamond, Nicolas Cage, Ashton Kutcher, and even Muhammad Ali; and the Superman movies, fashioned by such maverick filmmakers as Kevin Smith and Tim Burton, that never made it to the screen.

The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion

Wayne G. Hammond, Christina Scull

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion internationally acclaimed scholars Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull examine Tolkien's masterpiece chapter by chapter, offering expert insights into its evolution, structure, and meaning. They discuss in close detail important literary and historical influences on the development of The Lord of the Rings, connections between that work and other writings by Tolkien, errors and inconsistencies, significant changes to the text during its fifty years of publication, archaic and unusual words used by Tolkien, and words and passages in his invented languages of Middle-earth. Thousands of notes, keyed to standard editions of The Lord of the Rings but universally accessible, reveal the richness and complexity of one of the most popular works of fiction in our time. In addition to their own expertise and that of other scholars and critics, Hammond and Scull frequently draw upon comments by Tolkien himself, made in letters to family, friends, and enthusiasts, in draft texts of The Lord of the Rings, and in works written in later years which amplify or illuminate characters and events in the story. Extensive reference is made also to writings by Tolkien not previously or widely published, including elaborate time-schemes, an unfinished manuscript index to The Lord of the Rings, and most notably, the important Nomenclature or guide to names in The Lord of the Rings prepared for the use of translators, long out of print and now newly transcribed and printed in its entirety. With these resources at hand, even the most seasoned reader of The Lord of the Rings will come to a greater enjoyment and appreciation of Tolkien's magnificent achievement.