{"product_id":"the-caped-crusade-batman-and-the-rise-of-nerd-culture","title":"The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture","description":"\u003cp\u003eA witty  intelligent cultural history from NPR book critic Glen Weldon explains Batmans rises and falls throughout the agesand what his story tells us about ourselves.  Since his creation  Batman has been many things: a two-fisted detective; a planet-hopping gadabout; a campy Pop-art sensation; a pointy-eared master spy; and a grim and gritty ninja of the urban night. For more than three quarters of a century  he has cycled from a figure of darkness to one of lightness and back again; hes a bat-shaped Rorschach inkblot who takes on the various meanings our changing culture projects onto him. How we perceive Batmans character  whether hes delivering dire threats in a raspy Christian Bale growl or trading blithely homoerotic double-entendres with partner Robin on the comics page  speaks to who we are and how we wish to be seen by the world. Its this endlessly mutable quality that has made him so enduring.  And its Batmans fundamental nerdinesshis gadgets  his obsession  his oath  even his lack of superpowersthat uniquely resonates with his fans who feel a fiercely protective love for the character. Today  fueled by the internet  that breed of passion for elements of popular culture is everywhere. Which is what makes Batman the perfect lens through which to understand geek culture  its current popularity  and social significance.  In The Caped Crusade  with humor and insight  Glen Weldon  book critic for NPR and author of Superman: The Unauthorized Biography  lays out Batmans seventy-eight-year cultural history and shows how he has helped make us who we are today and why his legacy remains so strong.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44985876119605,"sku":"ByrdShop_1476756694","price":27.05,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781476756691.jpg?v=1770875164","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-caped-crusade-batman-and-the-rise-of-nerd-culture","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}