The Adventures of Superman (Lowther, 1942)

The Adventures of Superman (1942; 2005 reprint/facsimile edition)
George Lowther
([LibraryThing] [Amazon])

Originally published in 1942 (first reprinted in an unauthorized paperback edition in 1979 and again--this time, authorized--in a 1995 hardcover facsimile edition. As detailed in the new introduction written by Roger Stern (who had just recently written the novelization of the Death of Superman storyline), by 1942 Superman had already moved the comic books (introduced in Action Comics #1, June 1938 cover date) to the newspaper comic strips (daily strip starting on January 16, 1939), a radio program (premiering February 12, 1940), and animated theatrical cartoons (September 1941). So when this novel clearly aimed at younger readers (although a special "Armed Services Edition" was also sent overseas to military personnel), Superman was clearly still riding a rather large wave of popularity. This novel is well known to die-hard Superman afficionados/historians as being the source of several key elements of what eventually became the standard Superman mythos, amongst them being Superman's Kryptonian parents' names being given as "Jor-el" and "Lara" for the first time--building upon the earlier names of "Kal-L" and "Lora" given in the Superman newspaper strips; "Jor-el" would eventually come to be written as "Jor-El". (He also gave us the names "Sarah" and "Eben Kent" for Clark's adoptive parents. As Stern describes, the names for these characters changed several times over the years before settling upon "Jonathan" and "Martha Kent".)

The novel itself follows the a pretty standard pattern. It begins with Jor-el warning his fellow members of the "Council of One Hundred" at "Krypton's magnificent Temple of Wisdom" of the planet's impending destruction. They, of course, do not believe him. Jor-el and Lara barely are able to get their infant son, Kal-el, into the model rocket ship Jor-el had been building (prior to building a much larger one) and send him on to the planet Earth. There, he is found by a poor farmer and his wife. (The material up to this point is probably the least interesting as it's been done over and over again; the 1948 Superman movie serial and first episode of the George Reeves The Adventures of Superman television series both use many of the same names as Lowther does, here.) We then skip ahead a bit to Clark's thirteenth year, when he begins to discover his unique abilities (first spotting an award ribbon stuck at the back of the teacher's desk drawer with his x-ray vision; his teacher's name is "Miss Lang"(!), no relation to Lana Lang, I presume). We then get a rather detailed scene in which Eben enters an anvil lifting contest at the state fair (the family is greatly in debt and the award for the winner is $500). Long story short, Eben puts up a good effort but can't beat the much younger man known as "The Bull". Clark gets upset when his father is laughed at and walks right up and easily lifts the anvil high over his head. Later, however, it turns out that Eben had strained his heart past the point of recovery and later dies.

Soon after this (skipping ahead a bit), Clark leaves and attempts to get a job as a newspaper reporter at The Daily Planet in Metropolis. He had briefly met Perry White at the state fair (White was a reporter looking for a story). By this point, White is the editor of the Planet. He can't guarantee Clark a job as Clark has no newspaper experience, but he sends Clark up to Maine to look into reported sightings of a phantom clipper ship with a skeleton crew. From this point forward, the novel very much takes on the feeling of the classic Superman radio shows, which is natural as George Lowther wrote many of those. The writing style is simple yet engaging. Joe Shuster, the original Superman comic book and comic strip artist and co-creator of the character (along with writer Jerry Siegel), along with the artists in his studio, provides ten full page illustrations (four in color), plus many more sketches of Superman as heading off each chapter. While hardly "great writing", this first ever novel based on a comic book superhero is still an enjoyable read (and a "must read" for diehard Superman afficionados interested in the early development of the character). (Finished reading 8/18/09)

The Complete Making of Indiana Jones

The Complete Making of Indiana Jones: The Definitive Story Behind All Four Films (2008)
Laurent Bouzereau and J. W. Rinzler
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A treasure trove for Indiana Jones fans! First off, the "credits": new interviews by Laurent Bouzereau; written by J.W. Rinzler; foreword by Steven Spielberg; preface by George Lucas. This book goes takes you from the earliest discussions between Lucas and Spielberg while vacationing in Hawaii--at the same time Star Wars was opening in theaters in the U.S.--in 1977 about this notion Lucas had for a series of movies about an "adventurer-archaeologist" in the style of the old 1930s/40s "B-movies", through the four year development and production (pre-production, shooting, and post-production) of the first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and onwards through the making of the following three sequels. In addition to newly conducted interviews with all of the principal figures, much of the information gathered here is from film shooting logs, meeting transcript, and media publications of the time. And there is a wealth of beautiful color and black and white photographs direct from the Lucasfilm archives. I can not recommend this book enough to fans of the series. Buy this book! (Or, at least, try to check it out from your local library and give it a serious skimming through, taking in all of the gorgeous photos and picking out your own favorite moments to read about.) (Finished reading 8/15/09.)

Augustus Green in the Lair of the Pye-a-Saw

Augustus Green in the Lair of the Pye-a-Saw (2009)
Thomas G. Lammers
([LibraryThing] [Missouri Botanical Garden Press])

A self-published, first novel (actually, more of a "novella" in length) by Lammers, an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. The author, a fervent botanist who has been to many exotic locales over the years, collecting samples, brings this wealth of knowledge and experience in his chosen field to good use in this tale of "Augustus Green", another botanist living at the very end of the 18th century in the still young United States. He and his guide, a French-Canadian named Jacques Blondin, venture into the then Spanish held territory which is now southeastern Iowa--then known as "northern Louisiana"--against the wishes of the Spanish Lieutenant-Governor over that area, Zenon Trudeau. Green makes many interesting botanical discoveries in the region, but soon finds himself more enthralled by the tale of the "Pye-a-Saw", a giant predatory bird which once menaced the Native Americans living there. Furthermore, rumors have spread that the Pye-a-Saw has actually returned. Green and Blondin become resolute to discover if this is indeed the case, and, if so, to bring down this monster before it can kill again. This entire tale is told via Green's journal of the expedition, discovered in the attic of a college administration building about to be demolished in 1948 (the novella's framing sequence). This first work of fiction by Dr. Lammers is an enjoyable read. Occasionally the botanical verbiage (the various scientific names of the various plants Green encounters) can become a bit distracting to someone not used to them (although they do add to the feeling of authenticity, that one is reading an actual journal kept recording such an expedition), and I couldn't help but wish that we could have seen an additional scene or two of Green and Blondin avoiding discovery by the Spanish authorities, however those are minor quibbles. I very much look forward to whatever future tales Dr. Lammers comes up with. (Note, being a self-published book, Augustus Green is not on Amazon, so I have put a link here to Missouri Botanical Garden Press instead, as they currently carry it.) (Finished reading 8/9/09)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007)
J.K. Rowling
([LibraryThing] [Amazon])

Seventh (and final) book in the Harry Potter series. (I broke with my usual routine--which is to wait to read in the next book in the Harry Potter series right before going out and seeing the movie version--and went ahead and read Deathly Hallows immediately after finishing Half-Blood Prince. After all, this is the last of the series, and I didn't want to wait another year!) All I can say is that Rowling did a wonderful job finishing things up. Half-Blood Prince is a perfect tease, leading into this book, and Deathly Hallows definitely meets the expectations resulting from this. My favorite thing about Deathly Hallows is that it breaks the pattern Rowling has established in the first six books of how each book starts out. As indicated at the end of Half-Blood Prince, Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione do not go back to Hogwarts to attend their seventh year of studies. Instead, they embark upon a dangerous quest in order to bring down the defeat of Lord Voldemort, who has largely taken over things in the wizarding world (albeit behind the scenes). There are many exciting adventures (including infiltrating both the Ministry of Magic and Gringott's Wizarding Bank). Harry also visits, amongst other places, the house where he lived as a baby and where his parents were murdered by Voldemort, and his parents' graves. And, fear not, as one would expect, Hogwarts and the familiar professors do eventually appear in a significant section of the novel. This is a really meaty book--759 pages--with a lot going on and lots of characters, but Rowling manages to keep the reader engaged and wanting to know what will come next. I couldn't help but feel conflicted at times, both wanting to get to the big final battle while at the same time realizing that once I did then it would be all over. I can't remember the last novel series which kept me so enthralled right to the end of the final book like this. (Perhaps Timonthy Zahn's first Star Wars "Thrawn" trilogy of books: Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command. No, more recently it probably be the Lord of the Rings trilogy, although I don't know if my excitement level for either of these was quite that as mine was while reading the final two Harry Potter books. (Finished reading 8/5/09)