The Caped Crusade
Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture
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Narrated by:
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Glen Weldon
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By:
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Glen Weldon
About this listen
A witty, intelligent cultural history from NPR book critic Glen Weldon explains Batman's rises and falls throughout the ages - and 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; he's a bat-shaped Rorschach inkblot who takes on the various meanings our changing culture projects onto him. How we perceive Batman's character, whether he's 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. It's this endlessly mutable quality that has made him so enduring.
And it's Batman's fundamental nerdiness - his gadgets, his obsession, his oath, even his lack of superpowers - that 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 its 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 Batman's 78-year cultural history and shows how he has helped make us who we are today and why his legacy remains so strong.
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2016 Glen Weldon (P)2016 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
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The Stephen King Companion is an authoritative look at horror author King's personal life and professional career, from Carrie to The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. King expert George Beahm, who has published extensively about Maine's main author, is your seasoned guide to the imaginative world of Stephen King, covering his varied and prodigious output: juvenalia, short fiction, limited edition books, best-selling novels, and film adaptations.
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A Kingopedia: Books, Movies, Bio and Art
- By tru britty on 02-28-16
By: George Beahm
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Batman Unauthorized
- Vigilantes, Jokers, and Heroes in Gotham City
- By: Dennis O'Neil - editor, Leah Wilson - editor
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Compiled by a veteran writer of the comic series, this collection of essays explores Batman’s motivations and actions, as well as those of his foes. Batman is a creature of the night, more about vengeance than justice, more plagued by doubts than full of self-assurance, and more darkness than light. He has no superpowers, just skill, drive, and a really well-made suit.
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batman uninformed opinions
- By Aurey C. on 04-13-17
By: Dennis O'Neil - editor, and others
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American Rebel
- The Life of Clint Eastwood
- By: Marc Eliot
- Narrated by: Marc Eliot
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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From the New York Times best-selling author Marc Eliot comes the definitive biography of one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful actors, producers, and directors in the history of American motion pictures. Marc Eliot examines the ever-exciting, often tumultuous arc of Eastwood's life and career, from his days as a disaffected college dropout, to his rise to fame as the archetypal loner, to his acceptance into the pantheon of the Academy as a multiple Oscar Award winner.
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I learned the hard way.
- By Ty Pritchard on 07-23-10
By: Marc Eliot
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Doctor Who
- A History
- By: Alan Kistler
- Narrated by: Alan Kistler
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Premiering the day after the JFK assassination, Doctor Who humbly launched one of the entertainment world's first super-brands. We begin with a look at TV programming of the day and the original pitch documents before delving into the Daleks, which almost didn't make the cut but inspired many monsters to follow. After three years, First Doctor William Hartnell left, prompting the BBC to recast their hit rather than end it, giving us the first "regeneration" and making TV history.
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Not a Good Reference, a Good Springboard
- By SAMA on 12-16-13
By: Alan Kistler
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The Horror of It All
- One Moviegoer’s Love Affair with Masked Maniacs, Frightened Virgins, and the Living Dead…
- By: Adam Rockoff
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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The Horror of It All is a memoir from the front lines of the industry that dissects (and occasionally defends) the hugely popular phenomenon of scary movies. Author Adam Rockoff traces the highs and lows of the horror genre through the lens of his own obsessive fandom, born in the aisles of his local video store and nurtured with a steady diet of cable trash.
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Great book, if you were a teen in the 80's
- By Lila Fowler on 10-02-15
By: Adam Rockoff
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The Ten-Cent Plague
- The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America
- By: David Hajdu
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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In the years between World War II and the emergence of television as a mass medium, American popular culture as we know it was first created in the bold, pulpy pages of comic books. The Ten-Cent Plague explores this cultural emergence and its fierce backlash while challenging common notions of the divide between "high" and "low" art.
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Very frightening
- By Paul on 09-24-08
By: David Hajdu
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Seinfeldia
- How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything
- By: Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Comedians Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld never thought anyone would watch their silly little sitcom about a New York comedian sitting around talking to his friends. NBC executives didn't think anyone would watch either, but they bought it anyway, hiding it away in the TV dead zone of summer. But against all odds, viewers began to watch, first a few and then many, until nine years later nearly 40 million Americans were tuning in weekly.
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This bad narration is making me thirsty...
- By Audio Gra Gra on 10-06-16
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Pictures at a Revolution
- Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood
- By: Mark Harris
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is the epic human drama behind the making of the five movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, Doctor Dolittle, and Bonnie and Clyde - and through them, the larger story of the cultural revolution that transformed Hollywood and America forever.
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Would It Be Too Much To Ask?
- By Casey Keller on 12-31-08
By: Mark Harris
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Wonder Woman Unbound
- The Curious History of the World's Most Famous Heroine
- By: Tim Hanley
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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This close look at Wonder Woman's history portrays a complicated heroine who is more than just a female Superman with a golden lasso and bullet-deflecting bracelets. The original Wonder Woman was ahead of her time, advocating female superiority and the benefits of matriarchy in the 1940s. At the same time, her creator filled the comics with titillating bondage imagery, and Wonder Woman was tied up as often as she saved the world.
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facts about how Wonder Woman has been portrayed
- By Midwestbonsai on 07-25-16
By: Tim Hanley
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Red Carpet
- Hollywood, China, and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy
- By: Erich Schwartzel
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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From trade to technology to military might, competition between the United States and China dominates the foreign policy landscape. But this battle for global influence is also playing out in a strange and unexpected arena: the movies. The film industry, Wall Street Journal reporter Erich Schwartzel explains, is the latest battleground in the tense and complex rivalry between these two world powers. In recent decades, as China has grown into a giant of the international economy, it has become a crucial source of revenue for the American film industry.
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Why modern cinema is a comic experience.
- By Pasternak on 03-11-22
By: Erich Schwartzel
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Superman Versus the Ku Klux Klan
- The True Story of How the Iconic Superhero Battled the Men of Hate
- By: Rick Bowers
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 3 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Journalist Rick Bowers has contributed to Time, The Washington Post, and USA Today, and his fascinating Spies of Mississippi—about the spy network that tried to take down the Civil Rights Movement—earned a starred review from Booklist. Here, Bowers examines how, in the late 1940s, The Adventures of Superman radio show struck a powerful blow to the Ku Klux Klan when Superman aired episodes pitting the hero against the Klan in an effort to teach young listeners to stand up to bigotry.
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The willingness to visit the truth
- By David Alexander McDonald on 03-13-24
By: Rick Bowers
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Save the Cat!
- The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
- By: Blake Snyder
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Here's what started the phenomenon: This book has been a best seller for over 15 years and has been used by screenwriters around the world! Blake Snyder tells all in this fast, funny, and candid look inside the movie business. Save the Cat is just one of many ironclad rules for making your ideas more marketable and your script more satisfying.
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Don't waste your time
- By Amazon Customer on 02-05-20
By: Blake Snyder
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Excellent history of the JRPG genre
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What listeners say about The Caped Crusade
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- PK IRELAND
- 08-27-18
Great History of the Batman. Worst. Narrator. Ever
Loved the story. It was well written, well researched and does an excellent job of presenting the story of Batman as one big character arc. (with plenty of twists & turns.) As a lifelong fan (starting with '66 repeats and SuperFriends in the early 80's) it was great to take such a wide view of the character, and get a sense of the behind-the-scenes drama and historical contexts that shaped the different popular incarnations.
My only real complaint on this is the narration. I nearly returned the title after attempting the first chapter. The narrator (also, author) seems rushed (and flat) at times and the way over-the-top impressions are really dreadful. While I certainly understand using a (bad) version of The Simpsons' Comic Book Guy as the de facto voice of nerd culture, it completely took me out of the story. Same goes for the mediocre brogue of his Grant Morrison or the fey silliness of his Joel Schumaker.
I would still recommend this title fully. Just be prepared to cringe your way through certain passages.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Dan
- 06-25-16
A Fun Tour of Batman's History
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Absolutely. It is an incredibly fun romp through the history of Batman.
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
The author clearly "gets" Batman, while repeatedly reminding us that there is no "one true Batman." His knowledge of the entire history of Batman is clearly evident.
What didn’t you like about Glen Weldon’s performance?
The author does a very good job of reading his work with only one fatal flaw to his performance. His use of character voices ruins the flow of the story. As opposed to his clearly understandable and fun normal reading voice, the story is broken up by heavily accented voices. I'm fine hearing a Grant Morrison quote without a heavy Scottish accent, a comic nerd without a geeky voice, or a heavily accented Joel Schumacher. The story would have been much better without these voices.
What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
I was unaware of how intentionally Joel Schumacher put sexuality into his Batman films.
Any additional comments?
This book was an absolute blast! As a huge Batman nerd, I am squarely in this book's target audience. That being said, any fan of pop culture would likely enjoy this tale of how Batman went from early comics to pop culture phenomenon.
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- BC
- 04-12-16
Entertaining, enlightening.
This was a fun walk through the history of Batman, like a lighter version of Sean How's Marvel comics: the untold history. His voices were a little jarring at first, but aside from that, an engaging listen.
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- Tony E.
- 03-30-16
Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Batbook
Would you listen to The Caped Crusade again? Why?
I probably would. There is a lot of bat history to observe and think about. Weldon does a great job at really looking into the reasons why Batman has become who he is today and why the story of Bruce Wayne rings so important in the lives of so many people.
What about Glen Weldon’s performance did you like?
He seemed to really be enjoying reading his work. Whenever the common comic book fan was talking, out came his Simpson's Comic Book Guy impression (Not the worst impression ever.) Morrison was uber-Scottish. He put the inflection where the author meant it to be because, well, he is the author also.
What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
The talk about all the reboots and then the run of Grant Morrison post Infinity Crisis where Morrison takes a world where all the Batman stories ever told are true makes me want to go out and actually read Morrison's run.
Any additional comments?
I wonder what Weldon would say about Batfleck's rendition in Batman vs. Superman. He does make quick mention that it is coming out and some notes from the teasers. Overall, an interesting read on an interesting subject.
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- Ryan
- 04-07-16
If you love Batman, you'll love this book.
The author covers the arc history of Batman, as well as his impact on nerd culture in an informative, but entertaining way. The voices he does to represent different people or categories of people are spot on and hilarious.
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- Alex Hall
- 08-23-19
Engaging history of batman as a cultural icon
Great deep dive into the batman changed the world and the world changed batman. Would recommend to any batman fan.
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- Claire
- 03-28-16
A loving look at Batman and his fans
Any additional comments?
This book is a hilarious and detailed look at the history of one of the modern era's most enduring characters, in all his varied iterations. Glen Weldon gives Adam West's Batussi-dancing satin draped Batman the same in depth examination as the gritty 'Swear to meeee!!!" Batman of Nolan's films, and lovingly points out the foibles of both. What sets this book apart, for me, is the narration, particularly the 'Simpson's comic book guy' affect that denominates fan outrage at anything less than a dark and brooding portrayal of their favourite character. Full of detail and interesting facts that anyone not deeply steeped in the history of this character in every medium, this is a fascinating look at the evolution of the comics industry, the way fans experience their favourite characters, and the character itself.
All in all, a fun listen that is sure to tell you some things you never knew about Batman.
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- Elijah Phillips
- 04-29-16
A perfect audiobook
It is read by the author, and his reading is as wonderful as the book itself. The writing has fun with the history, and Mr. Weldon has fun with the reading. He does voices for almost every quote. He adjusts his tone and cadence appropriately for each moment in history.
I wish every audiobook was read this well.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Josh Foster
- 08-22-16
Easily the BEST Audible Book I've Ever Read!
I loved every aspect of this book! The author narrates and provided fantastic voices for his characters.
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- Virginia Hopkins
- 07-04-16
Interesting and Hilarious
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I would, and have, recommended this book to EVERYBODY with even a passing interest in Batman. The book is very interesting and Glen Weldon makes it EVEN BETTER with his superb reading (and the voices! OMG!). As a long time fan of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he's frequently on, I loved it! One of the best use of a credit so far.
What did you like best about this story?
Glen's voices were hilarious and I could listen to that man talk ALL DAMN DAY. (And I have! Finished this book in 3 days - I just couldn't turn it off!)
Also it inspired me to pick up some of the newer issues of the Batfamily comics (I haven't read anything in actual DC canon since No Man's Land) so that's an accomplishment.
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