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  • The Caped Crusade

  • Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture
  • By: Glen Weldon
  • Narrated by: Glen Weldon
  • Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (84 ratings)
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The Caped Crusade cover art

The Caped Crusade

By: Glen Weldon
Narrated by: Glen Weldon
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Summary

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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2016 Glen Weldon (P)2016 Simon & Schuster

What listeners say about The Caped Crusade

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good book. Bad Performance.

Great book, very informative but completely ruined by the silly voices that were put on when reading out quotes ie the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons and his truly god awful Scottish accent, being Scottish myself made this worse.

Shame cause the actual writing was great.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A really interesting listen

An interesting insight into the social and cultural history of a pop culture icon and also how nerd culture can become so self serious and frankly creepy. The narration is only marred by the authors insistence on doing an unfunny and cliched Simpsons style internet nerd voice repeatedly when quoting fans and several bad accents. If you can put up with that it’s a well researched and accessible book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Pithy and entertaining

A fascinating look at the development of the legendary Batman over the many years of his existence, exploring the impact of the spin-off TV shows and movies, and the effect all this had on the public who grew to love their Dark Knight. There's a nice exploration of the comic series' main themes, the moments of panic that led to sweeping changes being made, the endless plot strands and continuity farts that took place over time, the confidence or lack thereof as constantly dictated by the bottom line.

I listened to the audiobook edition, entertainingly read by the author himself. His 'nerd' voice, an aping of Comic Book Guy from THE SIMPSONS, is an on-mark delight. Some of the accent work is fine; others, notably his attempt to mimic Grant Morrison's Glaswegian brogue, is unintentionally hilarious, though credit is due for making the attempt.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love it

Although a self-described ‘normal’, I utterly ate this audiobook up. It is absolutely brilliant. Not only does the author take me firmly into his world, he is able to contextualise his world in such a way that really requires a macro take and a non solipsistic approach.

Comic book guy voice, brilliant, on the nose, Chris Nolan, entertaining, Scottish accent..., maybe you want to outsource that one...

But seriously, immensely enjoyable and has flicked an internal switch that has had con elements and dust on it for about 25/27 years.

Bravo!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Holy Audiobook Batman!

Whether you're a Bat-fan or a complete novice, you'll find this book amazing! I've never written an audiobook review, but this book was so good I just had to write one. Even hard-core fans will learn something new, and the narration is brilliant and hilarious!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good in depth examination of Batman

Really interesting, a few bits I didn't know.
I dont know what accent he thinks he's doing as Grant Morrison though.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Holy baterang!

Informative and awesome. Really interesting for nerds and social historians alike. Recommended for long time fans and newbies.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Batman through the ages

An entertaining, informative look at the character and the pop cultural status of Batman through his lifetime, how he interacts with the fan base and how they interact with him.
An insightful look at the development and changing of Nerd culture.

Found it really enjoyable to listen to. Glen's voices and characters provide great contrast and you can feel the warmth and love for the content and character throughout

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Caped Crusade: The Review

I Loved this audio book very much and the narration in this audio book. I give it 5 Stars out of five. thank you very much for entertainment.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • 08-04-16

It made me care about Batman.

I've typically been a Marvel fan and didn't pay much attention to Batman, apart from the social, pop culture awareness of the movies. (I'm actually a fan of the second "bat nipple" & snow puns era with Robin, because of its ridiculousness).
With Glen's book, I feel like I've learnt something more about why the Batman character and the comics have managed to exist for so long, and begun to understand the Bat-fans a little better.
Wonderfully read, with accents both great and...unique, it made this an even more entertaining listen. Each sectioned chapter delved into specific enough detail to show the author's extensive research without making it sound like an inaccessible thesis on [insert a thing you don't understand here].
As a result of this wonderful book, i think i'm going to pop down to a comic book shop and grab some issues of Batman, and then I might even go in search of Adam West's Batman series.
Well done Glen! You've converted me.

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