Comic books and the related publishing industry have been a serious form of cultural expression since before the days of Clark Kent and Superman. Superman, created by Jerry Siegal and Joe Shuster in 1933, was sold to the publisher who would later evolve into DC Comics. Superman became an iconic part of America culture in…
The Ragged Edge of the World, by Eugene Linden. Plume paperback. Penguin Books. © 2011. $16. An interesting travelogue by a frequent contributor to Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, and a few other magazines and publishers, Linden’s book seems dated. Most the experiences he relates are from two to three decades ago, some going back to the…
Knocking on Heaven’s Door, by Lisa Randall. Vintage Books. Paperback. © 2012. $20. The idea behind my book reviews is to focus on the geographical themes present in the books I review. This book experienced quite a journey before I was able to even begin reading. I ordered the book used from one of the Amazon…
OK, a play on words, I couldn’t resist. My apologies. The recent spate of winter weather, especially in the American South, might lead many to doubt scientists claims of climate change. Even many of those who support climate change science but lack the technical expertise and who rely on true experts may find themselves doubting.…
Winter Study, by Nevada Barr. Penguin Books. Paperback. 2008. $10. I’m easily impressed by authors who integrate real, local geography into their novels. The idea of being able to “go there” and walk in the footsteps of the protagonist is a romantic notion of mine, I suppose. James Lee Burke fuses southern Louisiana geography into…
I have a student appealing a grade in my Fall 2013 geography course. The course is 100% online. All homework is submitted via the university learning management system (LMS). The LMS reports no grades for the student for any assigned work, though time-date stamps exist to indicate the assignments were at least accessed. The student…
An Appetite For Wonder. Richard Dawkins. Ecco Press. 2013. $25 Had I been the publisher, I might have suggested the title, “A Career in Science was a Foregone Conclusion.” Or, perhaps, “How My Genes Forced Me Into Evolutionary Biology.” Either would have been a more appropriate title and truer to the author’s own admissions. “I’m…
The Information, by James Gleick. Pantheon Books. Hardback. 2011. Book Review 0.1, from a previous blog post. Book Review 0.2, Progress Update, pg. 17, from my Goodreads “I’m sure someone will review, “Ho hum, I knew all this stuff on information already.” Meh; good for you. Guess what? Me, too. But, I still like these…
I’ve been teaching online for a decade, maybe more if I include the hybrid courses, the course which have a traditional recitation (lecture) component and an online component. I always struggle to figure out how to best duplicate the in-class experience in my online effort. I make videos, use web sites, and provide my own…
The Information, by James Gleick. Pantheon Books. Hardback. 2011. The Information is one of those books which demands a pre-review in advance of the full review. I’m not sure I completely like the book. I cannot put my finger on why I’m bothered by the book. Could be because I didn’t write it. The Information…
Constant Geography 
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