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Available from Amazon.com
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Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee
by Stan Lee and George Mair
••••• (4 of 5 Red Planets)
Creator of the famous Marvel comics characters Spider-Man, Hulk, X-Men, Daredevil, and a plethora of other heroes and villians
Stan "The Man" Lee has turned his pen towards himself in an autobiography that's as entertaining as it is informative.
Lee's autobiography is largely presented in chronological sequence, covering his childhood, teen years, his stint in the
Army Signal Corps in the 40's, the comics industry's clash with censors in the 50's, the 60's birth of the Marvel age of comics, his
family life, and his work in Hollywood from the 70's to present day. Lee's writing style is very relaxed and breezy with an
infectious enthusiasm for life that permeates every page, making the book a very light read. Lee pays equal attention to
work and family, making it clear to the reader his undying love for both facets of his life.
Anybody reading Excelsior! hoping for some juicy tidbits about Lee and his more controversial work relationships will be sorely disappointed. Lee
does touch briefly upon the creative credit disputes with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, but there's nothing revelatory in his take
on those issues.
Excelsior! has a somewhat different format than the usual autobiography. Lee writes the majority of the book,
but George Mair helps to frame and set up the topic for each chapter with a few brief paragraphs. The book is also peppered
with photos, but the majority of them are of Stan's early years and his family, so don't expect any pics of Marvel's early
writers and artists.
Overall, Excelsior! is a good well-written, albeit unextraordinary, autobiography of the man who helped create
"a new mythology for the twentieth century."
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Available from Amazon.com
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Nickel & Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
by Barbara Ehrenreich
••••• (4 of 5 Red Planets)
In 1959, writer John Howard Griffin's book Black Like Me was released. Griffin's book recounted
his experiences as he traveled across several southern states, disguised as an African-American
(a reverse Michael Jackson in his day). During his travels he experienced the same racism and
oppression that affected all blacks in the region at the time.
Nickel & Dimed is similarly inspired by Griffin's landmark book. On a dare, Barbara
Ehrenreich left behind her priveleged life as an essayist and cultural critic and joined the
ranks of America's working poor. Starting out with only a car and enough money for a month's
rent, she quickly realizes that just one minimum wage job is totally inadequate to make ends meet and so
she has to work two jobs just to survive. Ehrenreich tackles several jobs in the course of
the book, such as a waitress in Florida, cleaning woman for a major maid service
chain, nurses assistant at a retirement home, and clerk at Wal-Mart. Through it all, she
recounts not only her own challenges in the modern "service economy," but also the difficulties
faced by her co-workers who are often in far more dire straits. As if the jobs themselvs weren't bad enough,
the treatment she received from management ranged from decent to patronizing and mildly degrading
(does anybody enjoy giving a urine sample for drug screening?). Ehrenreich ends her book with a
discussion of what she learned and just how bleak the situation is for those who are
trapped in such dead-end jobs.
Anybody that has worked a low-end job past their early 20's will certainly relate to
Ehrenreich's experiences. For those who have forgotten or have never really known
(yes Republicans, I'm talking to YOU) what it's like to survive on subsistance wages
and struggle to get by, this book is recommended reading.
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