The Physics of Superheroes: The Spectacular Second Edition

If the University of Minnesota knew what it was in for in 1988 when the decision was made to hire Dr. James Kakalios to its School of Physics and Astronomy, things may have turned out differently.  Luckily for us, they didn't, and the university recieved even more national attention than usual only decades later when Dr. Kakalios developed a lecture program entitled Everything I Know About Physics I Learned By Reading Comic Books.  This program offered freshmen students a fresh way of looking at physics, and the program has been in place since.
This program led Kakalios to wonder if there were an audience for the cross-genre that is physics and comic books outside of the borders of Minnesota.  This led him to write one of the most complete physics books of all time, The Physics of Superheroes, which is an amazingly entertaining crash coarse of about three simesters worth of physics jam-packed into one of the fastest reads you'll ever make it through.  And I might add, it looks fantastic on my bookshelf next to my comic book character action figures.  Though my Flash action figure refuses to look directly at it, probably because of chapters Four and Twenty-Three.  I won't spoil it for you - I have morals.

The Physics of Superheroes: The Spectacular Second Edition is a follow-up to the book that Discover called one of the best physics books of 2005.  This edition features even more investigations into superheroes and villains, and the physics of their alleged superpowers.  From The Flash's ability to retain traction, no matter his speed, while running up a wall, to Spiderman's most practical, yet sudden, application Newton's second law of motion.

Kakalios makes physics even more entertaining than they already were, and even for those of you without a physics interest, or nerdology, you'll surely find it both entertaining and incredibly educational.  It is also true that, much like The Atom, Dr. James Kakalios is indeed capable of lifting upwards of 5,000 metric tons, so I would suggest you read it or he may be coming for you.

Dr. Kakalios' The Physics of Superheroes: The Spectacular Second Edition gains an easy Five Stars in Nerd Factor and a slightly less easy Five Stars in General Reading.