The Physics of Superheroes

More Heroes! More Villains! More Science! Spectacular Second Edition

By: James Kakalios

Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins

A complete update to the hit book on the real physics at work in comic books, featuring more heroes, more villains, and more science. 

Since 2001, James Kakalios has taught "Everything I Needed to Know About Physics I Learned from Reading Comic Books", a hugely popular university course that generated coast-to-coast media attention for its unique method of explaining complex physics concepts through comics. With The Physics of Superheroes, named one of the best science books of 2005 by Discover, he introduced his colorful approach to an even wider audience. Now Kakalios presents a totally updated, expanded edition that features even more superheroes and findings from the cutting edge of science. With three new chapters and completely revised throughout, the book that explains why Spider-Man's webbing failed his girlfriend, the probable cause of Krypton's explosion, and the Newtonian physics at work in Gotham City is electrifying from beginning to end.

©2009 James Kakalios (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Not a good choice for an audio book

I like the premise of the title and enjoyed the first few chapters. The author goes to great lengths to assure readers that there will be no math required to understand the book. There are a lot of equations and explanations of physics concepts, some quite elaborate. In the early chapters, these were easy to follow and understand how they applied to superhero abilities. As the book goes along, it gets more complicated. I was following the physics less, but still enjoying the explanation as applied to the heroes. Eventually, the physics is too complicated to follow and the ratio of explanation to superhero application was too much for me to care. This is a book that is probably better read than heard. Seeing the equations and referencing back to previous chapters is a lot easier in print than in an audio book. If you can follow elaborate physics concepts in your head, you'll enjoy the listen. Otherwise, buy the print version if you are still interested.