Werezi Books

The science and training behind becoming a real-life superhero.

Battling bad guys. High-tech hideouts. The gratitude of the masses. Who at some point in their life hasn''t dreamed of being a superhero? Impossible, right? Or is it?

Possessing no supernatural powers, Batman is the most realistic of all the superheroes. His feats are achieved through rigorous training and mental discipline, and with the aid of fantastic gadgets. Drawing on his training as a neuroscientist, kinesiologist, and martial artist, E. Paul Zehr explores the question: Could a mortal ever become Batman?

Zehr discusses the physical training necessary to maintain bad-guy-fighting readiness while relating the science underlying this process, from strength conditioning to the cognitive changes a person would endure in undertaking such a regimen. In probing what a real-life Batman could achieve, Zehr considers the level of punishment a consummately fit and trained person could handle, how hard and fast such a person could punch and kick, and the number of adversaries that individual could dispatch. He also tells us what it would be like to fight while wearing a batsuit and the amount of food we''d need to consume each day to maintain vigilance as Gotham City''s guardian.

A fun foray of escapism grounded in sound science, Becoming Batman provides the background for attaining the realizable—though extreme—level of human performance that would allow you to be a superhero.

When I walk, every once in a while someone notices they can''t hear my footsteps. Do you know why? Dr. E. Paul Zehr knows. I''m training to become Batman. Most of the population wouldn''t understand this . . . but beneath and entwined in the soul of many men is a hero-in-the-making. Training for that moment that will, thankfully, never come. The moment when he must be a hero. The moment he trained for. They''ll never hear me coming. In this book Dr. Zehr knows exactly what our giddy souls are doing. Here he tells our secret.
—Neal Adams, Batman illustrator

If you really want to become Batman, having a billion dollars in start-up funds and a subterranean lair is just the beginning. Dr. Zehr''s thoroughly researched and thoughtfully imagined exploration into the real-life rigors of costumed crime-fighting shows just how DC Comics'' Dark Knight—the original self-made hero—could realistically transform a mere human body into something no less than superhuman. Consider it required reading for anyone seriously contemplating donning cape and cowl.
—Scott Beatty, coauthor of The Batman Handbook

Get Becoming Batman by at the best price and quality guaranteed only at Werezi Africa's largest book ecommerce store. The book was published by Johns Hopkins University Press and it has pages.

Becoming Batman : The Possibility of a Superhero

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Mind, Body, & Spirit

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