Four Books For Christmas Giving

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Dec 11, 1998

As a child growing up in a tiny Kentucky town south of the Ohio River, I didn't have many outlets for creativity. A youngster in a tobacco farming community long ago had only the radio and one other avenue for spurring imagination. Mine came from comic books, which were relatively new products when I began to read in first grade.

An early favorite was that superb creation by two shy teenagers who lived in Cleveland. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created a Super Man, a man of steel, who possessed powers beyond those of mere mortals. From the far-off planet called Krypton, Superman (as he later became to be known) was unlike any character in American comic book history. His debut came with the first issue of Action Comics in 1938. I wish I owned one, because I'd be in possession of a large bank account once it went to auction.

It took just a year for Superman to earn his very own comic book, following sales of half a million copies a month for Action Comics. In 1941 the publishers launched a daily newspaper comic strip, entertaining 20 million readers.

Superman: The Complete History (Chronicle Books, $29.95) would make a perfect Christmas gift for the boys of the house, be they six or sixty-five. Lavishly illustrated in color and black-and-white, the coffee-table book contains a fascinating historical overview written by Les Daniels, who has a number of publishing credits for books about the history of the comics.

I suspect this book will eventually become a treasured item on its own. It's a doozy and a terrific tribute to that grand guy who's "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound."

GO, BOYS IN BLUE!

While I'm reminiscing about my children in the Bluegrass State, there's another great book that will occupy a prominent place on coffee tables of stalwart fans of the great college basketball team, the University of Kentucky Wildcats.

The Winning Tradition (University Press of Kentucky, $24.95), published some years ago, has been thoroughly updated through the 1997-1998 season which saw the 'Cats win the national championship in their first season under the tutelage of Coach Tubby Smith. The well-illustrated book, written by Bert Nelli and Steve Nelli, contains in its 276 large pages an engrossing history of the Wildcats, with emphasis on the glory days of Adolph Rupp, and the return to success under coaches Joe B. Hall, Ralph Sutton and Rick Pitino.

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