Adrian MacKinder

Death and the Victorians by Adrian Mackinder is a nice overview of not simply the view(s) of death during the Victorian Age but how those sensibilities have largely remained with us today, though often changed to imply more difference than there really is.

Much of the material may well be familiar to readers with an interest in either the topic or the period but that doesn't mean the book isn't both interesting and a useful contribution to the field. Few of us have all of the things we "know" readily available to mind, though when we see it we remember it. This volume brings this information along with some new research and a nuanced perspective to both those new to it and those of us familiar to some degree. I like books that bring information together to make a point or understanding rather than assume every reader not only knows but remembers the details. Plus I now have a nice handy reference for much of this.

Recommended for those who have an interest in the Victorian Age, the changing perception and activity surrounding death, and/or those who want to know some of the original ideas behind how we currently understand our relationship to death and the dead.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (meer)

Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World, by Adrian Mackinder, was a pleasant surprise for me. I was afraid this was going to be another sensationalized account of Lee's life and career. While the things that get sensationalized are unavoidable Mackinder treats them as part of both Lee's and Marvel's stories rather than as the focus of the book. All of which is to say that this biography does as well of a job of contextualizing both stories with respect to each other and to the society in which they came of age.

If you're not too familiar with Lee's life I would recommend this biography before reading most other treatments. I found this to be both balanced and fair while also not sugar-coating any less than positive aspects. If you have read some accounts of either Lee's life or the Marvel story, I would suggest that this will serve to help put things in a more balanced perspective. By that, I mean that many other books and even articles emphasize either an outsized talent or a controlling self-serving personality. Mackinder doesn't ignore either talent or personality but gives the reader more context to understand and appreciate what went on.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (meer)

There have been no shortage of biographies of Stan Lee since his death in 2018; as Adrian Mackinder here notes, the man's ego and influence mean there's plenty of source material. Mackinder tries to make his stand out by putting Lee's life and work in a broader cultural context.

The result is a breezy, informative little book covers the major events of Lee's life, the broad sweep of Marvel's successes and failures, and the socio-cultural-economic waves that carried them both along. Mackinder does a good job of sifting the various controversies (if he often fails to draw a conclusion, he at least lays out the parties' cases and identifies any obvious untruths) and explaining why Lee and Marvel were so successful.

Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World is good little precis, written in an open, informed and light manner that should exclude no one. How fitting.… (meer)