Source: npr.com

8. The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture

NPR correspondent and Bat-historian Glen Weldon crafted a book about Batman that looks at the fictional character as if he were a historical empire. His rises and falls, his impact, the narrative that guides him.

The book is partly about the dark knight himself and partly about the Nerd pop culture boom that has swung out into the spotlight in recent years. Most of the books on this list limit their focus to certain time periods or people or companies, but this is the only one that focuses on a character.

That's because Batman is such an enduring and significant character, such an important pop-cultural figure, such a gosh-darn icon, that a full book about that very subject wasn't just inevitable, it was necessary. Understanding Batman is, to an extent, understanding superheroes as a whole.

It's a stepping stone on the path to a full understanding of geek culture and all its best (and worst) qualities.