Now I've seen everything

I just got the acclaimed John Birmingham novel Without Warning in the mail the other day, which details what would happen to the world without the United States. An inexplicable "energy wave," acting much like a neutron bomb would (wiping out life but leaving structures intact) has swept across most of North America, and planet-wide chaos ensues soon after.

Of course, I'm not far enough into the book (which is tough to put down after only a few pages!) to have learned the origin of this "energy wave," but as it stands now it requires quite a suspension of disbelief.

Which brings me to a totally different matter, that requires a similar suspension: Terrorist Bill Ayers' memoir will be turned into a graphic novel! Whaaaa ... ?

Teachers College Press, a scholarly, professional and trade publisher focused on the theory and practice of teacher education, has reached agreement on a two-book deal with William Ayers, the University of Illinois at Chicago professor, lauded educational theorist and former leader of the radical 1960s Weather Underground. And, yes, Ayers is indeed the same figure dragooned into the 2008 presidential race in a controversial attempt to use his background in radical politics and a minor acquaintance with Barack Obama to undermine Obama’s presidential run.

Since, as currently constructed in way too many colleges across the land, the "theory and practice of teacher education" is a laughable joke to those who actually "in the trenches," one could surmise that reading a graphic novel about a dude who's immersed in such will be an ... excruciating experience -- only slightly less excruciating than reading a standard book.

(h/t to SWT.)

Posted by Hube at February 7, 2009 11:29 AM | TrackBack