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| Maps and Legends | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael Chabon
Publisher: McSweeney's
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy New: $10.96
You Save: $13.04 (54%)
New (51) Used (16) Collectible (5) from $5.06
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 15504
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 200
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.8
ISBN: 1932416897
Dewey Decimal Number: 801.95
EAN: 9781932416893
ASIN: 1932416897
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Inspiring collection May 18, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I sought out this collection after reading the Harper's Magazine review. I knew of Mr. Chabon, but I hadn't read any of his fiction other than a short story from an issue of McSweeney's. Harper's made this sound as though it was such an incredibly wide ranging and eclectic collection that I thought I'd try it.
To an extent, the subjects do range over the hills and back again, but oddly enough, they also seem to hang together, like a novel written out of short stories. I suppose it isn't that odd, considering that Mr. Chabon seems to have one thing in mind, and that is defending his idols and heroes against any perceived slights, real or imagined - and considering the PW review, they are more real than imagined.
Personally, I found this collection immediately engaging. Many of the subjects were, as the PW reviewer rightly guessed, favorites of my own, but, like the genre fiction Mr. Chabon defends, I also dislike being pigeonholed into a category, regardless of whether the category involves comic book lovers or any other stereotype. I do like to be entertained, but entertainment to me means any method or presentation that inspires me to think. If that comes from the serious fiction of today, fine. If it comes from Jack Kirby, that's fine too.
As I read through the essays here, I did feel inspired - both to seek out some of the unfamiliar subjects Mr. Chabon covers here, and, as a struggling writer, to make use of the maps he provides, to draw from this landscape that we've both traveled through. It reminded me of what fiction is really about, regardless of what sort of blurbs and tags are appended onto the book's cover. It's all about the story - in fact, that's what legends are made of.
Chabon fans should not hesitate. June 17, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was previously unfamiliar with most of the topics discussed in this collection but found that Chabon's love of genre fiction rubbed off on me at least a little bit. This is a good collection and a worthwhile one for all Chabon fans.
 Excellent Collection July 15, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In my opinion, Michael Chabon is one of the elite writers of our time. I buy his books as soon as they come out, and usually I get very sad as I near the end, because he writes so well that I just want the story to go on forever. Maps and Legends is a collection of mostly previously published nonfiction that covers a whole range of ideas and topics. And it serves as a reminder of what good prose can do, no matter the genre.
The initial piece is likely the most famous, the strident defense of genre fiction that first appeared in issue 10 of McSweeney's. While I agree with much of Chabon's assertions about genre fiction, both in this essay and others, I think what seems to be missing is the obvious: good writing will/should trump genre conventions. While the writing of China Mieville may not be quite mainstream, it has a chance to break through because he writes so well. The reason that a lot of the pulp fiction of which Chabon is so fond gets no respect is because it honestly isn't all that good. However, his appeal that divisions in genre be eradicated and all fiction in the bookstore be shelved together makes some sense to me, and it is welcome to read.
Insightful essays on Howard Chaykin's American Flagg!, M.R. James, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have stuck with me, and I will have to read more by these authors in the near future. His review of Cormac McCarthy's The Road does so much more than review the book; it offers a perspective on apocalyptic fiction, and its place within literary fiction as opposed to science fiction.
In `Thoughts on the Death of Will Eisner,' Chabon shies away from listing accomplishments and hagiography, and instead focuses on the more overlooked aspect of Eisner's work: his savvy as a businessman. And his personal history with his first novel and his unfinished second novel make for compelling reads. In each case, his sharp and melodious prose make these essays seem like stories, yet one never gets the sense that Chabon's actual voice is lost to the voice of Chabon the narrator.
The book itself is beautifully produced as well. The cover contains a large gold `X' with the title printed across it, and Chabon's name sits at the top with the `O' a moon. Three dust jackets, each with a different magical scene are layered, creating a provocative scene individually and collectively. And the pages are acid free and quite thick, as most of the books published by McSweeney's are.
Though one may not always agree with the stances Chabon makes in these essays, Maps and Legends is required reading for any fan of genre fiction. Though he just published two novels last year, I can hardly wait for the next. If you haven't sampled his fiction, please do yourself a favor and pick up Wonder Boys, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, or Kavalier & Clay the next time you are at a bookstore. You won't be disappointed.
A Real Pleasure and Incredibly Insightful July 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Maps and Legends was both a real pleasure and incredibly insightful in a multitude of ways.
This nonfiction book by Michael Chabon, author of Wonderboys and the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, offers a variety of essays that will assuredly please all readers.
That's not to say that all readers will love each and every one of the essays in this book, though. However, I know there is something for everyone to appreciate and even learn from in Maps and Legends.
Chabon essentially covers four broad topics in this collection. He expends great energy discussing trends and personalities in comic books, the art of writing, various aspects of literature, and his own diverse influences and personal background.
Since these are four topics that I'm very interested in as well, I loved almost every single essay.
Chabon is such an interesting man. The idea that a Pulitzer Prize-winning author takes the time to lament the death of Will Eisner, acknowledge the brilliance of Howard Chaykin, analyze McCarthy's The Road, and reveal deeply personal secrets (some even real) from his own life all within one collection, it's just a pure joy for someone like me to experience.
However, I think the most valuable thing I learned from Chabon in his book is that the term "genre" in literature is not a naughty word. He analyzes the importance of genre, especially in relation to the short story, and disparages the fact that people's snobbery towards genre is actively executing the short story.
Furthermore, Chabon is utterly transparent in the essays involving his life, so transparent he even reveals he has lied to us and could be lying at any given moment. That sort of honesty about deception is a breath of fresh air.
If you're a fan of comic books, the art of writing, or Michael Chabon himself, I really encourage you to give this book a try. I think you'll be pleased with what you read.
~Scott William Foley, author of The Imagination's Provocation: Volume I: A Collection of Short Stories
The key to the landscape of imagination September 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the first book that collects novelist Michael Chabon's essays originally written for a variety of publications and audiences across a decade or longer. It is a product of the Dave Eggers/McSweeney's publishing venture and like some of the other McSweeney products, proceeds go to benefit the 826 National project that funds tutoring, writing and reading programs for kids. How and why it came into being aside, it is strongly conceived and progresses lucidly through what emerges as a profound reflection on one writer's influences and inspirations. It's as if Chabon had set out to write a book like Stephen King's "On Writing," Eudora Welty's "One Writer's Beginnings," or even Sartre's "The Words."
The titular essay, "Maps and Legends," harks back to Chabon's childhood in the then newly minted city of Columbia, Maryland, before his parents divorced. He introduces the theme of landscape in the imagination, and the role of maps and legends--"legends" meaning "keys" to the maps but also presaging what he reveals about his early reading passions. "Maps and Legends" is the second essay in the chronological order; the first is Chabon's complaint that literary fiction has come down to plotless, moment-of-truth fiction while science fiction, mysteries, thrillers, fantasy, ghost stories, comics and other forms are automatically denigrated as "genre" and waved off the bus. Accordingly, all of the essays taken altogether make a serious case for the art of entertainment and the empowerment of imagination. They also offer up a look at how Chabon came to write his own stories, especially under the influence of legends ranging from the Norse gods to golems.
A word of praise is due the cover artist. The hardcover dust jacket is shortened, textless, and has a hole in the middle of the front. The jacket itself is all illustration filled with the creatures that haunt myths and legends. Chabon's name is embossed on the area not covered by the jacket, rising over this imaginary landscape, and the title appears through the hole. Take a look at the "acknowledgments" page, too, for an original non-verbal rendering.
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