Publisher Description

In this accessibly written and fascinating exploration through Marvel's Captain America, Zehr shows how recent advances in biomedical science, robotics, steroids, genetic engineering and nanotechnology have fundamentally altered the potential role humans can play in shaping their own biology.

Author Biography

Paul Zehr, Ph.D. (neuroscience), is an award-winning science communicator, professor, author, and martial artist. He is the director of the Centre for Biomedical Research at the University of Victoria. His previous books — Becoming Batman, Inventing Iron Man, and Project Superhero— use superheroes as metaphors to explore the science of human potential. He writes for Psychology Todayand Scientific American, among other publications.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Simon WhitfieldIntroduction: The Start of the Star-Spangled Avenger1: Newsflash: Captain America Comes in from the Cold2: Superhero Science Project: Sowing the Seeds for a Super Soldier Serum3: Human! Can Captain America Overcome the Endangered Species inside Each of Us?4: Shape! Can We A.I.M. to Make the Star Spangled Avenger? 5: Muscles in Motion! Stem Cells, Steroids and the Sentinel of Liberty6: Think! Putting Kapow and Know-How into Cap's Cranium 7: Longevity! The Steve Rogers Regeneration and Retirement Project8: Creating Captain America: Engineering a Super Soldier with Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll9: Behold the Future! What's to Come for Captain America?10: Pre-Evolving Humanity for Future Frontiers: Bioengineered Superheroes in Space11: The Ethical Implications of Captain America: Are We Obliged to Enhance Our Species?

Review

"A fantastic, futuristic venture into 'accelerated human evolution, ' blending well-researched science with fiction and popular culture. You will not put this clever, witty, entertaining, and scary read down once you start and will forever look at progress in our world with different eyes." -- Wolfram Tetzlaff, MD, PhD, Professor, Zoology & Surgery, Director of ICORD, University of British Columbia

Review Quote

"With Chasing Captain America , E. Paul Zehr once again takes the reader on a tour of cutting-edge science while exploring an iconic superhero, this time Steve Rogers, the Sentinel of Liberty. Zehr writes with the expertise of a practicing scientist, the clarity of an experienced teacher, and the unabashed enthusiasm of a comic book fan, resulting in a book that's a joy to read and mindblowing in its scope and detail. Chasing Captain America is a must-read if you're a science nerd, comics geek, or both." -- Mark D. White, author of The Virtues of Captain America and chair of the Department of Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY "A fascinating study of the real-life potential for a superhuman, deeply researched, philosophically challenging, and often disturbingly plausible." -- Warren Ellis, author of Normal , Gun Machine , and Transmetropolitan " Chasing Captain America is an exhilarating and illuminating romp through the wild frontiers of real science that until recently only existed in the pages of comic books." -- Daniel H. Wilson, bestselling author of Robopocalypse "This book . . . is the perfect blend of a story and of fact. The author is not biased, and does pose interesting and thought provoking questions bound to excite anyone with an interest in the future of science . . . If you have any kind of interest in science, or want an accessible and fun book to expand your knowledge and get you thinking, this is the one for you!" -- Sammy's Shelf blog "A fantastic, futuristic venture into 'accelerated human evolution,' blending well-researched science with fiction and popular culture. You will not put this clever, witty, entertaining, and scary read down once you start and will forever look at progress in our world with different eyes." -- Wolfram Tetzlaff, MD, PhD, Professor, Zoology & Surgery, Director of ICORD, University of British Columbia

Promotional "Headline"

Publication date coincides with the release of The Avengers: Infinity War, which will be a good tie-in for publicity Pitch feature to science and technology magazines like Scientific American and Discover, and to current events magazines like Newsweek, The Walrus and Maclean's The subjects covered are "trending topics" in popular science, such as the recent approval by the FDA for leukemia gene therapy, as covered in the New York Times html)

Feature

Photos/ilios: Six black and white comics and line drawings, six technical figures or diagrams and one chart / 06 (Number PR12.11) 01 - Black and white illustrations (Type PR12.9), 06 (Number PR12.11) 17 - Figures (Type PR12.9), 01 (Number PR12.11) 07 - Black and white tables (Type PR12.9)

Description for Sales People

The publication of this book coincides with the release of The Avengers: Infinity War (May 2018). Zehr's previous books in this vein, Becoming Batman and Inventing Ironman, have sold a combined 8.5K copies. Accessibly written and fascinating exploration of scienctific advances through Marvel's Captain America. Addresses the societal implications of using science to change human biology.

Details