I got this fair-condition softcover at a local thrift shop. It's a graphic novel based in the early life of philosopher Bertrand Russell - a topic that probably wouldn't have grabbed me on its own, but that is treated very well here.

The book starts with the author contemplating his goals and gathering a team - an artist, a colorist, and a consultant in mathematical logic (!). I enjoyed the framing-device sequences in which they discuss what they're doing, what they're editing out, etc. - these bits have some humor, some team-at-work scenes, some entertaining footnotes, and occasional full-page scenery that's quite stunning.

Russell himself is introduced as he's about to give a talk at an American university in 1939, when he's confronted by a mob of isolationists (very much opposed to the US entering WWII) and challenges them to come inside and listen to him. His talk is the second framing device - and includes some quips that I hope he actually said at some point, including the bit about taking "The Role of Logic in Human Affairs" too literally would result in the shortest lecture in history. He goes into his own past here, for another nesting-level, and we see him as a precocious child in a difficult situation - living with his grandparents, one of whom is exceedingly regimented and strict. Some haunting, Dickensian and/or Gothic tones here - though how much of that involves author's license I'm not sure.

We see him as a young man, questing for logic - and love; there's a charming courtship scene where he and his first love exchange favorite reading material, and discover a connection between his favorite logician, Boole, and her favorite author, Lewis Carroll. I'll never hear Russell's name again without remembering the panels of him and Alys playing at Alice in Wonderland characters!

Once his work begins in earnest, we see his collaborations with a variety of logicians, philosophers, and mathematicians, and the difficulties of expressing the concepts clearly - I admit I skimmed some of this bit. As a software engineer I had my own fondness for logic, but I stuck to the basic Boolean stuff - trying to conceive of how to define a system when you don't accept *anything* as a basic "given" made my head hurt {wry grin}. But the book's author is aware of this, and manages to convey some of the thrills of Russell's pursuits and the bafflement of much of the public at the same time.

The book covers Russell's conscientious objector stand in WWI, and then comes back to his 1939 talk - and the surprising (to much of his audience) reveal that, while still opposed to violence, he's come to believe that there are times when a stand must be taken.

The book closes with an epilogue from the authorial team, in which they summon an excerpt from Euripides to demonstrate another tricky moral problem. There's also bonus material describing some of the authorial decisions re the story, and providing background information on many of the main characters.

[There's a TV Tropes page on the book with some entertaining tidbits.]

I left this book on a bench in the entrance of Not Your Average Joe's restaurant on DW Hwy after a lovely lunch. Hope the finder enjoys the book!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2017 One Word Title release challenge. ***