Superman: Flights of Fantasy

FLIGHTS OF FANTASY: The Authorized but True Story of Radio & TV's Adventures of Superman by Michael Hayde is a pleasant surprise. The book includes episode logs for radio and television, complete story lines for two un-produced TV episodes, and dozens of "deleted scenes" taken right from the shooting scripts. Can we say "someone did their homework?" I've seen only a few books like these that make it worth buying, because the author did their research. Kudos.

To be fair, I never cared much for the Superman character, but I have been enjoying the radio shows recently (not the butchered ones they play on Satellite Radio's XM/Sirius Channel) and this book gave me more background production information than I could ever dream about.

Page 289 even has a photo of George Reeves as Superman, from a deleted scene from "The Mysterious Cube."

A page from the August 7, 1946 broadcast can be found on page 88. There are candid behind-the-scenes photos sprinkled throughout and a great photo of Reeves in June 1959 (on page 329), less than 72 hours from the time his dead body would be found. Yes, the author dug into the mysterious death of George Reeves and it appears his theory is "murder," but I should note that while the case is and probably always will be open, he certainly knows his facts and deserves credit.

There are books about Superman out there but if you are looking for one that covers the radio and television program, and with detail (and great prose, by the way), this is the only book you want to get.