Billed as a "highly unauthorized work," this collection of critiques ranges from the suitably serious to the suitably mischievous, a concoction that reflects its subject in all its hundreds of millions of copies. The distinguished contributors offer insight on topics including Rowling's social commentary (or is it her comic relief?), fascism, love and hate, the power of God and also the end of religion, sexism, death and inevitability, proper Muggle behavior, and speculation on whether Harry or Hermoine would be better off dead. Along the way they describe how Rowling either opened up or shut down children's literature, how she serves up opinions on both academic and social conditioning, and how these entertaining books are also adept social and political commentaries. Distributed by Independent Publishers Group. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Read Less