THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY: Michael Chabon won a Pulitzer for this spectacular epic novel, one that manages to seep into the brains of everyone from comic book enthusiasts to history buffs to fans of exceptional prose. Brooklynite Sammy Klayman and his cousin Josef Kavalier, a Jewish refugee from pre-WWII Prague, team up to create their own comic book series based around a magician-type superhero called The Escapist. Kavalier & Clayelegantly lays out a lot of dark stuff, including the persecution of Jews, homosexuals, Communists and other "undesirables" in the 1930s to 1950s, plus it paints a pretty fascinating picture of a city winding its way out of the Depression and into the post-war boom.