<blockquote> <p> From sex-crazed gods to ravenous monsters, Ben Thompson brings legendary titans to life in tales of adventure, bloodlust, and unrelenting badassitude. </p> </blockquote> <p> Since the beginning of human history people have created myths, tall tales, superheroes, and arch-villains?men and women who embarked on insane adventures, performed extraordinary feats of unparalleled awesomeness, and overcame all odds to violently smite their foes into bloody pulp. In <i>Badass: The Birth of a Legend</i>, Ben Thompson compiles these fantastical tales from the beginning of time to today and tells them in the completely over-the-top manner in which they were intended, including: </p> <blockquote> <p> Rama<br> The Indian god-king who led an army of monkeys against the King of All Demons </p> <p> Thor<br> The Viking god of thunder and awesome hair, who crushed the skulls of giants with a ridiculously huge hammer </p> <p> Beowulf<br> An Anglo-Saxon hero so hardcore he could arm-wrestle monsters' joints out of their sockets </p> <p> Moby-Dick<br> The hate-filled literary behemoth who obliterated ship hulls with his face </p> <p> Skuld<br> The Norse necromancer queen who summoned a horde of zombie berserkers </p> <p> Dirty Harry Callahan <br> The prototypical modern-day antihero and very embodiment of badass </p> </blockquote>