Rab­bi Friedman’s slim book of spir­i­tu­al self-help packs a real punch. Eigh­teen brief chap­ters explore such uni­ver­sal val­ues as willpow­er, hard work, self-esteem, ide­al­ism, and friend­ship, among oth­ers. Friedman’s tone is engag­ing with­out being over­bear­ing, and he illus­trates his advice with exam­ples from the adven­tures of Bat­man. Unlike super­heroes who gained their super­pow­ers by out­side forces, such as a radioac­tive spi­der bite, Bat­man achieved great strength and supe­ri­or men­tal capac­i­ties by train­ing his mind and body. Fried­man draws from the lessons of Judaism, as well as oth­er reli­gions, to show how reg­u­lar peo­ple can live exem­plary lives. Fans of com­ic books will rev­el in the Bat­man ref­er­ences, while read­ers look­ing for spir­i­tu­al advice will be more than sat­is­fied to have Rab­bi Fried­man as their guru.