a page about anthony's books
pop culture
Gods of Thrones, v1
This is my first book about fantasy literature (and screen adaptation). It is co-authored with my friend Aron and uses words like “Cleganebowl” and phrases like “thunderdomestically awesome.” This book is for folks who care deeply about the fake religions of imaginary people. Illustrations by the freakishly talented Chase Stone.
“Bursting with insight and full of japes, this book will teach you much and more. Gods of Thrones will deepen your experience of the novels and remind you why you loved them in the first place. Clearly, these guys drink and know things.”
— Chad Carmichael, PhD (IUPUI)
Professor of Philosophy
The Wife of Jesus
This might be my favorite project. The first half of it critiques the fictions, forgeries, films, and fragments of pop culture. The second half of the book discusses the sociology of marriage in Second-Temple Jewish life. I am told that this book is assigned reading for the class "Jesus in Film and History" at UCLA.
"The Wife of Jesus is an eminently sensible, thoughtful and balanced look at an important question. Its significance has to do, of course, with who Jesus was. But even more, it has to do with how Christians model themselves after him."
—Chicago Tribune
Gods of Thrones, v2
Yeah, we did another one of these. The multiverse of Ice and Fire is so expansive, that we needed another volume to include topics like Chinese dragon lore, Hadrian's Wall, the dark side of baptism, and death coins. My favorite chapter compares Mirri Maz Duur, Éowyn, and third-wave feminism.
"Gods of Thrones Vol.2 masterfully plumbs the depths of the ancient mythologies and premodern rituals, beliefs, and practices that inspire the lore of the old gods and the theology of the new—and everything in between. Sophisticated in its rendering of various facets of religious history, yet inherently accessible and compulsively readable, Hubbard and Le Donne offer up a new and fascinating lens through which to view the competing and overlapping belief systems that undergird Westeros—and threaten its demise."
—Jana Mathews, PhD (Rollins University)
Professor of Medieval Literature
Jesus
This book is in One World's "beginner's guides" series. I introduce Jesus (both as man and concept) along five paths: Jesus the man, Jesus the literary figure, Jesus in pre-modern imagination, Jesus in scholarship, and Jesus in pop culture. This book has been translated into Portuguese under the title "A história de Jesus para quem tem pressa."
