There are plenty of 24-themed books out there, but this entry has something the other ones don't: a quote on the back from yours truly.
A couple of months ago I was contacted by someone involved with "24 and Philosophy: The World According to Jack (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series)
" and was asked to provide them some praise for the back of the book. She sent me the book electronically and I spent a couple of hours on the can reading it.After sending her a list of possible quotes, she chose this one (and I'm glad since it was my favorite).
"Jack Bauer, armed with the philosophical expertise of the authors, shot my ignorance in the leg, threw it down the stairs, and refused to offer it immunity. I'm a better educated man because of it." - Eddie Shoebang, thebauer.blogspot.com
I'm just as baffled as you are. Anyway, for those interested, here are the list of rejected quotes.
"Jack’s actions have taught me how to torture, shoot people through walls, and fake my own death. And somehow those same actions have taught me the nuances of duality, consequentialism, and objectification." (I have no idea what "consequentialism" means)
"I never thought Bauer’s antics would eventually teach me the nuances of philosophy and therefore torturing and killing my ignorance."
"If Jack and this book were around when I was in college, I would have gotten that cute philosophy major to go out with me." (Instead, I went out with the English major who was just as cute, but had nothing to say.)
"This book completes the final aspect of my Bauer education. I can now torture someone with a lamp and understand the philosophical reasons behind my insane actions."
"This is the only way to truly understand philosophy: using big words like ‘supererogatory’ and relating it to Jack shooting someone in the head." (Seriously, I took Philosophy 101 and the only thing I got out of it was a healthy fear of nothingness).
And BTW, it is an interesting read. Just look at some of the chapter titles:
The Ethics of Torture in 24: Shockingly Banal
Living in a World of Suspicion: The Epistemology of Mistrust
How the Cell Phone Changed the World and Made 24
