Religious Nuts, Political Fanatics by Robert Vagacs

[post edited 11/16 because the publisher seems to have changed the book ID #]
Some preliminary information from Cascade Books is finally out about Religious Nuts, Political Fanatics: U2 in Theological Perspective by Robert Vagacs. (As I reported in a previous post, Vagacs was cited by Get Up Off Your Knees contributor Brian Walsh for having "open[ed] up new vistas of interpretation" of U2's work to him; now all of you who emailed me after that post to ask where you could get the book may rejoice.) Religious Nuts, Political Fanatics: U2 in Theological Perspective doesn't seem to be on any of the online sites yet, but I know how that is....

Excerpt from the publisher's blurb: Weaving the threads of U2's lyrics, scripture, and theology into one cord, this book tracks the Irish rock band's theological insights and perspectives through their poetry. Along this lyrical path we encounter the characters of the Drowning Man, the Wanderer, and the Sojourner. Though seemingly different, they are one and the same, and they represent each of us.

This is a compact, somewhat technical, and clever book; it's a master's thesis reworked, and thus has some of the typical limitations of reworked theses -- it's maybe a tad uneven in tone and unsure of its audience. But it's by someone who has been thinking theologically about U2 steadily for years, and gets it, and doesn't just weave the usual tissue of see-Bono-likes-Jesus quotes... and that's worth a lot. Overall I'll just say I believe what I wrote about it some time ago for its back cover.