The Indiana Jones Handbook by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnese

Those for whom the late May release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull reignited the thirst for all things Indie will be pleased to set their eyes on this book. The Indiana Jones Handbook (Quirk) bills itself at “The Complete Adventurer’s Guide” and, in some ways, it is. How else would you discover what to do if bitten by a tarantula? How to run on top of a moving train? If you have to cross a rope bridge? Or if you have to deal with rats? (“Damp, dark caverns are a paradise for rodentia,” the book warns at one point.)

Though tongues may well be in cheeks, they were neatly tucked away during the writing of The Indiana Jones Handbook. Like all those Worst Case Scenario handbooks so popular at the beginning of the decade, this Indiana Jones-themed book takes all of its questions quite seriously. Is the resulting guide funny? Well, a little bit. But it really helps if you’re already a fan, if for no other reason than to help you get the references to monkey brains and other purely Indie material. Looks of color illustrations -- many from the films -- as well as a solid little format contribute to the fun. And though it seems unlikely that most of us will actually benefit from learning how to survive for several days while clinging to a submarine’s periscope, the possibilities opened just by thinking about it are all a lot of fun.