NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society

Written by Michael Buckley

Narrated by Johnny Heller

Michael Buckley is a New York Times best-selling author, having scored fans far and wide for his Sisters Grimm series and popular TV shows. There's no doubt about it: These kids are nerds. Awkward, unpopular, uncool as uncool can be-and yet, there's something about these "nerds" that nobody else knows. These dweebs are actually superspies who use their dorky skills to battle the evil Hyena and other villainous baddies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 5, 2010
• ISBN: 9781440774270

Michael Buckley

A nomad at heart, Michael Buckley has travelled widely in the Himalayas, Central Asia, and South Asia. He is author of a number of books to these regions, including: --Eccentric Explorers: wild and wacky adventurers of the Tibetan plateau --Travels in the Tibetan World: detailing personal voyages to many Tibetan enclaves --Shangri-La: a Travel Guide to the Himalayan Dream --Tibet: the Bradt Travel Guide Books about environment crisis in Tibet: --Meltdown in Tibet (Palgrave-Macmillan, New York, 2014) is about serious environmental issues on the Tibetan Plateau. Also available as ebook version. --Tibet, Disrupted is a companion digital photobook, updated and revised, published 2020. This is available for download via Amazon Kindle, Apple Books or the iTunes Store. The photo-based book is over 430 pages long and focuses on visual presentation with minimal text.  --This Fragile Planet His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Environment Photobook with quotations from His Holiness, compiled and edited by Michael Buckley published on Apple Books platform. Published in larger-format print version by Sumeru Books, September 2021 --The Snow Leopard's New Friend Tibetan Animal Tales. A children's book for ages 8+ featuring 10 tales about the amazing animals of Tibet. The back of the book features profiles of the real animals as well as section on Activities. Published on Amazon Kindle platform and Apple Books platform. Published in print version by Sumeru Books, September 2021. Print version translated into Tibetan, published in India by the LTWA, September 2021. As well as being a writer, Buckley is a passionate photographer, documentary filmmaker and environmental explorer. He is filmmaker for three short documentaries about major environmental issues in Tibet that go under-reported--or not reported at all. To find out more, go to www.WildYakFilms.com/: --Meltdown in Tibet == about dams and water problems on the Tibetan plateau --From Nomad to Nobody == about the plight of the vanishing nomads of Tibet --Plundering Tibet == about the devastating impact of mining in Tibet --Mekong Apocalypse == about the devastating impact of China's megadams on Cambodia and Vietnam

Reviews for NERDS

[librisissimo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Saturday morning cartoon in print.

[pussreboots · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley is the first book in a series of elementary school aged superheroes, who are nerds in their secret identities. It's told from the point of view of a bully, Jackson, who is accidentally recruited.Before any of that happens, Jackson is turned appearance-wise into a nerd. He suddenly needs braces and suffers some other normal teenage changes. Gone is the jock and Jackson is out of sorts.I don't know if this long introduction is supposed to make Jackson a sympathetic character or a humorous one. For me, it does neither. It bloats the book and drags the pacing.Eventually Jackson catches onto the nerds of the class disappearing all together. He decides to follow them out of curiosity. When they seem to disappear into thin air, he literally falls into their secret lair. And then there's more time on Jackson's new persona and how the National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society works. By this time, I was singing the Rescue Aid Society song from The Rescuers as my attention and interest further drifted.There is so much introductory material in the first of the NERDS series that there's little room left for adventure. I hear from my son that the later books are more plot focused.

[jwarren42 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Solid spy-adventure fiction for kids with a few textual jokes that are really funny. Recommended.

[5c0library · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

NERDS is a very funny book about a boy and a bunch of spies. it is a very awesome book. i would reccomend it to readers 10+. It will keep you entertained for hoursamy

[momma2_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is perfect for 9-12 yr old boys. Humor, action and adventure with a little bit of the gross stuff. Blake read this book in 24 hrs and it is a 300 page book! Michael Buckley is a fabulous writer and we are huge fans of his other series so it is no surprise that this is hilariously well written.

[jrlibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's hard to find funny stories suitable for middle school students, but this is one the kids enjoy. The "nerds" have braces, and puffers for their asthma etc. but they become the National Espionage, Rescue and Defense Society, and it's an easy, entertaining read.

[mmchat_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

nerds is a funny book.I feel great for the characters. Dr. Jigsaw makes a machine to change continents and foil the world.

[4dson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jackson was in his school when he found out his teammates were missing. This story would be good for people who likes action and comedy. This story really exiting and is a page turner.

[8f_sam · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was so weird. It's about this boy, Jackson, who use to be cool and popular, but got braces, and now becomes a nerd. Then he stumbles onto a weird place with a bunch of gizmos and gadgets that are used by a group of nerds known as NERDS (National espionage rescue and defense society) to save the world. It really is a very, very odd book. But still, it's better than some that I've read, and it wasn't as boring as the Lovely bones....

[abbylibrarian_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When popular kid Jackson has to get embarrassing headgear put on, he's downgraded from the A List and stumbles across the NERDS - National Espionage, Rescue and Defense Society. They're a group of outcasts outfitted with special "upgrades" that turn their nerdy qualities into superpowers. And they're out to save the world. It's a wild and wacky romp and it reads just like a Saturday morning cartoon. Short chapters, comic illustrations, and lots of action and humor will appeal to reluctant readers despite the book's 300-page length.

[skstiles612 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Okay, let me first start off by saying I loved the cover. When I saw it the song "Secret Agent Man" kept going through my head. The second think I though was that these characters looked an awful lot like characters I would find on Nikelodeon. Yes I do watch cartoons. I have to be able to discuss them with my students. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. When I first opened the book, the inside jacket flap had a list of characters. The fifth grade secret agent spies. These were all kids who were nerds and the governmetn helped them enhance their nerdiness to give them secret powers. Jackson "Braceface" Jones was never one of the nerds. That is until he got his braces and lost his friends. He was no longer a part of the popular crowd. Enter the nerds. The group he had always tormented was up to something and he wanted to know what. After following them he watched them duck into lockers and disappear. He follows them and that is when trouble starts. He has entered the world of spies. I loved this book. It was a lot of fun. I can see my students reading it and laughing out loud. I have read the entire Sister's Grimm series so I assumed I would like this one just as much and I was right. I will definitely recommend this book to my students.

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

On the one hand, this is a delightful, clever, funny book that will entertain any child who loves silly jokes, action heroes, satire, and books about nerds versus popular kids in school. I laughed aloud more than once, and I loved the many positive messages.The NERDS are a group of fifth graders made up of actual “nerds” whose “weaknesses” have been bionically enhanced to give them special powers. The government made them into special agents after determining that kids would make the best spies because (1) they are small, and often overlooked and underestimated by adults, and (2) they are more techno-savvy than adults. Thus NERDS (National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society) was born.The current crew includes Duncan “Gluestick” Dewey (he can stick to walls), Ruby “Pufferfish” Peet (her allergies can help her detect danger and dishonesty), Heathcliff “Choppers” Hodges (his buckteeth allow him to control minds), Julio “Flinch” Escala (his hyperactivity gives him super speed and strength) and Matilda “Wheezer” Chois (her inhalers enable her to fly and blast enemies). They are joined by the formerly popular Jackson "Braceface" Jones, who was rejected by his friends after getting braces. Together, they sneak out of school to fight the evil Dr. Felix Jigsaw. Dr. Jigsaw is aided by Mindy (“Hyena”) Beauchamp, and it is the depiction of The Hyena that gets my hackles up. This is how the author describes her:"For a professional killer with ice in her veins, the Hyena was pretty cute. She had platinum blonde hair and bright green eyes, long eyelashes, and a nose like a button. When she was seven years old, her mother decided to capitalize on her daughter’s stunning good looks … and plunged her daughter into the world of professional child beauty pageants.”Here’s my problem. The author has made his nerd group multicultural (although the male hero is a stereotypical blond, “handsome” football playing jock). He has filled his book with positive messages about the ultimate value of kids who tend to be considered nerds in school:"…we know that what the popular kids have to offer the world is so tiny and unimportant compared to what the nerds will do. The dorks, dweebs, goobers, and spazzes that you picked on are the ones who will grow up to discover the vaccines, write the great novels, push the boundaries of science and technology, and invest things that make people healthier and happier. Nerds change the world.”And yet the author slips in numerous references to what makes someone beautiful (or handsome), and they are not multicultural images. (Nor, for that matter, are they images of kids who wear braces, glasses, or have medical conditions.) I think many teens want to be attractive; they’ll worry about curing diseases when they’re older – far, far in the future. In particular, Buckley’s book doesn’t help the young girls of color with their self-image who read this book, nor does he help abate the slew of subliminal messages that affect young white people. Consider the new movie by Chris Rock, “Good Hair,” in which he explores the history of race relations in America as symbolized by images of black women and attitudes toward their hair. He says he decided to investigate the issue after his young daughter said to him, “Daddy, why don’t I have good hair?”How are little girls of color supposed to love themselves, when every cultural image from the overt to the subtle tells them they are not the same as what is defined as attractive? How are they supposed to grow up to be self-actualizing, confident women who value themselves?This is a very fun book that is “reluctant reader friendly”. But how long must we reinforce the notion, as bell hooks laments, that “the femininity most sought after, most adored, [is] that perceived to be the exclusive property of white womanhood?” If we don’t start with kids, changing what is taught through the words and images used in books, movies, videos, and ads, how will these notions of beauty ever evolve?Evaluation: If it weren’t for its images of “beautiful” and “handsome” I would be telling you I absolutely adored this book. But I can’t get past the deleterious stereotyping. I recommend it highly, but with adult commentary. It's a fun book that provides a great teaching opportunity.

[wbentrim · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nerds by Michael BuckleyThe class bully discovers that popularity can’t conquer all. He joins a group, he perceives as less gifted, and discovers a new depth to his character. The entire time the group is fighting an attempt to literally restructure the world. I am not the appropriate demographic for this book. However young in heart I might be, I’m not sure I can get all the way back to middle school. I suspect my 11 year old grandson is going to love this book. My guess is that Buckley nailed his target market. The trials and tribulations of being “different” in middle school are delved while being entertained with a astoundingly overblown Bondesque spy thriller. Images, scenarios and plots of preposterous nature seem to be highly appealing to this age group. They are able to suspend their connection to reality and dive into the base humor and broad gags. Sadly, I enjoyed the book which probably says something about my level of maturity. I recommend the book and it may be of particular value to the reluctant reader.