The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It

I approached this with a little caution as I somehow never played D&D, probably because I was too busy with my comic books and models of the Enterprise 1701-D. David is an excellent guide for the D&D uninitiated. I imagine that if you were or are an avid player, this is the book for you. If you are not, it's a book that makes you wish you were. He builds the world and tells the story of the culture so well that I felt as left out reading this as I do reading about Seattle Grunge culture of the late 80s and early 90s. The book is a real charmer. And, a surprising bit is that a lot of the drama comes from his descriptions of game scenarios. Seriously, what happens to Ganubi? Does he come back or not? Excellent read, fluid writing, I think an obvious gift for the right person but grab one for yourself even if you don't think you're the natural audience, you'll be surprised.

The book was very well written and the sections developed from an active gamer's perspective were entertaining. I enjoyed the exploration into the history of the game, and the descriptions of the gaming systems from the earlier days brought back many fond memories of playing D&D for the first time and attending GenCon for the first time in the late 80's.

Not impressed.

I expected much more from this book, and kept waiting to read "the story of D&D and the people who play it."

The book I got instead should have been called "Me, me, me, and my personal experience with a post apocalyptic vampire campaign that could be everything but D&D. Also I play a different LARP game as a magic user with a foam sword. Finally, I tossed in a few pages about Gary Gygax and drop a few other names."

If the author wanted to illustrate narcissistic personality disorder, he did a wonderful job. He included plenty of detail on how he felt standing by a park bench in Gary Gygax's home town, and eating candy from the store where TSR's old store was in the 80s.

I made the mistake of buying on Kindle or I would have returned the book. I feel cheated.

I guess the thing that most impressed me about this book was how much the writer sounded like me. I'm a bit a older than Mr. Ewalt, but as he reminisced the days when he was younger and would play, but then fell away from the game inexplicably for a decade or so, it really reminded me of my own experiences.

It seemed to be a very fair and historically accurate version of what transpired through the seventies and eighties as all of us older gamers found and fell in love with D&D. I learned a lot about the game I hadn't previously known.

I guess the only thing I would add to what Mr. Ewalt has written would be my own advice to Hasbro on how to deal with D&D now.

FRANCHISE REBOOTS DRIVE OLDER FANS AWAY UNLESS YOU DO THEM RIGHT!

You have to realize two things about your customers.

1) Not everyone in the world wants to play table top role playing games.
2) Most of the ones who do aren't millionaires.

D&D's big problem ever since it began was greed. No one was ever content to just have a wonderful game sitting on store shelves. Everyone in the industry felt this huge and overwhelming need to cram new products down the throats of your customers as fast and cruelly unendingly as possible.

Figure it out folks. You're selling an object that not everyone will be interested in to a group of people with a limited amount of cash. Most of us can't afford to spend over a thousand dollars for all of the rule books, the miniatures, the modules, the battle mats, the dice, the monthly online subscription fees...etc.

When you stick your hand out relentlessly asking more from people who have already given you a lot, you start looking like an enemy...and people will walk away from you.

I play first and second edition. I had some of the books and some of the modules. Recently I decided to start playing again, so I went to Ebay to pick up some different books and modules. I bought all old used stuff. No part of me even slightly considered buying anything new. You're on version 4.0 going to version 5.0. This means that within a year or two, it'll be version 6.0, right? Why? Why should I spend a dollar for something that will be redundantly obsolete before even the Justice League movie rolls out? For the record, I spent a lot of money recently on D&D, and your company didn't get a penny of it.

Suggestion: Knock it off. Call your current edition of D&D "D&D." And somehow as you publish new modules and such, add small footnotes that explain how any aspect of it would need to be dealt with using the different versions of the rules you've published so far.

There is a limit to the amount of money you can get out of your customers. If you can figure out how to be content with it, this game could exist forever. If you choose to not be content, you will continue to look like an enemy and people will continue to walk away from everything that you make. Get rid of the 5.0 appellation. Just call it D&D, lick your wounds and stop ticking off your fans.

The book purports to be a history of Dungeons and Dragons and the people who play it. At the outset the author indicates that the aim of the book is "to explain the phenomenon of D&D to a mainstream audience." Abstractly that is fine, but let's be honest, most folks who are picking up this book have some familiarity or pre-existing relationship with D&D. If someone wrote a book about NASCAR to explain the phenomenon to the non-NASCAR watching world (which includes me), I would not feel compelled to read it - I have zero interest in NASCAR and my freetime is just too limited to compel me to read about this particular sport and the people who watch it. I imagine the same is true of most of the non-roleplaying/non-"geek" world. Look at the book's endorsements, mostly from folks who have some gaming experience.

Anyways, the author's intentions aside, the first half of the book is quite solid. Ewalt explores the roots of D&D and provides a pretty detailed and captivating history of D&D's (and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons) first edition. This history is well-written, well-research and is interspersed with vignettes from his own gaming experience. All of this works - if you are familiar with D&D the history is informative and even the vignettes are entertaining; if you are not the narrative is structured in such a way to still make it interesting.

However, the book falls apart about half way through (or what should have been the half-way mark). The history effectively ends with the departure of Gygax and Williams' takeover of TSR. The creation of editions 2, 3 (and 3.5), and 4 and the sale to Wizards of the Coast are given about 2-3 pages of text. Completely ignored are topics like the creation of the various gaming/novel worlds (Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, etc.), the cartoon (mentioned in a sentence), the video games, D&D's influence in popular culture, and really any of D&D's history from 1986 to 2012. The satanic controversy is given a chapter though is presented mostly as "this is what happens." There is no discussion of who the system evolved and why, what influences shaped subsequent design, etc. In large part this is because Ewalt himself was not playing during those years and is explicitly uninterested in the gaming worlds created by TSR/Wizard's of the Coast.

In the place of 25 years of D&D history, Ewalt instead writes about a series of random events undertaken as part of his reawakening to role-playing/"research" for the book - LARPing, a trip to Wizards of the Coast, his introduction to D&D Next, a visit to Lake Geneva, WI for Gary Con, etc. There is nothing historical, investigative, or journalistic about any of this - its a gamer writing about some stuff he did these past couple of years. For the supposed non-gamer this book is intended for, I can't imagine why they would want to read about any of this stuff (anymore than I want to read about the travels of a NASCAR fan). For a gamer, just go to any online forum and read about folks' thoughts pertaining to the new edition to D&D, the challenges of being a Dungeon Master, what one can do on a sleepy March afternoon in Lake Geneva, WI., etc.

The first half is easily 4 star material, the second half is worth 1 star or less.

more a memoir than anything useful to the history of D&D. The author essentially is telling an unfamiliar audience about the game, and talks down to them in such a way that long time players of the game will be turned off. Reads like a fan's blog than a piece of journalism.

Pairing his reporter's sensibility with a passionate, nerdy zeal, David M. Ewalt weaves the nappy threads of D&D's history, his own soul-baring journey of geek-enlightenment, and compelling in-game narratives into what must surely be the Bayeux Tapestry of Dungeons & Dragons.

Ewalt masterfully retraces the frequent changes of fortune endured by E. Gary Gygax, David Arneson, and others involved with creating Dungeons & Dragons, it's progenitors, and it's progeny. Skillfully interwoven is the tale David's own discovery and re-discovery of the game and the changes thus wrought by his Tuesday night obsession. In a delightfully smooth change of perspective, detailed descriptions of gameplay are wont to transition to in-game narratives using the viewpoint of the character being played by Ewalt. The audiobook version enlists the talent of Mikael Naramore to perform these narratives while the rest of the book is read by the author.

Clearly a labor of love, Of Dice and Men is enlightening, enheartening, and entertaining. Written to be accessible to both novice and initiate, the book performs admirably--a must-read for anyone with even a passing curiosity about role playing games, a moral imperative for role playing gamers.

This is a difficult book for me to review, because as a D&D nerd it's hard not to have a lot of Opinions on it. My inner geek found plenty of nits to pick with this book: annoyance with the casual dismissals of the versions of the game the author didn't personally play (2nd and 4th edition, primarily) and a wish that the author would have dived deeper into some of the historical bits (the whys and hows of the 'satanic panic' of the 80's are skimmed) are chief among them. The post-Gygax years of TSR and the release of 2nd Edition or any setting the author hasn't played (Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, Eberron) are also conspicuous by their absence.

So let me review this as a writer. From that perspective I also found this book somewhat lacking. The author centers the book around his own personal journey with tabletop roleplaying games. Chapters alternate between the history and business of the game and the author's own stories. The latter are interspersed with dramatic prose-style descriptions of games the he has played in. At first this is fun, but it quickly wears out its welcome to the point where I found myself skipping the endless paragraphs of italicized purple prose. What works well for, say, the read-aloud text for a D&D campaign is tiresome in a non-fiction book.

And while I understand the David Ewalt is using his personal experiences to make the topic accessible, it has the result of making him the main character of this book. And he's one I tired of quickly.

There are also the cliched 'lessons to be learned' from every single experience, something that really annoys me in non-fiction books. In life not every event is pregnant with meaning. Attempting to find personal revelation in everything just to fit a narrative feels extremely forced, and Ewalt does this in spades.

Finally, and I just have to get this out there, as a Fourth Edition player it's clear to me that the author has never so much as even skimmed a rulebook, and is going entirely off what he's heard and read elsewhere. Some of the things he was oohing and ahhing over about D&D Next had me rolling my eyes. "Yeah, you could do that in 4e dude." I will grant the author his personal preferences, but I think if you're going to write a book about the history of D&D you could pretend to have at least a modicum of objectivity.

Nerd wars aside, I did learn some things. Ewalt does a good job introducing us to the personalities involved in creating D&D between 1970 and 1980. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, and many of the lesser known (but still important) players get full treatment.

For someone looking for a light, quick introduction to what Dungeons & Dragons is, how it got started, and why it's important to millions of people the world over, this book is probably worth picking up. But if you have more than a passing knowledge of the game, you can probably safely skip it.

As an avid fan of Dungeons & Dragons, I relate to David Ewalt's passion for the game. I found it amazing, all the wonderful history about D&D of which I wasn't aware. It makes my appreciation for playing it so much greater.

Mr. Ewalt's writing style really bings you into the story, as if you're right there taking part in the adventures he and his friends shared whilst playing their campaign. I particularly enjoy the parts about Jhaden, who is the undoubted hero of the campaign. ;-)

I look forward to Mr. Ewalt's next literary efforts with faith the subject will be approached witht the same attention and passion as OD&M (Of Dice & Men).

This books is marketed, as its tag-line states, as the story of Dungeons and Dragons, and the people who play it. In fact, the book is almost exclusively about the early years of Dungeons and Dragons, from the first experimental dungeon crawls with adapted miniatures war-gaming rules, to the completion of the first edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. Once E. Gary Gygax leaves TSR Games, the story of Dungeons and Dragons is pretty much over as far as this book is concerned. The evolution of the game over the last 25 years is almost entirely omitted. A fact that Ewalt, the author, acknowledges in the final pages; but attributes to a lack of space. There was plenty of space in the book for a comprehensive history of the game, and its effect on other media (particularly books, movies, and video games). Ewalt simply chose to use the space for other things. As far as "the people who play it" is concerned, that is pretty much limited to Ewalt, and the people that Ewalt has played with. A small amount of space is dedicated to early TSR Games employees and their families, who seem to have a similar lack of interest in whatever happened to Dungeons and Dragons after they were no longer connected to TSR Games. The majority of the book is concerned with Ewalt's personal experiences with playing Dungeons and Dragons; often obsessively. That might not be a problem if Ewalt had a broad and lengthy history with the game, and familiarity with most of the subject matter. He does not, and that makes using himself as the viewpoint of the book of considerably less interest and relevance to anyone other than himself. By his own account, Ewalt has no significant experience as a Dungeon Master; which is an important aspect of the Dungeons and Dragons game experience. Ewalt has not played in a particularly large number of campaigns, mastered the majority of the character classes, experienced any significant number of the major game worlds released in the official and third-party supplements, or played using the majority of the editions of the game that have been released. His view of Dungeons and Dragons is a fairly narrow one, and one that is largely out-of-date. Aside from his ability to get a publishing deal, there is no apparent reason why Ewalt should be the main subject of a book with this title. I don't wonder why he did not interview more experienced and dedicated (as opposed to compulsive) players, and use their experiences as the raw material for the manuscript; but it almost certainly would have resulted in a better book. The book was not entirely without interest from my perspective. Ewalt does describe in detail attending GenCon. I never attended Gencon, so it was interesting to get a picture of what went on there. Unfortunately, insights and accounts that would be of interest to fellow players, past or current, are all too rare in the book. The structure of the book is odd, to say the least. The interspersing of game play transcripts from one specific campaign that the author played in breaks the flow of the book, without giving people new to the game much useful insight into what the game is like to experience. At the very least, there is far more of it than is necessary or useful. The campaign setting is an atypical one, and doesn't give those unfamiliar with the game an accurate impression of what a typical D&D campaign is like, or what their first experience with the game would be like. From a historical perspective, everything in the book that was directly relevant to Dungeons and Dragons has been covered better in free content on the Internet. What is left after that is the story of one Dungeons and Dragons fan's on-and-off experience with the game, and the culture surrounding it. I did not leave the book feeling as though it was a story I wanted, or needed, to read.

Many a casual gamer doesn't know the history, mainly because that grew up before the Internet was around, so growing up in the 70s and 80s you didn't have information at your fingertips like we do now. So much of this history was new to me. Buy it.

Having known very little about the history of D&D (despite having played it for decades), I found this book to be informative as well as fun. I'm sure there may be more historical details about its creation, but what is provided in this book is plenty for me.
The book is probably best for people unfamiliar with table top RPGs, like spouses, parents and athletic friends, but even for a long time player like myself it's a great read.
But be warned: if, like myself, it's been a few years since you played with your long time gaming friends, be prepared for nostalgia and an overwhelming desire to dig out your dice bag and character sheets. (At that point I recommend listening to Nerd Poker until you can set up a new game night.)

Title: Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons and Dragons & the People Who Play It
Author: David M. Ewalt
Genre: Non-Fiction (Journalistic Memoir perhaps would be a more telling name)
Part of a Series?: No

*I purchased a paperback copy of this book

Summary:
This book explores the creation and evolution of the popular table-top role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. The author is an award-winning journalist and life-long player of Dungeons & Dragons. He weaves together well-written stories of adventure from his personal D&D campaigns with analysis of D&D specifically and the broader world of gaming and its impact on popular culture. This book is a blend of history, journalism, narrative, and memoir.

Overall Impressions:
This book is educational, has sharp analysis, and the narrative sections are extremely well-written. I love this book and think everyone who has every enjoyed Dungeons & Dragons or wondered about their crazy friend who plays it should read it. And if Mr. Ewalt ever decides to write a book of fiction, I will happily read it too, based on the sections he wrote to describe his on-going Dungeons & Dragons campaign.

The Nitty Gritty:
The first thing that struck me about this book was the writing. When you pick a non-fiction book off the shelves, you never know whether you are getting a dry textbook or a fascinating glimpse into someone's (or something's) life or history. This book is definitely not a textbook. The language is easy to understand and informative. The chapters are organized in a logical manner and anyone who reads this book will come away with a better understanding not only of Dungeons & Dragons, but also gaming, table-top gaming, and society.
Interestingly enough, this non-fiction book also had sections of fictional writing as well: Mr. Ewalt used narratives from his own gaming sessions to help the reader connect with the gaming history he was sharing. And these sections were very well-written! I found it very difficult to resist going through the whole book to read those sections first. They were rich with description, detailed an intriguing premises, and featured characters I wanted to know more about. The worst thing about these vignettes was that there weren't more of them.

Special Parenting Concerns:
You might think that with a book about Dungeons & Dragons there would be some parenting concerns. However, Dungeons & Dragons is just a game, a time when people get together and pretend to be forces of good, heroes in a world where magic is real and fighting evil is an acceptable job, rather than just a higher ideal. There is nothing about this book that a parent need to be concerned with. At worst, it provides an opening for discussing how gaming impacts culture and what, exactly, is an acceptable way to game responsibly.

You Will Like This If...:

You like Dungeons & Dragons
You want to learn more about Dungeons & Dragons
You like to learn how pop culture develops and impacts our society

My Rating: 5 Stars

The Author, David Ewalt, is an editor for Forbes magazine. He is also a certified nerd and Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) player.

The book is a history of D&D from its historical antecedents through the release of D&D Next (or D&D 5.0 as many players call it).

Mr. Ewalt has a wonderful, conversational style, and he describes games and gamers in generally positive tones.

If you are looking for a book that explains role-playing games and gives some context, this book is a great read.

If you are a long-time D&D player and want to know more about the history of your hobby, this is also a great read.

There were some facts in the book that I was unaware of. For example, I always assumed that Dave Arneson, the co-creator of D&D was a lot more engaged and involved in the hobby in the early days than was explained in the book. You definitely got the impression from the book that Dave wasn't all that interested, but he was interested in the money once D&D started to do well. (By the by, that matched some of the comments that I had heard from Gary Gygax, David, et.al. from the inner circle of TSR.)

Some of the luminaries involved with D&D got better treatment in the book than I expected. For example, the heiress to the Buck Rogers estate is treated very well in the book, but many gaming insiders I know had not a lot of nice things to say about her handling of TSR.

And, ..., I'm not going to spoil all of the surprises!

Go read it yourself now!

This book is about 70% introduction to roleplaying games and a history of D&D and about 30% memoir (maybe 60/40). As an introduction, it is clear and passionate and I think would be helpful to someone who isn't familiar with D&D (if they were actually interested in reading the book). It is also a very concise and effective history of the creation of D&D (if one's appetite is whetted for more, Playing At the World is definitive, but much less of an easy read). I think most of the critical reviews have focused on the memoir aspect. I agree Ewalt's purely personal stories are less interesting, but I think his stories from his own games are actually probably something non-gamers would find helpful in understanding what the flavor of games is like, and I enjoyed them. My biggest criticism is the author's failure to even mention the existence of Pathfinder, which spun off D&D 3.5. A lot of old school players moved to Pathfinder and never looked back, and I think his failure to acknowledge that is a major gap in his history of D&D. Ewalt also gives short-shrift to other gaming systems, but that is perhaps more forgivable because the other systems aren't really part of the story of the evolution of D&D per se. Finally, I think the title is a little unfortunate in that it excludes women (the pun is cute, but it is pretty anachronistic to use "men" to refer to all of humanity). But, on the whole, the book is a fun read, I appreciated Ewalt's enthusiastic voice, and it is useful to have a readable general introduction. I play to pass this onto my 11 year old, who is also an RPG player, so that is a good endorsement!

David Ewalt has written this history of Dungeons & Dragons for a mainstream audience - a point he explains with humor at the start of the book, to ward off any nitpicking by hardcore fans. He stresses the fun of cooperative (as opposed to competitive) gaming, the allure of tapping into the collective imagination and having an open-ended and unlimited experience, and shows how RPGs can be a great way to make friends.

Ewalt also debunks some of the myths that keep people away from the game (for many years, myself included). He gives examples showing how D&D is not playacting, how gameplay is fairly normal with players taking turns, and how you aren't "constrained to a standard medieval setting."

Of Dice and Men is more than a history of D&D. It explores why people play games in the first place, their purpose, and what RPGs have in common with board or playground games. The book talks about how D&D influenced the evolution of future games, including video games. In many sections, the book reads like a memoir as Ewalt reminisces about his own gaming adventures.

I did feel bogged down by the historical miniatures war games and felt those sections could have been abbreviated a bit, but I realize it was important in order to show how RPGs have evolved, and how D&D came about.

Throughout the book Ewalt intersperses storylines of past games, as well as a sketch for a future game. Here he completely embraces his nerd side and displays it without embarrassment. I loved that.

I'm a fairly new RPGer. I was glad to see a shout-out to Traveller (the "most complete and most epic" sci-fi RPG), since MegaTraveller has been my introduction to the RPG world. I finished Of Dice and Men with a better understanding of role-playing games overall, as well as a deeper appreciation and respect for the work of our GM (game master).

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

Overall I enjoyed this book and actually found it hard to put down. Back in the early 80's I played AD&D and was a DM for a while. I loved creating campaigns and fleshing out characters, but I never really knew much about the history of D&D both before, during and after I played, nor anything about its origins. I received a nice introductory course on the subject through reading this book, enjoyed the inclusion of an actual game play, and it verified my reasons for having trouble getting back into D&D because of the many editions/changes that focused a little too much on charts and statistics and not enough on actual role-playing...not when you have to roll a 1d20 for every single move, making the game halt before it has a chance to get exciting and build! It also reminded me of my own treasure days of Geekdom and how once you play D&D it is always in your blood and you thirst for more! I hold hope on edition 5! Inventive, informative, sometimes sentimental, but never slobby, I highly recommend this book to anyone who has not played D&D for a while and misses it, is curious, like me, as to the different versions and its rich history, as well as for those who consider playing but have no idea what it is about. If a Player's Handbook or a DM Guide flips you out and looks overwhelming, this is a nice comfortable introduction on RPG's and how to use your imagination in a campaign. I would say the only thing that got under my skin was a bit of bias negativity on how females view this game. While some may have no interest in it (plenty of guys don't either) I am female, and I know quite a lot of others who play or have played and thoroughly enjoyed the game, ran games, can sword fight and dungeon crawl as good as any male player. Some worthy interviews with female players would have fleshed this book out in a more positive manner. I think any Gal Geek might find it rather unflattering. But on the whole it is well written, thoughtful and an honest depiction of D&D at is best, and worst!

I have long been curious about the tabletop game "Dungeons and Dragons." Even during my childhood (which happened to be at the tail end of the "DnD is evil!" scare), I was fascinated by the world and characters, and about a game where one could play any sort of character and interact with a plethora of creatures from many different mythologies, and even wholly original creatures. I even had the chance to play a campaign with a co-worker and his friends, though predictably the group broke up right at the climax of our adventure. The game has always intrigued me, being far more dependent on the players' imaginations and decisions than many other games, and being a sort of precursor to video-game RPGs such as World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy, and many more. And before I dove headfirst into another campaign, I wanted to learn more.

David M. Ewalt, a DnD enthusiast (and as the cover playfully informs us, a Level 15 Cleric), has provided a handy and informative guide on not only Dungeons and Dragons, but its counterparts and the company that founded it. And while it won't teach you the rules or how to build the perfect character or campaign, it's a wonderful read for the casual observer and longtime gamer alike, or just anyone who wants to learn more about the game that's become a cornerstone for geek culture.

Ewalt's history of the game is surprisingly comprehensive, going far back into the history of games in general and showing how DnD traces its roots directly back to the old-school tabletop war games -- a hobby that still exists today, albeit more of a niche hobby than even DnD -- and from there all the way back to chess and its spinoffs. It shows how a group of enthusiastic gamers and fantasy buffs, including geek legend Gary Gygax, used the rules of war gaming to create their first fantasy games, and how they shaped the rules for what would become DnD. It shows the triumphs of the game as it became a smash hit... and its difficulties and challenges, including lawsuits, financial difficulties, and the infamous Satanism accusations and scare tactics employed by media watchdogs to try to abolish the game in its heyday. And it shows how the game has evolved into its present form, and even covers LARPs -- live-action role playing games -- and how they're both similar to and different from DnD and its counterparts. Interspersed throughout the book are segments of Ewalt's own DnD adventures, and the antics he and his fellow players have gotten into during their campaign. The book is capped off with a "pilgrimage" to Lake Geneva, where he meets Gygax's son, sees some of the original homes and businesses where the game originated, and marvels at how the game not only brings people together, but encourages them to have fun and use their imaginations.

While this book won't teach you the mechanics of the game (that's best learned from a Player's Manual), it's a surprisingly comprehensive history of the game. It pulls no punches, detailing Gygax's flaws as well has his triumphs and showcasing others' contributions to the game. It also covers other aspects of gaming, including war games and LARPs, as well as tabletop RPGs' influence on video games and vice versa (4th edition apparently draws a lot of its rules from video games). And while some reviewers have complained that the prose segments regarding the adventures of the author's DnD campaign are distracting, I found they added flavor to the book, and were a good example of how creative a Game Master and his players can be during a game.

The author's footnotes are a great help as well, explaining various DnD terms to non-players and containing humorous asides that otherwise would have broken up the flow of the text. And for those wanting an even deeper look into the game, there's a massive bibliography and list of further reading in the back of the book. If "Of Dice and Men" didn't satisfy your hunger, then at least the appendix will help you find what you're looking for.

Before "Of Dice and Men," I was merely curious about the game. Now this book has whetted my appetite, and makes me want to find my playing dice again and go purchase my own Monster Manual and Player's Guide (and maybe even a Dungeon Master's Manual). It's a fascinating look at the game that's become synonymous with geekdom, and I'm sure even a hardcore player will have learned something new from this book, and find themselves wanting to pick up the dice again. Highly recommended.

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) doesn't exactly have a super cool reputation. It's a fantasy role-playing game popular among nerds with no social skills living in their moms' basements, or so the stereotype would have you believe. In reality, D&D is an incredibly rich communal storytelling experience where you control and guide a single character, week after week, through a fantasy world adventure.

Of Dice and Men by David M. Ewalt explores the rich history of the game and the incredible variety of people who play. It started in Lake Geneva, WI and St. Paul, MN where two guys, Gary Gygax and David Arneson (respectively), ran fantasy role-playing games of their own creation for their friends. People were so excited by the prospect of having a character (persona, really) you create and play week-to-week, instead of a stagnant predetermined character. Your character has adventures where you could make any decision and do anything your imagination wanted, and molding your character and gaining experience. The game started gaining a foothold among wargamers, but it grew pretty quickly when people started realizing the potential of a game you had a stake in shaping. It grew through the 70's, and became quite a cultural force by the 80's. The book delves into the company's unconventional and tumultuous history, from self-publishing in a basement to a multimillion dollar enterprise.

Aside from hearing about it second-hand from people nerdier than me, D&D came to my attention as the focus of an episode of the TV show Community. The game is used to frame a conflict between the characters. Someone can easily become the villain because they can do whatever they want! You can turn against your friends! You can loot a corpse! You can do a musical number! You can breakdance until you puke! Anything you can imagine, you can do. In the game, as in life, your success or failure isn't totally in your control. You have a character sheet with your features on it, your level determines what kind of stuff you can do, and furthermore the Dungeon Master rolls dice to factor in chance. You are only limited by your imagination. I know that sounds cheesy, but just imagine how much fun Monopoly would be if you could decide to trek the opposite direction around the board, attack a rival's hotels, or cast spells to escape from jail.

The book alternates between chapters about the history of the game/the company that made the game, an exploration of the D&D community, and Ewalt's own experience. The running narrative of Ewalt's game provides a glimpse at actual game-play, so you can see the exciting fiction that draws players in. Dungeons & Dragons is a game, but also an entire world, an escape, a way of life, a creative outlet, and a fantasy. You might not be that impressive in real life, but within a game you can be a total freakin' hero.

I received an ebook copy from Netgalley.

What first drew me to this book was the title. Then I read the description of the book and I knew it was a book that I should read. I consider myself a mini-geek. I enjoy playing D&D but I'm by no means a hardcore player. I get lost easily with the rules and I know I don't play well crafted characters. I love the storytelling aspect of the game, but I'm a horrible Dungeon Master. All this being said, I know very little about the history of the game. Of Dice and Men, is the kind of history book I like to read. It approaches an interesting topic in an entertaining way. David Ewalt's background in journalism helps gives this book an easy nature that made it enjoyable to read.

David includes stories about his own game play and experiences in playing role playing games. As someone who plays the game, I found the stories enjoyable and on some level relatable. For someone who hasn't played the game, I think the stories add to the description of the game development and play. As discussed in the book, the game hasn't always been shown in the best light. Many people don't understand and make stereotypical judgments about the game and the players. Let's be honest, the players are heavily male and even though I am a female player I know I'm a minority in the make up of those who play. I think David's personal stories also show that players come from all different backgrounds and live all sorts of different lives. David writes for Forbes, I'm a librarian, my friends work in retail, computer programming and a range of different professions.

The history of the creation of the game was enlightening. I knew Gary Gygax is listed as the creator, the game came out in the 1970s, and it has gone through a few editions. The history is so much more than that with a number of lawsuits, internal management issues, bad publicity and a number of other situations. As TSR (the company that produced the game) grew so did their problems and eventually they sold the game to Wizards of the Coast. As someone who only started playing since WotC ownership I was interested in knowing how the game progressed from it's humble start to the powerhouse game it is today.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in Dungeons & Dragons whether they are a player, a non-player, and especially those who have someone who plays and they want to know more about where their loved one disappears to on game night.

Posted at Little Thoughts About Books

There are better D&D histories on the market. The author writes about himself and his own experiences with the game too much. When he inserts his liberal political views, it becomes insufferable and obnoxious. Skip this one. Read Empire of Imagination, or Playing at the World instead.

Honestly, I'm a little confused by the mixed reviews I see here. They mostly seem like quibbled to me. This is a top-notch, very professionally done look at the history of the game of Dungeons & Dragons. As the title implies, it is partly about the game (the dice) and partly about the people behind it (the men -- and, yes, the author acknowledges, they were basically all men, although that's changing lately). For anyone interested in the game, this seems like must-read to me.

Of Dice and Men is the story of interactive, imaginative story telling and how it evolved into something frequently misunderstood and much beloved at the same time. From the beginning of the book that starts with a look at the basic instinct that is storytelling from the no-holds barred look at the history of D&D to an exploration of spin-offs like LARPing which now has it's own reality show (can you believe it?). It's a pretty insightful book for D&D curious and gamers alike. The author gives a great snapshot of the range of personalities that get hooked on D&D. He could have had more fun and also had rich grounds for anthropologic examination if he expounding on the phenomena of very intense emotional roils over rule books and gaming system preferences (you can see this in the previous reviews) Oh the acrimony! The authors style is humorous and anthropologic and often irreverent but sometime also thoughtfully poignant which is refreshing. I think he should write a sequel looking at the many other RPGs or maybe an expose of the various people who played and were shaped by D&D who you never suspected. Overall an easy and fun read.

I read this book when I first started getting into D&D (I was a little late to the game.) It was hilarious and kept me entertained. I loved how Ewalt throws in parts of his character's story lines throughout the book. A great book to read if you're obsessed with the game (like me), new to the game or an expert. It's just fun.

I really enjoyed this book. Reading about David's passion as a player and as an emerging DM brought back a lot of memories from my youth. The book is well-written and engaging, but I might not recommend it to any of my friends who don't have an RPG background (if you just Googled that acronym, this may not be the book for you).

Still, if your past or present had or have anything to do with gaming, especially the kind that involves role playing and dice, check out this read and learn a little bit about nerd history and how it has evolved over the years.

Because of this book, I may have to look up my local D&D chapter and make some new friends. Maybe kill some orcs or see what's in that chest over in the corner of that room. Thanks, David, for this reading experience.

I am constantly reading, and this is the best book I've read in a good, long while. It has been important to me in coming to an acceptance of the role (no pun intended) D&D played in my life. Even though I only played it actively for about 5 years, it left a deep impression. This book is the complete opposite of the other D&D retrospective I reviewed for the store. As the author explains, we nerds need to know how things work, and "Of Dice and Men" shows how D&D itself works, and how it came to be. Very impressive, David Ewalt, and thanks!

This will be a fun, fast and informative read for anyone who loves role-playing games. But where the book really shines is in its ability to draw in those (like me) who abandoned role-playing games as teenagers or, even better, those who never saw the appeal at all. It's not just a book for role-playing geeks, but also for those who love them. Ewalt skillfully melds deep reporting about D&D and its history with the story of one of his own D&D campaigns, played with his friends. If you're wondering why your girlfriend wants to play D&D with her friends instead of letting you take her to the opera, this is the book for you. But beware: it might give you a yearning to try out the whole RPG thing for yourself. And I'm not just saying that because David gave me his Snakes on a Plane poster.

Borrowing from another reviewer, a perfectly valid assessment of the book could be:

"For someone looking for a light, quick introduction to what Dungeons & Dragons is, how it got started, and why it's important to millions of people the world over, this book is probably worth picking up. But if you have more than a passing knowledge of the game, you can probably safely skip it."

But this isn't REALLY a history of D&D. Yes, the history is there, and will certainly offer up lots of interesting nuggets for those of you who don't already know everything about D&D's history, down to Gary Gygax's shoe size. But it's not the most important thing the book offers.

Ewalt alternates between bits of history, and memoir-style bits about his own personal experience with, and re-discovery of, Dungeons & Dragons. Along with the history, he also spends a good amount of time surveying the various incarnations of D&D, and D&D-flavored gaming. But, really, what makes the book so powerful, for me, is sharing his reawakened love for the game.

I, personally, returned to gaming again as a 40+ year old adult about five years ago, and Ewalt's experience allowed me to reflect on my own. The historical bits allowed me to find some context for my lifelong experience with the game, connecting me to not only the people who founded it, but all those others who played and continue to play it (in all its wild variations). At the end, I was deeply moved. It wasn't simply a nostalgic trip - instead it helped me see how much of who I am today is a part of my experience with this game.

If all of this sounds sentimental and subjective, you'd be right. But if you, too, remember the thrill of your first Basic Set, and still find the thought of it secretly wonderful, I can't recommend this book nearly enough.

This book spends a lot of time placing the author David Ewalt as the central point of focus. It's light reading the glosses over much of the historical information in favor of spending time on the author's personal gaming experiences. In that sense, it is bit misleading, especially since the author has also omitted anything regarding editions of Dungeons & Dragons that he didn't experience (notably 2e & 4e). If the reader is curious about the invention, evolution, and history of the Dungeons & Dragons, there are better books to be read.

I really enjoyed this book. It gives a well researched but concise history of the game, shows how the game is played and is a fun read overall. It will make people who are new to the game become more interested and give veteran gamers a better understanding of how the game has evolved.