Next month, The MIT Press will publish
Jon Peterson's next study of roleplaying games,
The Elusive Shift. Peterson's first book on this topic,
Playing at the World, is a remarkable book, marshaling a wide variety of documentary evidence to paint a compelling picture of the early days of the hobby. From what I can see,
The Elusive Shift focuses on a more specific topic, namely the evolution over the course of the 1970s of the hobby's self-identity as something distinct from the wargaming out of which it grew. I'm very much looking forward to reading it as soon as it's available and will certainly be reviewing it once I've had a chance to do so.
True story - happy to get a copy to you if you need one.
ReplyDeleteThe MIT Press has already reached out to me and a copy will be on its way, but I very much appreciate the offer.
DeletePlaying at the World was the rare (perhaps unique) book to combine impeccable scholarly rigor with fascinating and fluent readability. I look forward to the new book.
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