Good Books on the History of D&D

[Marc Radle]

I've been on a kick lately of reading about the history of D&D and RPG gaming.

So far, I've read (and highly recommend):

• Playing at the World by Jon Peterson
  
• Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons by Michael Witwer
  
• Designers & Dragons (4 volume set) by Shannon Appelcline

I've heard (and therefore have ordered) good things about Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It by David M. Ewalt

Are there any other really good histories of D&D and RPG gaming anyone can recommend?

[DrDeth]

I heartily recommend Designers & Dragons (4 volume set) by Shannon Appelcline, especially the platinum appendix.

:-)

[Alzrius]

DrDeth wrote:

I heartily recommend Designers & Dragons (4 volume set) by Shannon Appelcline, especially the platinum appendix.

:-)

I personally didn't care for the Platinum Appendix much at all; I can understand why it broke from the format of charting particular companies, but that made it feel like an afterthought. That and I didn't like that it began injecting the author's opinions on politicized topics into what had, up until that point, been a great record of history.

[HolmesandWatson]

For coverage of actual early games and sheer amount of information (including some speculation), Kent David Kelly's 'Hawk and Moor' series is tough to beat. Five lengthy volumes, plus another book on the Steam Tunnel incident.

These books deserve more attention than they've received.

Designers & Dragons is a great reference.

[Marc Radle]

HolmesandWatson wrote:

For coverage of actual early games and sheer amount of information (including some speculation), Kent David Kelly's 'Hawk and Moor' series is tough to beat. Five lengthy volumes, plus another book on the Steam Tunnel incident.

These books deserve more attention than they've received.

Wow! The name 'Hawk and Moor' sounds like a fiction work - I had no the series is actually a history of D&D and RPGs! I'll definitely be looking into these books, thanks!

[GM_Beernorg]

Of Dice and Men is an amazing book, I read it twice, and will read it several mores times, highly recommended IMO!