Donovan explores board games from ancient Egypt (senet) and Ur (the royal game of Ur) up to the biggies of the 21st century (Pandemic, Catan, and Ticket to Ride). He describes some less than ethical dealings by the big US game companies, but seems to downplay them. Trying to play nice, maybe? His chapter on Monopoly portrays the execs of Parker Brothers as being unfortunately duped instead of deliberately squashing The Landlord Game and its creator, Elizabeth Magie. It’s All a Game even touches on Google’s AlphaGo defeat of a (human) grand master go player, one of the big steps in AI development.

I listen to this in one day now I’m onto the second one and then the filthy rich vampire a must read or listen

I loved the movie and didn’t realize there was a book. I loved all the added detail in the book!!!!!

I’m slowly making my way through the series. I loved ACOTAR and thought this series would be right up there with it, but I’ve been let down. There is a lot in the book that’s just page filler that’s unnecessary

Yoshitaka Amano illustrates passages from The Tale of Genji (11th century Japanese novel of court life and possibly the first novel), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and catalogues of fairies. A short section at the end discusses fairies of the British Isles versus Japanese spirits. You won’t get much of a sense of Genji or Midsummer Night’s if you’re not already familiar with them. Really this book is just a showcase for Amano’s gorgeous art.

Absolutely loved it!! Did not disappoint and I’ve now found a new favorite authors. This book kept me guessing and had me gasping out loud. Pulled on the heart strings so hard but just enough to be pleasant.

Very interesting was reading about space since I watched the Apollo movie so I will be reading a lot of books about it this summer

People traveled in the 12th-15t centuries. Merchants sought new markets, diplomats finagled treaties, and anyone who could get the necessary funding and permissions took religious pilgrimages. Bale explores the most common holy and trade routes based on what the travelers wrote in journals and guidebooks. It is very interesting, but too limited. Bale points out several times that Christians (Roman and Eastern/Greek), Muslims, and Jewish pilgrims visited many of the same places in Constantinople and Jerusalem. We only have the Christian, and almost exclusively Western European Christian, stories. One small chapter near the end follows Asian travelers’ adventures in the west. Ma Huan (Chinese Muslim), Het’um (Armenian Christian), and Rabban Bar Sauma (Christian Mongol) don’t represent the majority of nonEuropeans. A broader range of viewpoints and less personal commentary from the author would improve the book.

I loved the movie and didn’t realize there was a book. I loved all the added detail in the book!!!!!

Loved loved loved I read this series already and decided I need to read it all I loved again it’s that’s good