New Book Alert: Of Dice and Men

I was listening to NPR yesterday afternoon, and I heard someone do a short interview with a man named David Ewalt. It seems that Mr. Ewalt has written a book called Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It.

 

Now, I've been avoiding Playing at the World, a book that has had some buzz on the gaming blogosphere. Why? Well, I have a stupid habit of spurning what is "popular," and it's really dumb of me, I know. But also, another (most likely just as stupid) reason is that by all accounts Playing at the World is not just about RPGs. Wow, that sounded really dumb even as I typed that. Am I wrong? I probably am. Ok, now I want to read BOTH of these books. Damn, I can't believe how narrow-minded I can be sometimes.

 

Alright, now that I've thoroughly embarrassed myself, let's discuss my hopes for Mr. Ewalt's book. I hope that it does true, deep justice to the subject matter. I hope it doesn't stray into mean-spirited lampooning of the hobby, and if it does it's from the perspective/vantage of a gamer. If it is the latter, it will be a charmingly self-depricating prodding of RPG players and the hobby as a whole, in addition to having sections that treat the subject matter seriously.

 

In other words, I hope Mr. Ewalt is really a gamer, and not someone who merely flirted with the hobby at some point and wants to cash in on the "Let's make sublte fun of D&D and roleplayers" thing that never seems to go away. I hope Mr. Ewalt becomes another voice trumpeting the many virtues and values of roleplaying. Above all, I hope that he's written a book that will appeal to non-gamers and give them insight into why so many of us love roleplaying so much.

 

OK, I am definitely going to check this book out, and hold out hope this is going to have meaning for both gamers and non-gamers. Let me know if anyone else out there has heard about this, or if you already have a copy.