Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It

Wonderful book about the history of D&D and role-playing in general.

The author is a journalist, and the book is both an objective history and a personal reflection. The book is…tender, in places. It discusses the subject with clear emotional history and baggage, and I loved it for that.

But hidden in that is a comprehensive history of how role-playing in general started (even back to historical war gaming, really), and why it caught on. The author explores the subcultures, and controversy’s, the personalities, the legal conflicts, the business environment – it’s all here.

Lovely book. Really, really enjoyed this and can’t recommend it more highly.