Book Log #20: The Monopolists

The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World’s Favorite Board Game by Mary Pilon [Little Shop of Stories, $17.00?]

Quite a fascinating piece of non-fiction reporting, recommended by a Little Shop of Stories employee.

Monopoly, like Risk, is one of the games I kind of feel bad about winning. Running everybody else out of business or violently overthrowing a nation doesn’t have the feel-good win of, say, winning a footrace or a basketball game, for some reason.

I guess that feeling has its roots in the true inventor of the game, Lizzie Magie, a turn of the (last) century activist who was trying to advocate for a single-tax system, which (and I’m not really clear on how) would help prevent wealth inequalities.

The rest of the story is full of interesting twists and turns, and a view into a different era, where board games were gaining popularity thanks to the advent of greater leisure time.

Well written and interesting, definitely worth the time.