Generation Decks (Titus Chalk)

Generation Decks is part history, part biographies, part memoir, all centered around Magic: The Gathering, the genre-defining collectible card game that came on the scene 25 years ago and is still going strong.  Author (and avid Magic player) Titus Chalk looks at:

- how mathematician Richard Garfield and a fledgling company (Wizards of the Coast) created the game
- the growing pains of the game's development and dissemination to a wider audience
- the boost Magic got by the coincidental decline in the comics industry, which gave store owners a need that Magic satisfied
- the initial boom in sales and how Wizards responded
- how Wizards kept the focus on the players and handled speculators driving up prices (by mass producing to drive down costs)
- business decisions Wizards made to keep the game relevant to veterans while attracting new players (by introducing different rotational formats like "standard")
- the atmosphere and impact of official events like Grands Prix and Magic pro tours
- Chalk's own history with Magic as his family bounced between the UK, New Zealand, and France
- the typically-'fringe' gaming crowd and its increasing acceptance in society
- profiles of some of the game's big names (famous players who have won thousands on Magic's pro tour circuit)
- Magic's relationship with and influence on Usenet (the nascent Internet)
- How the game has evolved over time
- the impact Magic has had on bringing intellectual contests (with their typically-marginalized devotees) into pop culture- trying to put mental contests on par with athletic ones

Overall, I really enjoyed this read.  The author (a multi-lingual journalist) writes well and has an impressive vocabulary.  I love seeing 'behind the scenes' looks at how wildly popular and now-established phenomena got their start.  The history and business chapters were quite interesting.  Though chapters on individual players (including the author) seemed less relevant, they do give a personal touch and trigger my own poignant memories of this game and its place in my life.  If you're a Magic player, I highly recommend this.  If you're not, you should probably skip it.

Rating: A