Mary Pilon

A fun jaunt through the history of Monopoly, replete with vignettes about all of the key players and how they interacted (or didn't interact) with each other. Good ties to information and examples concerning the monopolistic tendencies of corporations and the games & toys industries; also covered patent, trademark, and copyright explanations that were helpful.

And finally - the most enjoyable reading of endnotes I've ever experienced (which admittedly is a low bar, but still a worthy designation!).

Highly recommended to those interested in Monopoly, history of board games, Atlantic City, corporate law, and single-tax policy - or any combination thereof.… (mehr)

This is the most powerful Audible I've listened to to date.

This audiobook was short but damn, it packed a punch. I found myself repulsed, angry and sad at the story and how all of this could have been stopped countless times. I remember the trial and the media coverage, but I learned so much more from this audiobook.

This Audible includes interviews by the authors with real victims, recordings from the court proceedings, and journalism from many sources. It was especially hard to listen to the victims and their parents but it brought me that much closer to the truth of the story. There were hundreds of victims who spoke about their assault but one victim in particular while testifying against Nassar said something that had me so choked up, I had to rewind and listen 4 times:

"You [the parents of victims] feel like you threw your kid to the wolf, but in reality you raised a kid strong enough to take down the wolf."

Thank you to the victims and their families, the coaches, and anyone else involved in holding Larry Nassar accountable. Thank you for holding out hope after years of your cries going ignored by those meant to protect you, so that future children and parents can identify assault and inappropriate behavior. Thank you for dismantling the belief that those in power cannot be touched. Thank you for being brave enough to share your story.… (mehr)

I had no idea behind the origins, evolution, and scandal of this beloved game. It was fascinating to learn more about such a pop culture item. Who doesn't have at least one edition of this board game in their house. I thought the book could have been shortened because the legal aspects towards the end really dragged on - but other than that I really enjoyed getting a behind the scenes look at such an "ordinary" item. When the game was first created at the turn of the twentieth century - the creator called it the landlords game and it came with two sets of rules. On one set of rules the goal was to spread the wealth because only when everyone has the same opportunities does someone wine. The other set of rules was the monopoly version that we all know and loved. The goal was to make people see how bad monopolies are - winning because one person has accumulated all the wealth shows how vile monopolies are... right? Wrong. The "bad" set of rules became an underground sensation. People were making their own canvas boards and adding their own distinctive names and rules. The set we know and love got all the place names from Atlantic City where is took off. Decades passed and a man named Darrow claimed it was his own and sold it to Parker Brothers where it became an international sensation. Only it clearly wasn't his - having been played in pockets all over the country for three decades. The Monopolists gives the inside scoop on all these incidents and ends with the fight over the Anti-Monopoly game - an attempt to go back to the creator's anti-monopolist roots. Fascinating - but a bit long at parts.… (mehr)