St. Martin's Press Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons

Excellent book covering the later part of the TSR years. Would suggest that everyone who wants to read a broader history of the "Williams Years" picks this up to contrast with the wider known "gospel".

I received this book and read it within 24 hours, in 2 marathon reading sessions. It was a compelling read that kept me turning the pages all day and into the night. This book definitely has more information than other books about TSR and D&D's history, focusing more on the post-Gary Gygax era. He found documents and not only went by what people said, which was good. And he talked to a LOT of people. There were a lot of people involved in these recollections. One thing I did not like was the editorializing of information. He complains about not being able to talk to Lorraine enough that by the 3rd time, I wish he would just tell the story and stop talking about his thoughts and feelings. I was surprised at the number of grammatical, spelling, and layout issues from such a renowned publisher. That's not on the author, but it seem like today more and more things like this make it through the editors and quality reviews, which is unfortunate.

As a tabletop industry professional for 26 years, and a hobbyist for 20 before that, I lived through a lot of the information this book covers - and it covers it well.With particular focus on detail and on including views and accounts from multiple directions and sources, the author weaves an all too human story behind the legendary rise and fall of the creators of a new form of entertainment, tabletop role playing. Using sales data and empirical analysis layered with interviews and anecdotes, this book gives the reader a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain that held surprises and insight even for insiders.I heartily recommend to any rpg fans, business executives, children of the 70s through 90s, or students of the human condition and the cycles of boom and bust.

So I dug into this book the day it arrived. It gives a fresh perspective on the history of D&D and the mismanagement of TSR. Riggs has conducted a number of interviews and dug up new documents that helps show in detail how successful different TSR products were. If you like D&D you'll find this book fascinating.

If you are old school and thought Module S1 was an emotional adventure, prepare to face Acererak again. This time in the annals of history. Riggs’ diligence shines through as you travel from dark room to dimly lite caverns of twists, machinations and greed. You will meet many a brave adventurer and black hearted villain on this journey. In the end, a kind and benevolent wizard will use his magic to set things write.Your journey awaits. The only question, do you have the courage to begin the adventure?