David Kushner Boeken

Masters of Doom is the true inside story of the Lennon and McCartney of the video game industry: John Carmack and John Romero. Together they created an empire, ruled a multibillion-dollar industry, and provoked a national controversy. They lived a unique American dream, escaping their broken homes to co-create the most innovative and notoriously successful video games in history - Doom and Quake - until the games they made tore them apart. David Kushner has been covering the video game industry for ten years and knows all the angles. Even those with no interest in video games will be fascinated by this vastly entertaining tale of friendship, betrayal and the genesis of a multibillion-dollar popular art form.

A magnet for bullies at school, Jon Finkel grew up heckled and hazed until he discovered the trading-card game Magic: The Gathering.

The illustrated, inside story of the legendary hacktivist group's origins and most daring exploits. A for Anonymous shows how a leaderless band of volunteers successfully used hacktivism to fight for the underdog, embarrass their rich and powerful targets--from Sony and Paypal to the Church of Scientology and Ferguson Police Department--all in the name of freedom of speech and information. Their exploits blurred the distinction between "online" and "reality," and help shape our contemporary world.

The narrative follows Jon Finkel, known as Jonny Magic, a boy from New Jersey who transforms his life through the world of card games. Overcoming his initial struggles with friendship and self-esteem, he rises from obscurity to achieve remarkable success. This true story showcases the power of determination and skill, highlighting how a group of passionate gamers can defy expectations and achieve greatness in competitive gaming.

The behind-the-scenes story of the world's most notorious and controversial video games company - Rockstar Games.

The gripping origin story of Pong, Atari, and the digital icons who defined the world of video games.A deep, nostalgic dive into the advent of gaming, Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master returns us to the emerging culture of Silicon Valley. At the center of this graphic history, dynamically drawn in colors inspired by old computer screens, is the epic feud that raged between Atari founder Nolan Bushnell and inventor Ralph Baer for the title of “father of the video game.” While Baer, a Jewish immigrant whose family fled Germany for America, developed the first TV video-game console and ping-pong game in the 1960s, Bushnell, a self-taught whiz kid from Utah, put out Atari’s pioneering table-tennis arcade game, Pong, in 1972. Thus, a prolonged battle began over who truly spearheaded the multibillion-dollar gaming industry, and around it a sweeping narrative about invention, inspiration, and the seeds of digital revolution.

Inside the making of a videogame that defined a Grand Theft Auto Grand Theft Auto is one of the biggest and most controversial videogame franchises of all time. Since its first release in 1997, GTA has pioneered the use of everything from 3D graphics to the voices of top Hollywood actors and repeatedly transformed the world of gaming. Despite its incredible innovations in the $75 billion game industry, it has also been a lightning rod of debate, spawning accusations of ethnic and sexual discrimination, glamorizing violence, and inciting real-life crimes. Jacked tells the turbulent and mostly unknown story of GTA 's wildly ambitious creators, Rockstar Games, the invention and evolution of the franchise, and the cultural and political backlash it has provoked. Whether you love Grand Theft Auto or hate it, or just want to understand the defining entertainment product of a generation, you'll want to read Jacked and get the real story behind this boundary-pushing game.

In graphic form, this narrative chronicles the life of Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, one of the most influential games ever. The story immerses readers in a first-person perspective, allowing them to embody various characters. Gygax, the son of immigrants, grew up in Lake Geneva, WI, during the 1950s, finding refuge in a virtual world inspired by science fiction, military history, and strategic games like chess. In the mid-1970s, he co-created Dungeons & Dragons, establishing its rules and the iconic 20-sided dice. Starting from his basement, he quickly faced overwhelming demand. A purist at heart, Gygax insisted on imaginative play and flexible rules, yet his lack of business acumen led to strategic missteps and a rift with his co-creator, David Arneson. By the late 1970s, D&D gained immense popularity among children, prompting parental concerns that led to the formation of a mom's group warning about the dangers of role-playing. This backlash only intensified the enthusiasm of young fans, leading to conventions and inspiring movies and early video games. Gygax's creation not only shaped the role-playing fantasy genre but also laid the groundwork for the multibillion-dollar video game industry and contemporary geek culture.

“An engrossing microcosm of the internet's Wild West years” (Kirkus Reviews), award-winning journalist David Kushner tells the incredible battle between the founder of Match.com and the con man who swindled him out of the website Sex.com, resulting in an all-out war for control for what still powers the internet today: love and sex. In 1994, visionary entrepreneur Gary Kremen used a $2,500 loan to create the first online dating service, Match.com. Only 5 percent of Americans were using the internet at the time, and even fewer were looking online for love. He quickly bought the Sex.com domain too, betting the combination of love and sex would help propel the internet into the mainstream. Imagine Kremen’s surprise when he learned that someone named Stephen Michael Cohen had stolen the rights to Sex.com and was already making millions that Kremen would never see. Thus follows the wild true story of Kremen’s and Cohen’s decade-long battle for control. In The Players Ball, author and journalist David Kushner provides a front seat to these must-read Wild West years online, when innovators and outlaws battled for power and money. This cat-and-mouse game between a genius and a con man changed the way people connect forever, and is key to understanding the rise and future of the online world. “Kushner delivers a fast-paced, raunchy tale of sex, drugs, and dial-up.” —Publishers Weekly

The illustrated, inside story of the legendary hacktivist group's origins and most daring exploits.