Monopoly: The Story Behind the World's Best-Selling Game [Paperback]

Jim Waltzer (Author), Rod Kennedy (Editor), Atlantic City Historical Museum (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 7, 2004

Most people probably don't think about the fact that the colored properties on the Monopoly board are based on real places in a real city, they just know that Monopoly was the best way to pass a rainy Saturday afternoon with family and friends. Now, the whole story of game and the place it is based on is revealed in Monopoly & Atlantic City ... The Game and the Reality by Rod Kennedy, Jr. Take a virtual walk down Boardwalk and advance to St. Charles Place through this fascinating visualization of the classic Monopoly game board illustrated with Atlantic City images that brings to life, for the very first time, the very real place upon which this game is based.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For many people, the properties on a Monopoly board seem as fake as Monopoly money. Kennedy (Atlantic City: 125 Years of Ocean Madness) and Waltzer dispel that notion by revealing the lively history behind their real-life counterparts in Atlantic City and exposing the early origins of the game. Two opening chapters cover the history of the game and of the city while the remainder of the book examines each set of properties in turn—from their statistical value to how well their role in the game corresponds with the character of the streets on which they are based. Readers will be surprised to learn that Elizabeth J. Magie, a Quaker, created the original version of the game in 1904 (called "The Landlord’s Game") and that it reflected her economic views, as its goal was to keep players out of the poor house, rather than to bankrupt them. The brief overview of Atlantic City’s heyday also contains some interesting facts, but after these first few chapters, the book contains very little straight text; indeed, the remainder consists largely of historical photos, posters and other images. The captions for these visuals become the book’s primary source of information, conveying such tidbits as the fact that the owner of the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to New York when his production of a musical in Atlantic City proved too costly. On the whole, this book will give Monopoly players some context for their game, but it won’t leave a lasting impression. 130 color photos, 20 halftones, 20 line drawings.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Inside Flap

It's the best-selling board game in the world, sold in 80 countries and produced in 26 languages-but how did this favorite pastime get its start? Take a visual tour down Boardwalk and advance to the St. Charles Place through this fascinating visualization of the Monopoly game board and discover that these places really do exist in a place called Atlantic City. Illustrated with collectible imagery and paired with informative text, Monopoly captures the ornate and elegant hotels built along a Boardwalk lined with shops, restaurants, and giant amusement piers jutting out into the sea and brings to life the places that have captivated over 500 million people for over 65 years. Rod Kennedy, Jr.'s books include The Brooklyn Cookbook, Lost New York in Old Postcards, Hollywood in Old Postcards, and Atlantic City: 125 Years of Ocean Madness with Lee Eisenberg and Vicki Levi. He is the founder and president of Stadia Tins Ltd., which produces decorative tins that are replicas of major league baseball stadiums. He also produced the "Star Spangled Banner" poster for the Smithsonian Institution. He lives in New York City. Jim Waltzer is a freelance writer who has written more than 600 feature articles for regional and national magazines and several short stories in fiction journals. He is the author of Tales of South Jersey (Rutgers University Press) and resides in Philadelphia. The Atlantic City Historical Museum strives to serve and present the culturally diverse history of Atlantic City in an informative and entertaining time line for the visiting public. The museum is home to the award-winning exhibit, Atlantic City, Playground of the Nation, which depicts the madcap history of Atlantic City through Miss America memorabilia, postcards, song sheets, costumes, artifacts, and other ephemera. It is located in the historic Garden Pier (at New Jersey Avenue and the Boardwalk) and overlooks the famous beach, Boardwalk, and majestic Atlantic Ocean. For more information, please visit them at www.acmuseum.org.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith, Publisher (December 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586853228
• ISBN-13: 978-1586853228
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 7.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,231,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From the Board Games Editor at BellaOnline.com, November 28, 2005

By 

Megan Romer (Lafayette, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monopoly: The Story Behind the World's Best-Selling Game (Paperback)

This is a great little book that takes a historical look at the game we all love and the story behind it. It starts off with a little bit of the history of the game itself, from Elizabeth Magie's original invention to the worldwide phenomenon the game became.

However, the book mainly focuses on describing the streets, railroads and sites that have given their names to the game board spaces. The book describes them mostly as they were around the time that Monopoly was being invented.

The book is beautifully illustrated with antique photographs and postcards, and shows Atlantic City in a more glamorous and classy era than the current neon-sign-and-big-hair place that it has become.

While the book does not cover more than a little bit about the game itself, it does put it into a fun historical context.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Original Monopoly locations describe...., December 13, 2006

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monopoly: The Story Behind the World's Best-Selling Game (Paperback)

This book is basically a history of Atlantic City during the time that the boardgame Monopoly was being invented. The book is not so much about the game itself but the locations that are on the game board. The book goes into the history of all the locations on the board by color and explained to the reader what Boardwalk was like in the 1930s or how Marvin Gardens got misspelled and other tidbits. It rather a short book overall and its give a pretty good understanding basic values of locations in terms of Atlantic City to the boardgame.

Of course, the Atlantic City that being described in this book no longer exist. Much like St. Charles Place no longer exist but this book does allowed the reader to know that the game was based on actual locations that one time, had values which was reflected on the game board. I think that was the purpose of this book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun for everyone who loves the original Monopoly game., October 21, 2005

By 

Ellen Gold (New York , NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monopoly: The Story Behind the World's Best-Selling Game (Paperback)

If you've ever wondered what the real Atlantic City streets looked like from the original Monopoly board, wonder no more.
You can see why this town captured the imagination of the early inventor and promoters of the game. A quintessential American city that abounds with quirky architectural hotels, amusement piers and an elephant structure! The colored panels on the board will never tbe the same as they come alive with images of a wacky American resort and lots of information that reassure us why we all love this game.