Why Video Games are Good for Your Soul [Paperback]

James Paul Gee (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 186335574X | ISBN-13: 978-1863355742 | Publication Date: April 1, 2005

Why Video Games are Good for Your Soul is about pleasure and learning. Good video games allow people to create their own "music", to compose a symphony from their own actions, decisions, movements, and feelings. They allow people to become "pros", to feel and act like an expert soldier, city planner, world builder, thief, tough guy, wizard and a myriad of other things. They allow people to create order out of complexity, to gain and feel mastery, and to create new autobiographies, careers and histories. In his earlier book, What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, James Paul Gee offered thirty-six reasons why good video games create better learning conditions that many of today's schools. In this new book, built entirely around games and game play, he shows how good video games marry pleasure and learning and, at the same time, have the potential to empower people.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Am I a bad parent for letting [my child] play video games at 4? Not at all, according to Gee --Jim Louderback, USA Weekend Magazine

Gee astutely points out that for video game makers, unlike schools, failing to engage children is not an option --Terrence Hackett, Chicago Tribune

[Gee is] a serious scholar who is taking a lead in an emerging field --Scott Carlson, Chronicle of Higher Education

About the Author

James Paul Gee is the Tashia Morgridge Professor of Reading at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He is the author of the acclaimed What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy and the more recent Situated Language and Learning: A Critique of Traditional Schooling, both of which deal with video games and their implications for learning in the modern world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Common Ground (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 186335574X
• ISBN-13: 978-1863355742
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #917,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book good that's good for your soul, August 25, 2008

By 

Wei Kang Tchou (Bucknell University, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why Video Games are Good for Your Soul (Paperback)

Every wonder what all the hoopla surrounding PS3 (Playstation 3) is all about? Confused what GTA4 (Grand Theft Auto...a game) means but you keep on hearing about it in the news? Wondering what in the world a Wii is and why such creations cause injuries (minor physical accidents)? Ever wonder what happened to all those nerds who kept to themselves from you in high school? Well this book does not cover all of this but it also is not a 'revenge of the nerds' in print form. It does make the argument that you really should pay attention to video games as an emerging medium for the exchange of information....

Lovely read over all, Since the publication date is 2005, some of the games seems a bit passe but (hey I still play Starwars Rebellion V. 2) the argument can certainly be applied to the whole genera of video games. Playing games is way beyond Pac-person and this book will help to bridge a gap in your knowledge...