Kandi - Shop now

Red Dead's History: A Video Game, an Obsession, and America's Violent Past

Loading Images...
Double-tap to zoom
Kindle
$14.99
See all formats
See all formats
$27.49 with 8 percent savings
List Price: $30.00

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
FREE Returns
Pre-order Price Guarantee. Terms
FREE delivery Monday, August 12 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Thursday, August 8
This title will be released on August 6, 2024.
$$27.49 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Returnable Yes
Resolutions Eligible for refund or replacement
Return Window 30 days from delivery
Refund Timelines Typically, an advance refund will be issued within 24 hours of a drop-off or pick-up. For returns that require physical verification, refund issuance may take up to 30 days after drop-off or pick up. Where an advance refund is issued, we will re-charge your payment method if we do not receive the correct item in original condition. See details here.
Late fee A late fee of 20% of the item price will apply if you complete the drop off or pick up after the ‘Return By Date’.
Restocking fee A restocking fee may apply if the item is not returned in original condition and original packaging, or is damaged or missing parts for reasons not due to Amazon or seller error. See details here.
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Returnable Yes
Resolutions Eligible for refund or replacement
Return Window 30 days from delivery
Refund Timelines Typically, an advance refund will be issued within 24 hours of a drop-off or pick-up. For returns that require physical verification, refund issuance may take up to 30 days after drop-off or pick up. Where an advance refund is issued, we will re-charge your payment method if we do not receive the correct item in original condition. See details here.
Late fee A late fee of 20% of the item price will apply if you complete the drop off or pick up after the ‘Return By Date’.
Restocking fee A restocking fee may apply if the item is not returned in original condition and original packaging, or is damaged or missing parts for reasons not due to Amazon or seller error. See details here.

Return instructions

Item must be in original condition and packaging along with tag, accessories, manuals, and inserts. Unlock any electronic device, delete your account and remove all personal information.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Press and hold to save to specific list
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Book details

  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    St. Martin's Press
  4. Publication date
    August 6, 2024
  5. Dimensions
    6.12 x 1 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1250287707
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1250287700
  8. See all details
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Book overview

A pathbreaking new way to examine US history, through the lens of a bestselling video game

Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption II, set in 1911 and 1899, are the most-played American history video games since The Oregon Trail. Beloved by millions, they’ve been widely acclaimed for their realism and attention to detail. But how do they fare as re-creations of history?

In this engaging book, award-winning American history professor Tore Olsson takes up that question and more. Weaving the games’ plots and characters into an exploration of American violence between 1870 and 1920, Olsson shows that it was more often disputes over capitalism and race, not just poker games and bank robberies, that fueled the bloodshed of these turbulent years. As such, this era has much to teach us today. From the West to the Deep South to Appalachia, Olsson reveals the gritty and brutal world that inspired the games, but sometimes lacks context and complexity on the digital screen. Colorful, fast-paced, and dramatic, Red Dead’s History sheds light on dark corners of the American past for gamers and history buffs alike.

Review

"Informative and enjoyable...Olsson has much to say about connecting the past to the present in ways that are novel and fun."
―Kirkus

"A landmark in writing about video games. Never before has a trained historian dived so deeply (and enthusiastically!) into a game's politics and milieu. From puncturing the sacred American cowboy myth to figuring out how violent, really, the West actually was, Professor Olsson effortlessly illuminates one of the greatest games ever made."
―Tom Bissell, screenwriter, author of Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter

“Like taking a college class from a brilliant, funny professor―except the professor is also a gamer.”
―Daniel Immerwahr, author of How to Hide an Empire

"Millions of people have imagined the United States of 1899 through the lens of the video game, Red Dead Redemption 2. Tore Olsson explores that virtual world with the sympathetic insight of a skilled historian and devoted gamer... Immersive, unflinching, and fast-moving."
―Edward Ayers, Tucker-Boatwright Professor of the Humanities and President Emeritus, University of Richmond

"As addictive and compelling as the video game it examines....Red Dead's History is a great read, and it will delight both fans of the game and anyone interested in the consequential events that made America what it is today."
―Megan Kate Nelson, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Three-Cornered War and Saving Yellowstone

 “In this remarkable book, [Olsson] invites students of history and devotees of historically situated video games to recognize what they can learn from one another.... Red Dead's History is an eye-opener for anyone interested in our culture and politics."
―Steven Hahn, Professor of History at NYU and Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Nation under Our Feet

“Worlds collide in Red Dead’s History, where video game players and historians meet.... It’s a lesson in taking readers where you find them, welcoming them, and using familiar stories to give a truer account to an avid audience. Tore Olsson proves that history can be fun.”
―Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore, Peter V. and C. Vann Woodward Professor of History Emerita at Yale University

About the Author

Tore C. Olsson is an award-winning historian of the United States since the Civil War, and a professor at the University of Tennessee. He has devoted much of his career to making serious history relevant and accessible to the public. In 2021, he taught the first-ever college history class on the Red Dead Redemption games, which provided the inspiration for this book. Born in Sweden, Olsson emigrated to the U.S. in 1990, where he misspent much of his youth behind a video game monitor.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Tore C. Olsson
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

I'm a historian of the United States after the Civil War; I'm especially fascinated by the South, by agriculture and rural America, and the connections between the U.S. and distant lands. I'm a firm believer that professional historians like myself should make their work accessible and meaningful to non-academic readers.

My new book, RED DEAD'S HISTORY: A VIDEO GAME, AN OBSESSION, AND AMERICA'S VIOLENT PAST (coming summer 2024), is a byproduct of this belief. It uses the wildly popular Red Dead Redemption games to explore the history of violence, capitalism, and inequality in the U.S. between 1870 and 1920.

My first book, from 2017, AGRARIAN CROSSINGS: REFORMERS AND THE REMAKING OF THE US AND MEXICAN COUNTRYSIDE, is a scholarly monograph revealing the entangled histories of agricultural and agrarian reform in the U.S. South and Mexico. It was the winner of five national and international awards, and is now available in paperback and hardcover.

I am also working on a book titled THE GLOBAL COWBOY, which explores the unexpected history of how American country music won millions of fans across the world from the 1930s to present.

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

You might also like

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Product information

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

4 stars and above

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

You might also like

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.