Do You Want Total War? Darren Kilfara 9780992668709 Books
Download As PDF : Do You Want Total War? Darren Kilfara 9780992668709 Books
Sean Lansbury is a typical high school student with an atypical hobby he likes to play Totaler Krieg, a boardgame which simulates World War II in Europe. As he meditates on different aspects of history and tries to juggle his hobby with normal life in school, he falls in love with a girl in his Advanced Placement European History class and discovers who he is, what history means to him, and the extent to which you really can revisit and rewrite the past.
Do You Want Total War? is a novel about history – how we learn it, how we remember it, and how we experience it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information, visit the Do You Want Total War? pages on
> Facebook - https//www.facebook.com/DYWTW
> Twitter - https//twitter.com/DYWTW
> Consimworld - http//talk.consimworld.com/WebX/?14@@.1dd9dc34
Do You Want Total War? Darren Kilfara 9780992668709 Books
Sean is a history autodidact and a World War II history geek. He is also a gamer. He mostly plays and obsesses over a WWII strategy board game called Totaler Krieg, Total War. This allows him to examine endless counterfactual scenarios involving that war. So, a major theme of the book is contingency in history. As a precocious high school junior he is taking AP European History, discovering what a meaningful relationship with the opposite sex might be like and presides over a daily lunchtime game of Texas Hold’em.The overarching theme of this book is an exploration of how history, world history or personal history, can be influenced by chance decisions and how things might have worked out differently if different decisions had been made. At one point Sean (the author) expresses the opinion that Germany could have won the war. Later he says that the Soviets could have won the war against the Nazis sans GB or the US. Wow! So, Germany could have won against the Western Allies and the Soviets but the Soviets could have won absent her allies. That is the kind of intellectual cul-de-sacs one can get stuck in while engaging in this sort of thing. But this story is not just about history. It is about being true to yourself and taking chances. Sometimes unexpected things happen and not always for the worse.
As a history student myself I knew I would eventually end up getting this book. It wasn’t the fact that the Totaler Krieg game features so prominently in the story, it was in spite of this. I have played and do play WWII strategy games but I don’t know Totaler Krieg; and there is a lot of Totaler Krieg in this book. Quite a lot! The opening pages, several pages, are devoted to turn-by-turn descriptions of a match between Sean and his gaming pal. He has only found one person to play his favorite pastime with and Sean fears what might happen if any of this school chums find out about his secret passion. Sean’s Dad has secrets too and this whole story is, in the end, very enjoyable. It was easy for me to get through the, seemingly, endless game descriptions. The story is first rate, I cannot form any opinions about the game.
The author has a decided eastern bias and tends to focus on what-ifs involving Germany and the Soviets. Of all the counterfactuals explored in the book there are a couple I wish the author had considered. One counterfactual not explored is: what if the atomic bomb had been ready in August, 1944 instead of 1945? That is something that could have happened. Considering that Darren Kilfara completely accepts, without reservation, that the bomb was essential in ending the war with Japan, it is disappointing he did not explore the consequences of dropping atomic bombs on Germany and whether that would have produced the same result with Hitler. Another what-if: What if FDR had not smoked? No congestive heart failure. So, probably, no death at the age of 63, way too young. So, a completed fourth term and a possible run for a fifth? Lots to explore if FDR enjoys a long life.
I did enjoy Darren Kilfara’s counterfactual explorations, even if I do not accept all of his reasoning. This sort of what-ifing never leads anywhere, is never satisfying, but, like a good Twilight Zone episode, can be entertaining.
At one point Sean’s new love interest invites him to watch Casablanca. Sean is thrilled to discover a girl who is interested in history and she seems to share his interest in WWII. Later, Sean decides to show her one of his favorite WWII movies; he picks A Bridge Too Far and she is underwhelmed. Knowing her pension for vintage movies like Casablanca I might have chosen Stalag 17. She might have enjoyed the dramatic plot and the occasional light moments, but it would not have driven the plot forward as the author intended. I once met a woman whose dogs were named Equipoise and Snicklefritz; her husband loved that movie.
This is a story about history and games and life and love and loss. A lot about history and games. If you love history I think you will enjoy this book. It really is possible to get past the game descriptions without too much effort.
Product details
|
Tags : Do You Want Total War? [Darren Kilfara] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Sean Lansbury is a typical high school student with an atypical hobby: he likes to play Totaler Krieg</i>,Darren Kilfara,Do You Want Total War?,Dunbar Press,0992668700,FICTION General
People also read other books :
- The Class Meeting Reclaiming a Forgotten and Essential Small Group Experience edition by Kevin Watson Religion Spirituality eBooks
- 9th Sleep Yaoi Manga eBook Makoto Tateno
- Claimed by Darcy A Pride and Prejudice Compromise edition by Lori Lipps Literature Fiction eBooks
- The Stars' Fault edition by John Box Literature Fiction eBooks
- Iron Mines and Mining in New Jersey William Shirley Bayley 9781144860842 Books
Do You Want Total War? Darren Kilfara 9780992668709 Books Reviews
Outstanding story. Tight and well-written. It dives into the geekery of history and hard-core war gaming, but doesn't dwell too long on either so long to bore a layman reader. It's a great coming-of-age story without the tropes so often seen on the big or small screen. The author has a great voice and lets us know just enough to be intrigued, but not so much that we know what's going to happen at every turn. Thoroughly enjoyable.
This was a very enjoyable read, especially if you have a wargaming background. Though the goal of the book is to describe the gulf between people who enjoy playing conflict simulations and history, and those who just see maps, carboard chits, and a weird obsession with war, it also manages to weave some interesting insights about WW2 using the Totaler Krieg wargame as a backdrop. Wargamers are largely misunderstood, and this book helps shed some light as to what makes wargamers tick.
If you are a gamer this is the book for you. It's the story of many of us growing up with a "closet" hobby that few understand. An entertaining read and a thought provoking piece on the importance of actually understanding history.
This is a book that needed to be written. Despite the subtitle "A Novel About History", it's more an honest look at an important year in the development of a precocious teenager, whose particular interests happen to be history and gaming. It falls in with other retrospectives in which authors describe what it was like for them, or someone like them, to grow up with a compelling interest in a "geeky" hobby. This has been done with varying degrees of success for teenagers obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons. To my knowledge this is the first time it's been done for history and traditional "hex and counter" wargames. And Darren Kilfara has done it extremely well.
I received the book for Christmas, and enjoyed reading it over my skiing vacation. It's easily recommendable for anyone who has ever studied or participated in conflict simulations (i.e. wargames). It's also useful for anyone who would like to understand why people, especially teenagers, play wargames - although for the uninitiated, it will not be easy reading. I hope such readers can get past the perhaps unnecessarily aggressive title "Do You Want Total War?" Kilfara does a good job showing why the obsessive attention to detail, complexity, and moral ambiguity of wargaming makes it an often secretive (and escapist) hobby. At the same time, the book is a story about the awkwardness of everyone's teenage years; the symphony scene in particular is an unflinching look at teenage relationships.
I appreciate the author's choice to set the book in the present, instead of his own high school years, because it gives a good picture of the current state of the hobby. So if anyone reading this uses it as an introduction to wargaming, they will be well served. There are timeless observations that ring true for those of us who resembled the main character at his age, such as "The thing that really bugs me about high school is that it's full of teenagers." I don't agree with some of the opinions presented about certain points of history, but that's expected in discussions of this subject. There were a few (for me) new and interesting historical insights, although I think historians would learn more about the teaching of history, wargaming, or studying alternate ("counterfactual") history, than history itself from this book.
All in all, it's a unique book that needed to be written, and a well-crafted work on a difficult topic. Congratulations to Mr. Kilfara on an excellent contribution to the hobby. Let's see, I've seen "Casablanca", so now I think I'll add "Downfall" to my Netflix queue.
Well written and offers insight into the culture of war gamers and their skills with alternate and factual historicity.
I really like the mixing of wargames and counter factual history together. The book is very well written, but the characters in the story are not that convincing to be high school students. They are more vehicles to get the authors views across which is Ok. Still very entertaining read.
Sean is a history autodidact and a World War II history geek. He is also a gamer. He mostly plays and obsesses over a WWII strategy board game called Totaler Krieg, Total War. This allows him to examine endless counterfactual scenarios involving that war. So, a major theme of the book is contingency in history. As a precocious high school junior he is taking AP European History, discovering what a meaningful relationship with the opposite sex might be like and presides over a daily lunchtime game of Texas Hold’em.
The overarching theme of this book is an exploration of how history, world history or personal history, can be influenced by chance decisions and how things might have worked out differently if different decisions had been made. At one point Sean (the author) expresses the opinion that Germany could have won the war. Later he says that the Soviets could have won the war against the Nazis sans GB or the US. Wow! So, Germany could have won against the Western Allies and the Soviets but the Soviets could have won absent her allies. That is the kind of intellectual cul-de-sacs one can get stuck in while engaging in this sort of thing. But this story is not just about history. It is about being true to yourself and taking chances. Sometimes unexpected things happen and not always for the worse.
As a history student myself I knew I would eventually end up getting this book. It wasn’t the fact that the Totaler Krieg game features so prominently in the story, it was in spite of this. I have played and do play WWII strategy games but I don’t know Totaler Krieg; and there is a lot of Totaler Krieg in this book. Quite a lot! The opening pages, several pages, are devoted to turn-by-turn descriptions of a match between Sean and his gaming pal. He has only found one person to play his favorite pastime with and Sean fears what might happen if any of this school chums find out about his secret passion. Sean’s Dad has secrets too and this whole story is, in the end, very enjoyable. It was easy for me to get through the, seemingly, endless game descriptions. The story is first rate, I cannot form any opinions about the game.
The author has a decided eastern bias and tends to focus on what-ifs involving Germany and the Soviets. Of all the counterfactuals explored in the book there are a couple I wish the author had considered. One counterfactual not explored is what if the atomic bomb had been ready in August, 1944 instead of 1945? That is something that could have happened. Considering that Darren Kilfara completely accepts, without reservation, that the bomb was essential in ending the war with Japan, it is disappointing he did not explore the consequences of dropping atomic bombs on Germany and whether that would have produced the same result with Hitler. Another what-if What if FDR had not smoked? No congestive heart failure. So, probably, no death at the age of 63, way too young. So, a completed fourth term and a possible run for a fifth? Lots to explore if FDR enjoys a long life.
I did enjoy Darren Kilfara’s counterfactual explorations, even if I do not accept all of his reasoning. This sort of what-ifing never leads anywhere, is never satisfying, but, like a good Twilight Zone episode, can be entertaining.
At one point Sean’s new love interest invites him to watch Casablanca. Sean is thrilled to discover a girl who is interested in history and she seems to share his interest in WWII. Later, Sean decides to show her one of his favorite WWII movies; he picks A Bridge Too Far and she is underwhelmed. Knowing her pension for vintage movies like Casablanca I might have chosen Stalag 17. She might have enjoyed the dramatic plot and the occasional light moments, but it would not have driven the plot forward as the author intended. I once met a woman whose dogs were named Equipoise and Snicklefritz; her husband loved that movie.
This is a story about history and games and life and love and loss. A lot about history and games. If you love history I think you will enjoy this book. It really is possible to get past the game descriptions without too much effort.
0 Response to "[Y4W]≡ PDF Do You Want Total War? Darren Kilfara 9780992668709 Books"
Post a Comment