Bill Kunkel's New Book

[rolenta]

Rolenta Press will have a table at the upcoming VGXPO in Washington DC next weekend. We plan to have a limited number of ADVANCE Copies of Bill Kunkel's new book Confessions Of The Game Doctor. We'll also have copies of Ralph Baer's Videogames: In The Beginning (color and a few B&W white advance copies) and Winnie Forster's Encyclopedia of Game Machines. We'll also have a working replica of Ralph Baer's Brown Box on display.

At the VGXPO in Philadelphia on November 12 & 13 we plan to have production copies of Bill's book, along with Bill himself to sign autographs! The 2nd edition of ABC TO The VCS is also scheduled to make its debut at the Philly show.

Stop by and say hello!

[rolenta]

What, no CGE debuts?

We had hoped that Bill would have been able to bring a copy of his book to CGE but I haven't received them yet so that knocked that out. The schedule is very tight.

[rbudrick]

Will there perhaps be a way to buy an autographed copy of Bill's book like Baer did with his? I'm definitely down for one, if so! Of course, I'll end up buying it anyway.

-Rob

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Bill himself was there, reading a chapter from the book - how's that for a CGE debut?

I don't think I've ever laughed so hard during a CGE keynote, and that's saying something.

[rolenta]

Will there perhaps be a way to buy an autographed copy of Bill's book like Baer did with his? I'm definitely down for one, if so! Of course, I'll end up buying it anyway.

-Rob

With Rolenta Press on the East Coast, and Bill on the West Coast, that would be rather difficult. However, since Bill will be attending PhillyClassic in November, I may be able to get a number of copies autographed for people who can't attend the show.

[NE146]

Any excerpts from the book available online anywhere? My curiosity is piqued

[rbudrick]

With Rolenta Press on the East Coast, and Bill on the West Coast, that would be rather difficult. However, since Bill will be attending PhillyClassic in November, I may be able to get a number of copies autographed for people who can't attend the show.

That would be great! If there's a way you might be able to set up a preorder for such a thing, my money is yours. :-)

-Rob

[BillKunkel]

Listen, I've been hanging out on this board, off and on, since forever. So anybody from this site who buys my book and wants it signed can simply send it to me, I'll sign it any way you want and get it right back to you. Knock on the small, barred window and say: "Joe sent me!" Or John. Or Sean. Well, you're smart folks, you get the drift.

If you're interested in what kind of stuff you'll find in the book, read most of the Kunkel Reports on the main page of this site (several chapters, in fact, are re-writes of those very stories). Same with the "Articles" section of gooddealgames.com. In the book, the articles are longer and I elaborate on some of the stuff, but those versions will give you a pretty good idea.

I give the particulars on the making of the original EG; compare the 80s and 90s versions; tell the truth about how much sex I had and how many drugs I consumed back then; provide the Game Doctor's origin story; eulogize a trio of old friends; recall the day that Arnie and Joyce departed the original EG and ramble over a roving collection of anecdotes cherry picked from the past three decades in the game biz. There are 18 chapters plus preludes by Lenny Herman, Arnie and me -- and quite a few photos and illustrations.

Thanks for the kind words regarding my first attempt at performing my own stuff to a live audience, Phos. It was a gas reading the chapter at CGExpo 2005 about Arnie Katz shooting Jim Levy the finger at an '83 CES (especially since it was an Activision event and Electronic Games was giving Jim an award at the time). I'd never done a public reading like that, but then all my previous books written as Bill Kunkel were game srategy "literature" so we can all be grateful for that.

But as a fake doctor in all seriousness, writing this book brought back such a surge of memories that it genuinely amazed me. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it, too.

[Arcade Antics]

Cannot WAIT to read this book. HUGE thanks to Bill and Len!

Did I mention that I can't wait to read this book?

[TheRedEye]

Whenever I look through my old gaming mags, the only column I'll actually stop and read is The Game Doctor. Most definitely looking forward to this book. If I want it signed I can just drive over to your place!

[BillKunkel]

Whenever I look through my old gaming mags, the only column I'll actually stop and read is The Game Doctor. Most definitely looking forward to this book. If I want it signed I can just drive over to your place!

Absolutely -- and anyone else in the Las Vegas area should be welcomed to do the same. Just a caveat: my wife and cats and I will be moving to Michigan sometime between the end of the year and next May, depending on a medical hearing she has to attend here. With the book coming out in mid to late November that could theoretically be a short window of opportunity, so make sure to get your copies early and contact me (potshotk@aol.com) asap so we can get together.

If you live in Michigan, however (in Waterford, I think it is, specifically, not too far from Ann Arbor), and want it signed, well, there's no rush there, eh?

[Griking]

Will this book be available to order online like Ralph Baer's was? I'll never be able to get to DC to buy this.

[BillKunkel]

Will this book be available to order online like Ralph Baer's was? I'll never be able to get to DC to buy this.

You're not willing to ride cross-country to pick up a copy? I'm crushed. (Actually, they'll be in Philly, but that's beside the point.) Of course, I wouldn't make that trip to buy my OWN book so I honestly don't expect anyone else to go on a vision quest in order to obtain a copy.

Just visit good ol' rolentapress.com (or, if you don't mind them gobbling most of our profit, Amazon) and it will be whizzing (so to speak) its way to you come November.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Just wanted to bump this one and say that this is a book that every gamer who was alive and aware during the run of the original Electronic Games needs under his or her tree. I guarantee you that you haven't heard many of these stories before because, quite frankly, the guys writing those other books didn't always get invited to the same parties. I enjoyed it tremendously.

[Cav]

I, too, heartily endorse this book. It's brilliant.