Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Red Dead’s History:
When video games and history collide.
Quick synopsis:
A look at how historically accurate the video game Red Dead Redemption II is.
Fact for Non-History People:
Red Dead Redemption II has sold over fifty million copies and is in the top ten of bestselling video games ever.
Fact for History Nerds:
Chicago’s 1893 Exposition sold 27.5 million tickets when the American population was only 60 million at the time.
My Take on Red Dead’s History:
Peanut butter and jelly. Cookies and milk. To these iconic pairings, let’s add video games and history. Don’t believe me? Then let me introduce you to Tore Olsson and his wonderful book, Red Dead’s History.
For the uninitiated, there is a video game franchise with three different games, Red Dead Revolver, Red Dead Redemption, and Red Dead Redemption II. All three are fun, but Olsson wants to focus on the sprawling, intricate, and surprisingly historically accurate Red Dead Redemption II. It follows some outlaws in 1899 on various adventures. Sure, some may ask, “Brendan, I don’t play video games so why should I care?” First of all, that’s a terrible attitude. Second, you have not yet lived, my friend. Finally, this game lets you be an outlaw and rob banks without the real-life risk of death and jail. What more could you possibly want?
Olsson’s book is compulsively readable. He calls out the good and bad of the game. For historians, I think most would be shocked how much it gets right. I’ve played all the games, and they are immersive in a way you could only dream of back in the days of the original NES, PlayStation, (or if you are super old), Atari. Olsson created a college class out of his idea, and you can tell he was able to distill down the most interesting aspects and put them in the book. If you are well-read in this part of history, then you probably won’t learn anything new. However, Olsson has written a book targeted at the person who doesn’t realize they love history…. yet. It’s a triumph.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press.)
Verdict:
A must read. Buy it here!
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