Is this an authorized piece of work by the family (or Gygax estate)?  Also, any idea what references were used to create it - such as talks with former TSR employees, etc?

I don't really know anything about this author so not sure if this book will contain any new info or if it is simply a collection of articles posted on the internet and joined together with a narrative.

I might get some heat over this comment but here goes...

What can this book offer that others haven't already covered? Playing at the World is the most thorough imo and i'm no expert

just my 2 cents

No particular info in his LI profile @ Michael Witwer | LinkedIn

I didn't have time to search uchicago.edu theses yet....

I've had some contact with the author over the past couple years, as have a few others here on the Acaeum. My understanding is he's written a narrative non-fiction about the life of Gary Gygax. Certainly PatW very pointedly is not a biography of Gygax - in fact, you could argue that one of PatW's central tenets is that to understand these games you need to focus on the fan communities that generated and interpreted them, not so much on individual contributors. But that doesn't mean Gary isn't an interesting guy, and there is a lot of information out there about his life and circumstances, much of it not common knowledge. I wrote a piece last year about the "Ambush at Sheridan Springs" and TSR's corporate governance, for example, that tells one tiny piece of Gary's personal story.

I gather this new book will fill in his pre-D&D life, his post-TSR life, more about the way he and his family coped with success during the D&D boom, and so on. So ostensibly it will address a story I didn't, anyway, and one that people are interested in. I'm sure it will be much more widely read than a technical work about intellectual history like PatW. And reaching a different audience than PatW, shedding more of a popular light on the hobby, is a commendable undertaking.

Well, before we criticize Michael Witwer we should read the book first. I think it's a good idea. Anyway, I have just sent him some questions for an interview and, noting the opinions given here, I have added a couple of questions about 'what sources did you use?' and 'if somebody had already read the various books on the subject of the orgiins of D&D around why should he/she buy yours too?'

Not to be too critical but I am general a details oriented person and right from the beginning of reading the interview, I don't think this is a book for me.  

My older brother Sam got me into tabletop role-playing gaming when I was pretty young, probably 5 or 6. Sam purchased a foot-high stack of late 1970s AD&D books and adventure modules from an older neighborhood boy who was selling his collection. I think the first modules we played were The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh and Danger at Dunwater - developed by TSR UK if I'm not mistaken.

Early-mid 80s rather than 70s if includes UK1 and UK2.  Author isn't really sure if they were TSR UK or not.

It probably reads like a good story but if he can't get simple facts right, I would probably be left wondering what is actual true from the book and what is fanciful storytelling.  If anyone here buys it, I would be interested in reading a review.  I probably will eventually get a copy but its not a full price purchase for me.

grodog wrote in A Gary Gygax Biography in October!:A review from Joe Bloch @ Greyhawk Grognard: Review: Empire of Imagination

While I know where Joe is coming from, I'm not sure he, or any of us history geeks really, are the target audience of the book.

I have read it. It is a book aimed at the mass market interested in games culture, readers who probably would not have heard of, let alone read, a book like Playing at the World - people who don't have anywhere near the fanaticism necessary to wade through a tome like that. It is moreover a biography, so much of it is stories about Gary's personal life with his family and so on, and the influence of his background on the development of D&D and his subsequent endeavors. It is structured as a series of vignettes that pick up at various points in his life to show crucial incidents - so don't expect it to be exhaustive, that's not the idea here. But it conveys a lively and very positive view of Gary's life and work. I assess the value of the book based on the impression I predict it will convey to a reader who doesn't know much about Gary or the history of D&D, and if the games community views it in that light, I think the reception should be warm.

As an aside, in my own research I do periodically come across some biographical bits about Gary that wouldn't fit into my narratives, and I will say I was surprised to see that Michael had turned up some of those. Stuff that I wouldn't consider easy information to come by. So it isn't just a summary of previously published research. If I have any criticism of the book, it's that it is perhaps too generous to its subject in a few places where I might think criticism is warranted. But ultimately, that reflects how highly the book holds Gary's accomplishments, and if you want to read a book that celebrates Gary, you should get this.

I picked up an advance reading copy, am looking forward to checking the book out.

I found this book to be wonderful, and in speaking with people who knew Gary, they felt that the artistic liberty that was taken in the narrative was fine and probably accurate.   Or, at least, they didnt seem to think anything was out of character.

Great bibliography at the end stating where all the info came from.

A well researched book - in fact it was written as a thesis of some kind, if I remember correctly.

I think it is a must read.

-C