“THE MONOPOLISTS”
by Mary Pilon
Have you ever wondered how “Monopoly”—one of the world’s
most popular board games—came into existence?
The folklore surrounding the game is that it was invented during the
depression by an unemployed Pennsylvanian by the name of Charles Darrow. But the truth is that a version of this game
was invented in the early 1900’s by a liberal feminist by the name of Lizzie
Magie. “The Landlord’s Game” was the name she christened her patented creation
and adaptations of this game were played by various groups long before the
1930’s. The book “The Monopolists” by
Mary Pilon tells the complicated and politically-charged history of everyone’s
favorite board game.
This book has been carefully researched by the author and
illustrated how the basic philosophy behind the game has been altered by
different players over the years. The
game has certainly been played and enjoyed by ardent capitalists but has also
been embraced by left-wingers beginning during the Progressive Era at the turn
of the century and continuing to the present day. One of these individuals, a professor named
Ralph Anspach, went so far as to try to market his own version of the board
game giving it the title “Anti-Monopoly”.
As you might guess, this endeavor resulted in lengthy and torturous
litigation.
I certainly hope this has intrigued you enough to check
out a copy of this book to learn the whole story concerning the evolution of
this game. We have several copies
available within our Berkeley County library system. Parts of the book read like a human interest
story and parts of the book read like great detective fiction. It is truly a fascinating story!
David Porterfield
Musselman Branch Librarian
