Get your saddles ready as the Wild West History book will be in stores soon. But this isn't your dad's history book. This book takes readers through the history of the United States using Red Dead Redemption 2, one of the most popular and critically acclaimed video games of all time.
Torre Olson, associate professor and director of the Graduate School of History, teaches history at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He compiled one of his popular classes, “American History Through Video Games,” into a book called Red Dead History: Video Games, Obsession, and America's Violent Past.
The book will be released in hardcover on August 6th.
Red Dead History takes a look at history through Red Dead Redemption 2. Set in 1899, the game follows Arthur Morgan, a robber on the run across America with a fictional gang. As the game progresses, Morgan travels through the West, Deep South, and Southern Appalachia.
Olson's book uses games as an entry point for analyzing historical topics related to each region, using real historical context and sources.
“The idea was to teach this experimental class in the fall of 2021, using games as a hook, as a kind of entry point. This is not a class about the fiction of games,” Olson said. “But fiction guides people, involves participants, and uses their passion for games to explore the real dilemmas of race, class, gender, politics, power, and violence that play out in real games. A turbulent moment in American history.”
Red Dead Redemption 2, published by Rockstar Games, has sold over 61 million copies since its release in 2018. It is the sequel to 2010's Red Dead Redemption. The first game in the series, Red Dead Revolver, was released in 2004.
How Red Dead books teach history in Red Dead Redemption 2
At the beginning of each chapter, Olson introduces the topic and briefly explains how it will appear in the game. This chapter then details the actual historical background on each topic and what's accurate and what's not-so-accurate about the game's depiction of that topic.
The book explores issues such as chain gangs, railroads as corporate capitalism, Native American struggles, and the cowboy and beef economy.
You don't need to have played the game to learn from this book. This book is about history first and video games second. History of Red Dead is not sponsored by or an official book of Rockstar Games.
“I wanted to write something for the general public, especially gamers, people who love games, people who love Red Dead Redemption 2 and the previous games,” Olson said. “It would be desirable for many readers if we could repackage this (class) to make the serious historical content of the class accessible, exciting and fun.”
'Red Dead' actor narrates book
Olson is even more excited for people to hear his book.
He and his publisher, St. Martin's Press, hired actor Roger Clarke to narrate the book. Clark played Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2 and has previously narrated history books.
“I'm so excited because hearing his voice reading the book, his voice as an American history teacher, makes this even more emotionally powerful for people who love the game.” said Olson.
In March, Clark visited Olson's class with Rob Wiesoff, the actor who played the main character in “Red Dead Redemption.” The actors were in town for the Fanboy Expo, and Olson worked with them to surprise his students.
What's next for the UT professor after 'History of the Red Dead'
Mr. Olson has taught this class three times since 2021. He plans to take academic leave in 2024-25 to promote his book.
Olson named her class “American History Through Video Games” so she could change the curriculum and subject matter however she wanted. The class uses Grand Theft Auto to learn about his late 20th century, Call of Duty to learn about World War II and the Cold War, and Mafia to learn about organized crime throughout the 20th century. may evolve to learn.
“We'll see if there's a demand for it,” Olson said.
While most video games have a limited lifespan due to the zeitgeist, Olson said the Rockstar Games series is an exception. Rockstar's biggest game, Grand Theft Auto V, remains one of the best-selling games of all time, with over 195 million copies sold.
After five years of research, Olson is putting another book on country music and history on the back burner. But he's weighing his options until his $30 Wild West book is released into the sunset in August.
Keenan Thomas is a higher education reporter. Send email to keenan.thomas@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter @specialk2real.
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