I did a game show book search at Borders the other night and there were 3 game-show-related books that came up that I never heard of before. All 3 were not in the store, and would have to be special ordered, so I don't have much to go on. So let's go to the internet audience

Has anyone seen/read/bought the following books?:

• Rules of the Game: Quiz Shows & American Culture
By Olaf Hoerschelmann (Hardcover released July 2006) $24.95

• I'll Take Learning For 500: Using Game Shows to Engage, Motivate & Train
By Dan Yaman (Trade Paperback released May, 2006) $40.00

• Daytime Television Game Shows & The Celebration of Merchandise: The Price Is Right
By Morris B. Holbrook (Trade Paperback released February, 1993) $8.95


Any of these worth getting? (I suspect the 2nd book is moreso for school teachers -- for which we have some in this forum -- but there could be some interesting ideas for people creating mock games at home or some good interviews, pictures, etc...?)

While I've never heard of anyone of those books and can't help there, I wouldn't at all be surprised if some of our members in here might have CONTRIBUTED to that 2nd book.

The third is awful. Trust me.

It sounds like one of those "game shows are the decline of Western civilization" tomes--correct?

They sound like doctoral dissertations that had to get published to obtain the degree.

I'm (finally) reading this one now, in softcover. It certainly is very academic, not at all intended to be entertaining or mass-market, but it offers some insights into how gameshows influence, and are influenced by, the culture of the day. The author is identified as "associate professor of media theory and criticism at Eastern Illinois University."

The author gives a great deal of space to the original "Vox Pop" and casts it in much greater historical significance than I think I've seen elsewhere. (Edit to add: He also gives the same treatment to, of all things, "Singled Out.")

Later chapters venture into the political arena, discussing the rise of "family values," the conservative influence on some 1980s titles, and the general lack of same-sex couples on dating shows, to name but a few points.

The volume is a bit thin -- 155 pages of text, plus another 45 pages of footnotes -- and the price is certainly steep in that regard. But it's a level of writing about the genre that usually isn't published, and the author gets a +1 for at least including a passing reference to "Idiot Savants."

Out of curiosity, what was that book about (other than "The Price is Right")?