Masters of Doom cover art

Masters of Doom

How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Masters of Doom

By: David Kushner
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $27.99

Buy Now for $27.99

About this listen

Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero. Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popular culture. And they provoked a national controversy. More than anything, they lived a unique and rollicking American Dream, escaping the broken homes of their youth to produce the most notoriously successful game franchises in history - Doom and Quake - until the games they made tore them apart. This is a story of friendship and betrayal, commerce and artistry - a powerful and compassionate account of what it's like to be young, driven, and wildly creative.

©2003 David Kushner (P)2012 Audiobooks.com Business Professionals & Academics Game Video Game

Critic Reviews

"Compelling . . . Masters of Doom succeeds on several levels. It's just great storytelling, with perfect pacing, drama and characterization. It's also an excellent business book, a cautionary tale with the kind of insider detail that other writers working in the genre should envy." ( Houston Chronicle)
“Kushner’s mesmerizing tale of the Two Johns moves at a rapid clip . . . describing the twists and turns of fate that led them to team up in creating the most powerful video games of their generation. . . . An exciting combination of biography and technology.” ( USA Today)
“Meticulously researched . . . as a ticktock of the creative process and as insight into a powerful medium too often dismissed as kids’ stuff, Masters of Doom blasts its way to a high score.” ( Entertainment Weekly)
All stars
Most relevant
Wil Wheaton narrates amazingly as always.
Great story of gaming history.
very entertaining listening.

great games development and history unearthed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved it.
Great story.
Love the narrator.
Would recommend to anyone that grew up with Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake.

Childhood revisited

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I've listened to this book as much as I could.
this was so interesting to learn about the good times, bad times and reasons for why things happen.

must hear so much interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book. Worth the read if you like v games, good narration, need more words.

excellwnt

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Blasted through this as the book had incredible pacing and introduced interesting new elements or stories as it progressed.

Absolutely loved it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As a software developer was great to get a timeline of my childhood gaming experience. Fantastic story, excellently read and interesting all the way through. Recommended for anyone that wants to get the story behind the evolution of PC gaming.

Fantastic read highly recommended!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Perfect performance. I like Wil Wheaton’s style of narrating. Listened to Doom Guy first. This fills in some blanks and then some. Although 20+ years old, it is still very much worth it if you are into ID stuff. The 2 Johns are selfmade men with human flaws. We (gamers) owe them much.

ID Software Bio

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved all of it! Hope others experience it. Interesting material, well written, and above all as enjoyable as the games the story revolved around.

Great story with excellent narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
love this book. An epic story through the evolution of gaming and the first person shooter.

a must read for any gamer

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A great story about 2 very talented men withij the video games industry.
How they shaped it and yet they seemed destined to be driven apart eventually.

A great listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.