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  • Masters of Doom

  • How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture
  • By: David Kushner
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (259 ratings)

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Masters of Doom

By: David Kushner
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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Publisher's Summary

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

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)

What listeners say about Masters of Doom

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Very good

Very good and very worth listening to, very comprehensive and well researched book, if anything a less biased view of the pairs relationship would b very good also

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Awesome book

Fantastic insight into the guys and games the changed the world. Wil Wheaton fantastic as usual

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A must-read for 90s gamers

If you were a gamer in the 90s, you need to read this book. It'll give you an insider's look into the games that changed your life. Masters of Doom is the book of the year for me.

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great games development and history unearthed

Wil Wheaton narrates amazingly as always.
Great story of gaming history.
very entertaining listening.

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excellwnt

Great book. Worth the read if you like v games, good narration, need more words.

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A must read if you have an interest in video games

I was not expecting the deep dive into the history of video games that I got with this.
Better yet it is written so well that there was never a boring moment through it all.
Wil Wheaton does an amazing job narrating this.

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Loved it!!

What a great story! So well written by David Kushner and spoken by Will. Could not stop listening and got through it in a few days.

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would never have guessed this to be so enthralling

Captures a untold subculture so well and the birth of gaming. For anyone with a love of computers and gaming.

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Glued to my phone till 4 am on a Workweek!

If you are a game developer, or interested in the dev scene. I would highly recommend this book.
As the title suggests, I was practically glued to my phone till 4 am, I have never been so motivated after listening to an audiobook before because afterward I just wanted to make something creative.

The author and narrator do a wonderful job of setting the scene and getting you engaged with the book. The stories you hear and that are told are fantastic and keep you wanting more. I will return to this book in the future. I highly recommend this book.

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Doom

loved it. such an interesting story about the two John's and their journey with Doom

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