From the beginning I’ve thought of this book as the second in a longer series on the history of innovation, a series that began with How We Got to Now. So I should begin with a heartfelt thanks to the incredibly playful team that helped dream up that multi-platform project, starting with the visionary Jane Root. (Years ago Jane suggested the phrase “clever pleasure” to me to describe the kind of television we could make, a phrase that could have been an alternate title for this book.) At Nutopia, thanks to Peter Lovering, Helena Tait, Carl Griffin, Sophie Mautner, Jemima Stratton, Fleur Bone, and Jessica Cobb. (And in the extended Nutopia family, Neil Sieling.) I’m especially grateful for the research help early on from Jemila Twinch and Fred Hepburn. Matt Locke, Ian Steadman, and the rest of the How We Got to Next team have supported my work and research in countless ways over the past two years.
At PBS and WETA, thanks to Beth Hoppe and Bill Gardner; at the Lemelson Foundation, Carol Dahl, Tak Kendrick, and David Coronado; and at the Gates Foundation, Dan Brown and Miguel Castro. I first began mulling the idea of a book about the cultural innovations of play while shooting the “Sound” episode of How We Got to Now, which was the most Wonderland-like episode of that season. Thanks to Julian Jones for supporting those early ideas, and for not getting me killed in the Anza-Borrego desert.
This marks the tenth book that I have collaborated on with my agent-for-life Lydia Wills, whose contributions continue to be invaluable on many levels. It’s also my seventh book with the dream team at Riverhead: Geoff Kloske, Katie Freeman, Kate Stark, Kevin Murphy, and Hal Fessenden. My brilliant new editor, Courtney Young, widened the scope of this book—and its cast of characters—in many significant ways. And I’m also very grateful to Helen Yentus and Ben Denzer for what may well be my favorite jacket design of all of my books.
A number of people were gracious enough to read the book (or sections of it) in draft form. I’m deeply indebted to the comments, corrections, and encouraging words from Alex Ross, Ken Goldberg, Stewart Brand, Steven Pinker, Mike Gazzaniga, Filipe Castro, Jane Root, Fred Hepburn, Chris Anderson, Juliet Blake, Angela Cheng, and Jay Haynes. As always, my wife, Alexa Robinson, read every word—but only improved every other word—with her wisdom and line-editing mojo. Thanks to Franco Moretti for introducing me to the kleptomaniacs of Paris more than two decades ago. And thanks to Jay Haynes, Annie Keating, Alex Ross, and Eric Liftin for so many conversations about music and the mind over the years.
Finally, a word of gratitude to my sons—Clay, Rowan, and Dean—for keeping me in touch with the gaming world, from Minecraft to H1Z1, from Kingdom Builder to Far Cry. I love and respect the energy and creative spirit that you bring to your life in games. Now it’s time to turn off the computer and go read a book.
July 2016
Marin County, California