The Monopolists

Where would  "shredded wheat", "elevator", and "aspirin" come up in conversation with Formica, Teflon, Coke and Monopoly?  In the Mary Pilon's new book, The Monopolists, which takes the reader on a journey through the history of the board game Monopoly.

Whether you are a fan and aggressive player of the game or just curious about trademarks and monopolies this book will keep you glued to your chair until the end.  It is a fascinating story of how Parker Brothers built their company on the game, but possibly not in the most ethical way.  It is the story of how a individual with the idea for another game, Anti-Monopoly went up against the giant Parker Brothers and General Mills to win his right to sell his game.

It is the story of the history of the board game going back to Atlantic City, NJ and even further back to Lizzie Magie and her version, The Landlord's Game, created as a teaching tool inspired by economist and politician, Henry George.

Interesting and informative this is a book that will hold your attention and astonish you as you route for the underdog against big business.  You will cheer for the small businessman fighting the large conglomerate.  You will see how our country deals in the courts with trademarks and monopolies.
In the end you will understand how terms like "shredded wheat", "elevator" and "aspirin" can be used as descriptions, but words like, "Xerox", "Coke", and "Formica" are copyrighted and can only describe a brand.  So you should ask someone to; "make a copy", not ask them to; "please xerox this".

Mary Pilon also describes the long hours and in-depth process she went through to write this book and even that is interesting and entertaining at the end of the book.  It is interesting to see where everyone involved in this history is today.  A well written story.