The Book of Fun: An Illustrated History of Having a Good Time

by Russ Frushtick, Justin McElroy (Foreword), Sonny Ross (Illustrator)

Dive into this vibrantly illustrated history of everything humans have invented to entertain ourselves, from Chess and Nintendo to Drag Queen Story Hour and Burning Man.

In The Book of Fun, Polygon co-founder Russ Frushtick divulges the hidden backstories and fascinating facts about your favorite video games, theme parks, festivals, sports, and more. With 80+ digestible, entertaining entries, it's not just fodder for your next dinner party -- you might also discover your next great pastime, be it jousting, stunt acting, cheese rolling, or Swedish Bunny Hopping.

For fans of pop-history, pop-science, and the many things mankind has invented to waste time, The Book of Fun explores:

Board Games: The world's oldest tabletop games (Senet, Go, Chess) and its most enduringly popular (Monopoly, Dungeons & Dragons, Settlers of Catan)

Toys: The history of your favorite playthings, like Barbie, Beanie Babies, Slinky, Furby, and LEGO

Video Games: The console wars of the '90s, the birth of game streaming, and unexpected Pokémon Go consequences

Theme Parks: Stories behind Coney Island's Cyclone, Disneyland's opening-day woes, and the bizarre parks built in a nuclear power plant and a Soviet bunker

Sports: The most fascinating athletic endeavors across the globe, from gladiatorial battles to Lucha Libre, pumpkin boat racing, and sumo wrestling

Stunts: Harry Houdini, Evel Knievel, Jackie Chan, and the incredible stunt artists you may not know

Festivals: From Carnival celebrations around the world to the stories of Woodstock, Burning Man, and a Spanish baby-jumping festival

Dressing Up: The origins of jesters, Halloween, cosplay, drag queen style, and more

Roadside Attractions: Wacky spectacles like the 65-foot-tall Lucy the Elephant in New Jersey, the Mystery Hole in West Virginia, and the Cabazon Dinosaurs in California

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Graphic Novels

128 pages, Hardcover

First published June 14, 2022

Reviews

[Mike Keknee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated look at the history of fun. As a huge fan of the History of Fun podcast, I was excited to delve into Russ’s accounts, but the snippet style look at topics makes for interesting anecdotes with zero narrative. It operates more like a bathroom reader or coffee table book, which is fine, if not slightly underwhelming.

[Josh Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's fun! I'll be thinking about the Baby Jumping Festival for a long time

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Book of Fun is (not) long and boring
And written not that long ago
It's full of charts and facts, and figures
And instructions for gaming

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like having fun and there's nothing more fun than knowing things. The opportunity to know things about fun and have fun knowing these things? Russ has you covered.

Perfect for dipping in and out of and going at your own pace. The book is separated into categories and I enjoyed picking it up to read a few pages at a time. It felt like a wee pick me up during my day and I enjoyed going slow with it.

The illustrations are fantastic and really match the tone of the book! Sonny Ross did a great job and their little characters add a lot of personality to each story.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful collection of fun facts and anecdotes across various categories of things that people do for enjoyment: board games, festivals, theme parks, and more. It's not a comprehensive or deep dive into any particular subject, but do you want to know what the first recorded board game is? Maybe you're curious to read some short stories about stunt people, or perhaps you want to learn a little bit about The House on the Rock? If that's the case The Book of Fun has you covered. Russ's funny and irreverent writing and Sonny's charming children's book-esque drawings help tie the whole experience with a light-hearted bow. Despite it's very colorful interior and exterior some of the subjects could be viewed as not suitable for children for violent (gladiator/knight combat) or sexual content (a phallus museum, an orgy tent is mentioned.) So if that concerns you then don't buy this for your kid. But if you think this looks charming I would recommended checking out, you'll finish it in a sitting or two.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable. Full of fun facts and charming illustrations

[Basma Aal]

Didn't completely finish it

[Regi Diverio · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely delightful selection of interesting tidbits about humankind’s never-ending pursuit of entertainment. The illustrations are PERFECT!