title: Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America
author:  Jeff Ryan 
description: The history of how a Japanese video game featuring two Italian brothers became one of America's favorite pastimes is covered in exhaustive, enthusiastic detail by video game reviewer Ryan. The author takes readers through Nintendo's early business machinations; the story of Mario's eccentric creator, Shigeru Miyamoto; and the game-changing emergence of Nintendo's motion controller for the Wii, with a breezy journalistic style. At times the tone slips into the white hatblack hat morality employed in most video games, often painting Nintendo's business competitors or detractors with broad reductive strokes"hardcore gamers sneer at Wii"and paeans to new Nintendo releases get smattered with exclamation points, so that some pages read like Nintendo promo material. All of this is distracting but not fatal, and the book is a thorough history of Nintendo's victories, written by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable fan. (Aug.)
zlib_text: Acclaim for DAVID SHEFF’s
  GAME OVER
  “An intriguing portrait of what it takes to succeed in today’s
  competitive computer industry.”
  —Washington Post Book World
  “A fascinating story of the birth and growth of video games … Sheff
  has done a fine job explaining the high-tech computer world story of
  complicated games that children can play—and the people who are
  bringing this new world to us, whether we want it or not.”
  —Kansas City Star
  “A fascinating look at the Japanese way of doing business … At times,
  Game Over reaches the pitch of a Cold War spy novel.”
  —L.A. Daily News
  “Writing with the playful pluck of Mario, the little protagonist of the
  Super Mario Bros. games, Sheff … unfolds an engrossing tale of how
  Kyoto-based 
  Nintendo, 
  once 
  a 
  small 
  playing-card 
  company,
  transformed the U.S. toy and computer businesses.”
  —People
  
  “Vivid portraits of the principal players and shrewd insights into
  Japanese and American corporate culture make this an unusually
  enjoyable business history.”
  —