Those of us who grew up playing the board game “Monopoly” likely remember the thrill of landing on an up-for-grabs Boardwalk or Park Place, and buying the pricey properties with our stash of brightly colored fake money. We might also recall the feeling of trepidation when we landed on those same properties after they had been purchased and improved by someone else, knowing we would have to pay an exorbitant rental fee before we could once again pass “Go” and collect our much-needed $200. But while Monopoly is embedded in our culture, it’s likely that few, if any of us, have given much thought over the years to how this iconic board game came into being.
In her New York Times bestseller, “The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World’s Favorite Board Game,” Mary Pilon delves into the intriguing history of Monopoly and the cast of characters that brought it to your dining room table.
Ms. Pilon is an award-winning journalist primarily covering sports and business. She mostly recently worked as a sports reporter at The New York Times, and her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Fast Company, Smithsonian and other publications.
