Grand Theft Childhood

I finished Grand Theft Childhood (GTC) a while ago, but was too busy playing GTA IV to share my thoughts.

GTC is the book I wish was available when I was writing my Master's Thesis, and a book I wished I had written. For those of you debating whether or not to purchase the book, do so. It's a great resource for parents, children, and video game advocates.

GTC does a great job at countering the typical chargies levied against video games. At the same time, it responsibly asserts that more research is done. This is in contrast to anti-gaming studies and politicians who use vague correlation to posit causation.

For your convenience, and to entice you into purchasing GTC, below is a brief overview of the book's structure, chapter by chapter:

1. The Big Fear: A synopsis of typical complaints of video games and sensationalist news stories.
2. Deja Vu All Over Again, and Again: An overview of similar scares over penny dreadfuls and comic books. And how ridiculous they were.
3. Science, Nonsense and Common Sense: A layperson's explanation of scientific methodology ... and lack thereof in many studies.
4. Grand Theft Childhood?: A brief overview of statistical data, emphasizing its inconclusiveness, and suggesting areas for further study.
5. Why Kids Play Violent Games: Self-explanatory, although in middle schoolers' own words rather than politicians'.
6. Sex, Hate, Game Addiction and Other Worries: Again, self-explanatory in its examination of particular concerns besides generalized violence.
7. I'm from the Video Game Industry and I'm Here to Help: An analysis of the ESRB, complaints, and rebuttals.
8. All Politics is Local: Elected officials' hijacking of non-video game-related tragedies for cheap political points.
   
9. Practical Advice for Parents: Like it says.