Rating: 
Summary: A Turbulent Rise Indeed
Review: A fascinating and often depressing look at how robotic combat moved from the hobbyists and performance artists into the world of courtrooms and television deals, and how greed and mismanagement almost killed the sport before it had begun.The book also tells the story of the builders, who were often unaware of the whole story and only wanted to to build and compete with the best robots they could build. And it's a story of a community that exists to this day. Of people with vision who still see bright future for robotic sports. But most of all, it's a fascinating warts-and-all look into the people who brought robotic combat to the mainstream audience. The decisions that were made, the court battles that were fought, the robots that were built, and the triumphs and disappointments of everyone involved. The only downside of the book is that it focuses almost exclusively on the big events. Maybe in a followup book, Brad (or someone else) will take a longer look at the many other smaller scale competitions that are held all around the country, and the regional organizations that are popping up as then robotic community continues to grow. But, it's a minor quibble and I can heartily recommend the book as a great place to start learning about one of the very few sports that rewards intelligence over brute strength.
Rating: 
Summary: A history that needed to be told...
Review: As a Combat Robotics competitor for the last 7 years witnessing the turmoil as this new sport gets started I found this book to be an amazingly in depth account of the events that unfolded. I thought I knew most of the history, but was amazed in many sections of how much I didnt know. More importantly I think this book has a larger relevance in that this is most likely the track that any new popular sport may take in the modern litigious world. Alexander Rose of Inertia Labs...
Rating:
Summary: A history that needed to be told...
Review: As a Combat Robotics competitor for the last 7 years witnessing the turmoil as this new sport gets started I found this book to be an amazingly in depth account of the events that unfolded. I thought I knew most of the history, but was amazed in many sections of how much I didnt know. More importantly I think this book has a larger relevance in that this is most likely the track that any new popular sport may take in the modern litigious world. Alexander Rose of Inertia Labs...
Rating:
Summary: Best Reference for Robotic Combat History
Review: Brad Stone's book is by far the most complete and informative work on the growth and development of robotic combat, from its beginnings as unorganized street fighting to television productions. As a late arrival to the sport, competing from 2000-2002, on all three shows Battlebots, Robotica and Robot Wars, I can attest to Brad's fair and unbiased reporting and am amazed at his absolutely thorough research on the subject. If robotic combat is a passing fad, 100 years from now, historians will use this book as part of the culture that defined the start of the new millennium. http://www.robotdojo.com
Rating:
Summary: great read
Review: Great, quick, fascinating read.
I was expecting a story about the niche of robot wars. But this book turned out to have a broader scope, detailing a compelling story about the culture and business behind the world of entertainment. The book has several vivid characters who seem to lose all perspective in their passion to get a piece of the action when robot battles start to take off. What's cool about that is that Stone has witnessed this from the inception of a new entertainment phenomenon. But I was left wondering if there are some universal truths here about the greed that attends entertainment dealings.
But I also didn't feel like the book shoved its point of view down my throat. It drew me in, told me a story, and laid out a lot information, but let me reach my own conclusions about who was right, and what went wrong.
One bit of subtlety I particularly appreciated pertained to the media's role in this whole story. The robot makers -- and promotors of robot battles -- are consistently asked by the media if they are promoting violence through their robots. But the real battles were taking place between human beings using the courts to take control of the sport. Indirectly, it nicely showed what a red herring it can be to blame entertainment for promoting conflict, when we have so much unecessary fighting going on on the sidelines. robots don't kill people, lawyers do.
Rating:
Summary: A truly engaging story
Review: Hats off to Brad Stone for pulling back the curtain on the riveting world of robot sports, and exposing how a pasttime enjoyed by passionate garage tinkerers was slowly chewed up by commercialism and greed. It is, in so many ways, a uniquely American story, and I must admit, there were moments it was painful to watch. But Stone has written a compelling narative, and it rewards the reader with a close-up look at the real heroes of this otherwise tragic tale--the hobbyists who never lost sight of the idea that meaningful pursuits don't need to be rewarded with a big cash payday. It's a cautionary tale for anyone who lived through the tech boom and bust of the past decade. To me, the most amazing aspect of this story is that it took this long to finally be told.
Rating:
Summary: personal business
Review: This a story in which a business contract that a man signed called for him to make his "best effort" with regard to certain business objectives. The book tells of the severe circumstances under which he made his best effort. . . and all that followed.
Rating:
Summary: A great read!
Review: This book is for anyone's who's ever had a good idea and wanted to know what it takes to make it a marketable success. Marc Thorpe's story had to be told. Learn from his mistakes how to survive the greatest challenges entrepreneurs face in launching a brilliant plan. The most violent robot imaginable is nothing compared to the players in this story. You'll be shocked to read of the depths some people will go to profit on someone else's hard work and innovation. It's an engrossing story illustrating the classic battle between greed and creativity; proving yet again that greed will always win in the short term and always lose in the long term. Robot enthusiasts will find the back story concerning the big personalities (human and robot) enthralling. As for the rest of us, like me, who never paid robots too much attention, you can't help but be drawn into the drama and human interest of this business battlefield. Excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: A great read!
Review: This book is for anyone's who's ever had a good idea and wanted to know what it takes to make it a marketable success. Marc Thorpe's story had to be told. Learn from his mistakes how to survive the greatest challenges entrepreneurs face in launching a brilliant plan. The most violent robot imaginable is nothing compared to the players in this story. You'll be shocked to read of the depths some people will go to profit on someone else's hard work and innovation. It's an engrossing story illustrating the classic battle between greed and creativity; proving yet again that greed will always win in the short term and always lose in the long term. Robot enthusiasts will find the back story concerning the big personalities (human and robot) enthralling. As for the rest of us, like me, who never paid robots too much attention, you can't help but be drawn into the drama and human interest of this business battlefield. Excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: The definitive history of robotic combat.
Review: This book tells the tale of the birth and rise of robotic combat. From its early roots in art and the classroom to full blown TV shows and live events. It gives insight into a niche of society, a community, of builders, event promoters, and moneymen. It exposes the passion and darker side of the sport. It details the savage legal battles that are more destructive then the robots themselves. With the evolution of the sport came many growing pains and new offshot species of robots and shows and this book exposes it for all to see.
As a veteran of robotic combat, I highly recommend this book to anyone who had questions about the how and why of this crazy sport.
" Robot Darwinism"
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