Addressing readers at the start of his compelling new book, James Paul Gee writes, 'I want to talk about video games-yes, even violent video games-and say some positive things about them.' With this simple but explosive salvo, one of America's most well-respected pro-fessors of education looks seriously at the unexpected good that can come from playing video games. Gee is interested in the cognitive development that can occur when someone is trying to escape a maze, find a hidden treasure, or even blast away an enemy with a high-powered rifle. Talking about his own experience learning and using games as diverse as Tomb Raider and Arcanum, Gee looks at major specific cognitive activities including: -How individuals develop a sense of identity -How one grasps meaning -How one evaluates and follows a command -How one picks a role model -How one perceives the world. This is a groundbreaking book that illuminates and de-velops a new elect-ronic method of education and shows the positive upside it has for learning.