Tennessee professor's new book tackles US history through video game Red Dead Redemption 2

Get your saddles ready for an Old West history book hitting shelves soon. But this isn't your dad's history book: this one uses Red Dead Redemption 2, one of the most popular and critically acclaimed video games of all time, to guide the reader through U.S. history.

Associate professor and Director of Graduate Studies in History Tore Olsson teaches history at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He's turned one of his popular classes, "American History through Video Games," into the book "Red Dead's History: A Video Game, an Obsession, and America's Violent Past."

The book will be available in hardcover on Aug. 6.

"Red Dead's History" examines history through Red Dead Redemption 2. Set in 1899, the game follows Arthur Morgan, a robber on the run across America with his fictional gang. As the game progresses, Morgan travels through the West, the Deep South and Southern Appalachia.

Olsson's book uses the game as a gateway to analyze historical topics related to each region, using real historical context and sources.

"The idea was I'll teach this experimental class in fall of 2021, and it uses the game as the hook, as the sort of entry point. It's not a class about the fiction of the games," Olsson said. "But the fiction is a way to lead folks, get folks on board, and then to use their passion for the game to then explore the real dilemmas of race, class, gender, politics, power, violence as they played out in a really turbulent moment in American history."

Published by Rockstar Games, Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold over 61 million copies since its release in 2018. It is the sequel to 2010's Red Dead Redemption. The first game in the series, Red Dead Revolver, released in 2004.

How 'Red Dead' book uses Red Dead Redemption 2 to teach history

At the start of each chapter, Olsson introduces the topic with a brief description of how it appears in game. Then, the chapter details the real historical context around each topic and what's accurate or not so accurate about the game's depiction of it.

The book explores issues such as chain gangs, railroads as corporate capitalism, Native American struggles, and cowboys and the beef economy.

You don't need to have played the game to learn from the book: it's about history first and the video game second. "Red Dead's History" is not a sponsored or official Rockstar Games book.

"I really wanted to write something that was aimed for the general public and particularly for the gamers, for the people who love the game, who love Red Dead Redemption 2 and the first one as well," Olsson said. "The hope would be to kind of repackage this (class), and in doing so make the serious historical content of the class accessible and exciting and fun for hopefully lots of readers out there."

Red Dead actor narrates the book

Olsson is even more excited for folks to listen to his book.

He and his publisher, St. Martin's Press, hired actor Roger Clark to narrate the book. Clark played Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2, and he's narrated history books before.

"I'm super excited about it because hearing his voice reading the book - his voice as your American history teacher - will make this so much more emotionally powerful for the people who love the games," Olsson said.

In March, Clark visited Olsson's class along with actor Rob Wiethoff, who played the main character in Red Dead Redemption. The actors were in town for Fanboy Expo, and Olsson worked with them to surprise his students.

What's next for UT professor after 'Red Dead's History'

Olsson has taught the class three times since 2021. He'll take an academic leave for the 2024-25 academic year to promote his book.

Olsson named his class "American History through Video Games" so he can change the curriculum and subject matter any way he wants. The class could evolve to use Grand Theft Auto to study the late 20th century, Call of Duty to study World War II and the Cold War or Mafia to study organized crime throughout the 20th century.

"We'll see if there's demand for it," Olsson said.

Most video games have a limited shelf life in the zeitgeist, but Olsson said Rockstar Games' series are exceptional. Rockstar's biggest game, Grand Theft Auto V, remains one of the best selling games ever with over 195 million copies sold.

Olsson has another book on the back burner about country music and history after five years of research. But he's weighing his options until his Wild West book, available for $30, rides off into the sunset in August.

Keenan Thomas is a higher education reporter. Email keenan.thomas@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter @specialk2real.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: University of Tennessee professor's book studies Red Dead Redemption 2