We must judge a book’s merits by what its author is seeking to do - what are they trying to tell us, and why does it matter? From my reading of William Collis in the Book of Esports, the message is that we must think critically about esports and give it the due it deserves. Why does it matter? Well, he puts it bluntly: esports is the “future of all human competition.”Most people who say that a book is written in “layman’s terms” are experts themselves and correspondingly have no say in the matter. As someone with no experience in esports apart from being vaguely familiar with Fortnite dances and Korean PC Bang culture, I’d like to hereby bestow a layman’s seal of approval.Collis walks us through the history of not just esports but of the entire virtual gaming landscape, akin to a world-class authority on the subject sitting next to you at a Thanksgiving dinner table and also happening to be your young, hip uncle. Readers with little exposure like me will love the Appendix - “Esports 101” - while more experienced readers will enjoy the fun facts and interviews that are sprinkled throughout.Befitting of his nickname of “The Professor,” Collis provides not one, not two, but three frameworks that he introduces and frequently references when analyzing each game or esports advancement and placing it within his larger constellation. His frameworks are useful for understanding everything from South Korea’s rise as an esports capital to whether or not Fortnite will continue to weather the storms brought on by other Battle Royale challengers. He even pits the frameworks against each other, such as when he explores the complex interplay between “skill” and “accessibility” and how they are often negatively correlated in the esports world.Here’s one example: Collis says of the death of MOBA Heroes of the Storm: “there is a fundamental and terrifying truth at the heart of its failure: it is a good game” (70). This sentence makes absolutely no sense without breaking it down using Collis’s analytical eye. I’m sure the author would give you permission to wistfully parrot it verbatim the next time you talk to a member of Generation Z.Going back to Collis’s original point and why it matters - his infectious love for the field, his analytical eye, and his success in writing an authoritative account all go to show that esports is deserving, at the very least, of such an impressive narrative. Any reader willing to let Collis take them on a romp through history to see how far esports has come and where it could one day be headed will walk away challenging biases that they’ve sustained during its meteoric rise.The author meets his mark, and for that reason I am leaving 5 stars.