World of Warcraft is more than a game. There is no ultimate goal, nowinning hand, no princess to be rescued. WoW contains more than 5,000 possiblequests, games within the game, and encompasses hundreds of separate parallel realms(computer servers, each of which can handle 4,000 players simultaneously). WoW is animmersive virtual world in which characters must cope in a dangerous environment, assume identities, struggle to understand and communicate, learn to use technology, and compete for dwindling resources. Beyond the fantasy and science fiction details, as many have noticed, it's not entirely unlike today's world. In The WarcraftCivilization, sociologist William Sims Bainbridge goes further than this, arguingthat WoW can be seen not only as an allegory of today but also as a virtualprototype of tomorrow, of a real human future in which tribe-like groups will engagein combat over declining natural resources, build temporary alliances on the basisof mutual self-interest, and seek a set of values that transcend the need for war.Bainbridge explored the complex Warcraft universe firsthand, spending more than2,300 hours there, deploying twenty-two characters of all ten races, all tenclasses, and numerous professions. Each chapter begins with one character'snarrative, then goes on to explore a major social issue--such as religion, learning, cooperation, economy, or identity--through the lens of that character's experience.What makes WoW an especially good place to look for insights about Westerncivilization, Bainbridge says, is that it bridges past and future. It is founded onWestern cultural tradition, yet aimed toward the virtual worlds we could create intimes to come.