From publisher blurb:
There and Back Again: The Construction of Nostalgia in Advanced Adventures is a scholarly look at one aspect of table-top role-playing culture. It was written by Darren Allan Crouse, and supervised by Dr. Greg Gillespie, in the Department of Popular Culture at Brock University in Ontario.
In the study, Crouse discusses the construction of nostalgia in the art of Expeditious Retreat Press' AA - Advanced Adventures line. He challenges traditional academic understandings of nostalgia as simple escapism. Crouse argues that, while the Advanced Adventures pay homage to the history of RPGs, the series is an expression of an emerging old school gaming subculture who use nostalgia in new and creative ways - while charting new directions for their hobby.