The Amusement Park: 900 Years of Thrills and Spills, and the Dreamers and Schemers Who Built Them

Wow! I dove into this gorgeous coffee-table encyclopedia the moment it arrived and haven’t come up for air ever since! It is a massive treasure trove of fascinating history and a cornucopia of eye-popping photos and memorabilia. Lavishly designed and printed. Stephen M. Silverman, author of the brilliant DANCING ON THE CEILING: STANLEY DONEN AND HIS MOVIES, among many other terrific books, may have outdone himself with this jaw-dropping accomplishment. Do not hesitate for a second to order this instant classic!

A stunningly gorgeous book with well researched and interesting text. So engaging and entertaining that I bought a second copy as a gift...high quality in all respects.

really thick, heavy book that is well put together.

Loved the history and amazing amount of research about the various parks and rides. The photographs were wonderful. Purchased for gifts and especially for young people who did not know about the history of an amusement parks and the creation and origins of different tides and entertainments A look into the past and desire to live it again

Simply interesting, not earth shaking...

This kindlebook that is The Amusement Park: 900 Years of Thrills and Spills and the Dreamers and Schemers Who Built Them by Stephen M Silverman is indirectly influenced by multiple factors. For starters, I have to acknowledge having more of an interest in theme parks after both of my late adoptive parents would sometimes take me and some other siblings to a popular theme park in Ohio I think called Cedar Point, my husband and I lived in Florida from February 2005 until February 2008 and again from April 2009 until May 2010 which gave us both easier access to sometimes visit Disney World, some strange sleeptime dream that I had less than 3 to 3.5 years ago where I was walking in some type of futuristic theme park complete with some shopping stores that appeared to be where people could get some of their grocery food and other types of essentials (almost like Disney’s Epcot world of tomorrow concept realized into actual residential living communities for men, women, and children in the future though it was tricky for me to make out if this futuristic theme park was Disney or some other theme park) and other multiple factors I prefer to be discreet about for good reasons. A multiple number of the awe-inspiring details in this kindlebook: Bakken theme park in Denmark one of the world’s oldest theme parks, the Vienna International Exhibition started around 1873 to show Austria as equal to England and France, the Tivoli theme park which opened on August 15 1843, Tivoli has a Little Mermaid symbol in a similar vein as Disney’s Little Mermaid though apparently as per this kindlebook the Tivoli Little Mermaid is controversially topless, details about Coney Island, inclusion of a photo of Morey’s Piers in Wildwood New Jersey, a picture pertaining to the New York World Fair around the 1939-1940 timeframe, info on some of the history with Luna park, some details on the reconstructed Elitch Gardens which opened on May 27, 1995, a section titled Moving Right Along around page 276 that references founder Walter Knott of Knott’s Berry Farm in California, a photo of Dolly Parton in Dollywood Tennessee, writings pertaining to Disney including a picture of Walt Disney sitting inside one of the train sets that he owned, the It’s a Small World attraction can be found within all Disney properties except Shanghai, and more.

Know what you are getting with this book. It is a history book. It is a bit long, a bit drawn out, and a bit dry. Places like Knotts, Kennywood, CedarPoint, etc. aren't even mentioned until page 300+.If you are looking for a book about (very) early amusement parks, which you may have never heard of (i.e. even Coney Island isn't mentioned until nearly page 100); This could be the book for you.However, if you are looking for a fun, nostalgic book to remind you of 1940s-1990s amusement parks, complete with lots of photos as a 'trip down memory lane'; Stay away.This is a very well-done history book and is amazing if that's what you want, but it is not designed to make you reminisce.

Remember that amusement park that gave you endless thrills as a kid but has long since been replaced by condos (e.g., Pacific Ocean Park in Santa Monica, California and Playland at the Beach in San Francisco)? Thanks to this wonderful, intoxicating book by Stephen M. Silverman, you can revisit those childhood fantasy worlds and relive the thrills that you hoped would never end. While the coverage of our favorite local, long-lost hangouts would be more than enough, this book has so much more. It lavishly describes (and illustrates with stunning pictures) amusements parks throughout the world, making the reader want to immediately get on a plane (or into a time machine) to some exotic paradise with roller coasters. As much fun as it was to read this book, one can only imagine how enjoyable it must have been to do all the research. Since most of us cannot hop into a time machine to visit the Riverview (long ago in Chicago) of our youth, fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride provide by this marvelous book.

The author has miraculous research. Worth it!

Great writing with an abundance of well researched information

I really enjoyed this book. I had no idea that "amusement parks" go back as far as they do. Fascinating - and loved the stories about Coney Island, Disneyland and other renowned places.

I love this book! It's highly entertaining and the photos are gorgeous!