The Amusement Park, Stephen M. Silverman
The Amusement Park, Stephen M. Silverman
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
Club: $15.99

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

Author: Stephen M. Silverman

Narrator: Allan Corduner

Unabridged: 12 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/11/2021

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

Experience the electrifying, never-before-told true story of amusement parks, from the middle ages to present day, and meet the colorful (and sometimes criminal) characters who are responsible for their enchanting charms.

Step right up! The Amusement Park is a rich, anecdotal history that begins nine centuries ago with the "pleasure gardens" of Europe and England and ends with the most elaborate modern parks in the world. It's a history told largely through the stories of the colorful, sometimes hedonistic characters who built them, including:

Showmen like Joseph and Nicholas Schenck and Marcus Loew Railroad barons Andrew Mellon and Henry E. HuntingtonThe men who ultimately destroyed the parks, including Robert Moses and Fred TrumpGifted artisans and craft-people who brought the parks to lifeAn amazing cast of supporting players, from Al Capone to Annie OakleyAnd, of course, this is a full-throttle celebration of the rides, those marvels of engineering and heart-stopping thrills from an author, Stephen Silverman, whose life-long passion for his subject shines through. The parks and fairs featured include the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, Coney Island, Steeplechase Park, Dreamland, Euclid Beach Park, Cedar Point, Palisades Park, Ferrari World, Dollywood, Sea World, Six Flags Great Adventure, Universal Studios, Disney World and Disneyland, and many more.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Justin

Good, informative, thorough read about the progression from court jesters all the way to Harry Potter land at Universal Studios. Very detailed accounts about the beginning of parks, specifically Coney Island. I wish the images could have been a little larger. I understand 19th century illustrations......more

Goodreads review by Warren

Did you know there were looping wooden rollercoasters that carried riders upside down as early as 1848? Or that the dunking booth was originally a racist midway game called the African Dip, where black men taunted the wives and girlfriends of white customers into hitting a bullseye target that sent t......more

Goodreads review by Scott

A comprehensive, all inclusive look at the history of amusement parks. Starting way back in 1130 with the Bartholomew Fair in London through today, it is quite a read. I really enjoyed the beginning with the crazy and often audacious characters that made the early parks possible. The development of......more

Goodreads review by Zandt

Possibly the greatest book on themed entertainment (more than just amusement parks) ever written.......more


Quotes

"A vivid -- often ardent -- history... A legitimate way to study American cultural and social history... Even in this digital age, it seems, there's a craving for communal diversion, and for gathering agog crowds before a shared spectacle."—Wall Street Journal

"Spectacular...lavishly illustrated, deeply researched and widely enjoyable."—Chicago Tribune

"[The Amusement Park is] rich with anecdotes that complement its easy-to-read style; truly this book is suggested for those who have a strong interest in the subject as well as for those interested in American recreational culture of the 19th and 20th centuries... This ambitious project could possibly be considered the definitive work on the history of what is considered today the Amusement Park."—Boston City Paper



"[The Amusement Park] is stunningly writ­ten while being both entertaining and vastly informative.... A must for any­one with interest in the business of fun."

Tim Baldwin, Amusement Today

"Compelling."—New York Post

"The most fascinating part of the book is the schemers and dreamers who made [the parks] all become reality all the way back to the Venice ferris wheel, to P.T. Barnum, Walt Disney and to the latest from Universal Studios, Disney and Six Flags... It's a perfect summer book."—Provokr

"Starting with the Middle Ages, Silverman traces the path from European 'pleasure gardens' to Universal Studios, profiling the colorful characters who created amusement parks and the rides that drew customers."—Publishers Weekly, Spring Announcements feature