The American Amusement Park Industry: A History of Technology and Thrills (Twayne's Evolution of American Business Series) [Paperback]

Judith A. Adams (Author), Edwin J. Perkins (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Twayne Publishers; First Edition edition (March 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805798226
• ISBN-13: 978-0805798227
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,971,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Academic study, not lighthearted or fun but excellent, July 3, 2000

By 

Alastair Dallas - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Amusement Park Industry: A History of Technology and Thrills (Twayne's Evolution of American Business Series) (Paperback)

This is a wonderfully researched, thoughtful treatise on the amusement park industry. It is not for those who want a pictorial history, or a romp with colorful characters like George Tilyou. Tilyou is here, but he is surrounded by demographic charts showing the age breakdown of the New York City population during Coney Island's history. There is a great deal of financial information, as well, such as consumer spending on 23 recreational products or services for the years 1909-1923. You get the idea--it is an academic book (but there are some photos, mainly historical).

But as such, it's awesome. There is probably no other book like it. Many academic books are not only dry, they are poorly written, but this one is neither. Here is a sample (since this is the first review and there is little here about the book):

"The major historian of the amusement industry, William F. Mangels, author of "The Outdoor Amusement Industry from Earliest Times to the Present" (1952) was himself a carousel manufacturer. In 1907 Mangels patented a device that imparted an improved, smooth, galloping motion to the horses and in time became common on all carousels. He and his carver, Marcus Charles Illions, produced finely carved carousels, including the Feltman merry-go-round at Coney Island. This man, who in 1912 also created the first wave machine for the swimming pool at Palisades Park, New Jersey, preserved the heritage of the amusement industry in America by organizing and developing the American Museum of Public Recreation."

For the same reason, here is the Table of Contents:

1. The Origins 2. The Form Emerges 3. Coney Island and the Enclosed Park 4. From Trolley to Automobile 5. The Disney Transformation 6. Theme Parks 7. Walt Disney World Resort 8. Overview and Postscript

A: Some Parks That Established the Traditional, Pre-Disneyland Culture B: Industry Associations and Publications Chronology Notes and References Selected Bibliography

Index

As Mark Twain once said, "If you enjoy this sort of thing, this is just the sort of thing you'll enjoy." I found the book's precision and well-supported opinions very entertaining. Perhaps you will, too.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars robfb, August 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The American Amusement Park Industry: A History of Technology and Thrills (Twayne's Evolution of American Business Series) (Paperback)

Although I completely agree with the previous review, I would like to emphasize how well this book is written. This book is part of Twayne's Evolution of American Business Series and, as such, does not hide raw data from the reader. However, one can easily ignore the tables and skip a few paragraphs in each chapter and still feel very satisfied with the book.

I orginially purchased the book to learn the history of the Walt Disney World Resort. What I gained was a thorough review of the amusement park history from the 12th century Bartholomew Fair to Universal Studios Florida in 1990 (the book was published in 1991). From trolley parks to Coney Island, from Disneyland to Cedar Point, Ms. Adams covers all the bases.

A wonderful book!

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS ON AMUSEMENT PARK HISTORY AND CULTURE YOU WILL FIND, July 8, 2011

By 

Fox in a Box (Buffalo, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Amusement Park Industry: A History of Technology and Thrills (Twayne's Evolution of Modern Business Series) (Hardcover)

I'm short of time and can't write long but please trust me that this is an excellent, beautifully written GREAT READ that traces amusement parks from their origins in the old European fairs and "pleasure parks" to their roles as dark and smarmy marginalized spaces where anything could happen (as in the films "Freaks" or "Big" or the book "Devil in the White City"). You'll want to stay right there, but this author will drag you screaming into their current incarnation as homogenized, hyper-cleansed corporate fairylands that "recreate" the "real" in ways that suggest the phony Matterhorn, the phony jungle, the phony old west and the phony veldt, with their mechanical animals and 4" deep "rivers" are "better" than the originals; that the corporate messages they sing in choral harmony as we are motored through their exhibits are based on fact.

I wanted to scream, "Bring back the dirt, the maimed, the stupid, the weird, the dangerous, the dark and twisted..." But Judith Adams has done it for us. It's all right there -- juicy, squirrelly, snarky and completely and totally documented because this author was not only brought up on the Jersey boardwalks, she went on to become a cultural historian and librarian!!

Lucky readers! A great, great book. Thank you, Judith Adams. Disney et al. will never, ever look the same again.