Blast Off: Rockets, Rayguns, Robots & Rarities Limited Edition [Deluxe Edition] [Hardcover]

S. Mark Young (Author), Various (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2003

The definitive examination of classic space toys and collectibles. Hundreds of specially commissioned color photographs of toys, games, puzzles, playsets, buttons, comics, books, magazines, and more. Ultrarare prototypes, catalogs, packaging, and space art. Histories of the key toy manufacturers and toy phenomena from the Golden Age.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Dark Horse; Limited edition (December 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569716897
• ISBN-13: 978-1569716892
• Product Dimensions: 15.5 x 13.5 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,711,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

S. Mark Young holds the George Bozanic and Holman G. Hurt Chair in Sports and Entertainment Business at the University of Southern California. Dr. Young is also a Professor of Accounting in the Leventhal School of Accounting and holds joint appointments as Professor of Management and Organization in the Marshall School of Business, and Professor of Communication in the Annenberg School of Communication. His research in the entertainment area focuses on the psychology and economics of celebrity and the factors that influence the success of major motion pictures. His paper with Drew Pinsky, "Narcissism and Celebrity," (Journal of Research in Personality) was the first to gather a large sample of data on the celebrity personality. This study was included in the New York Times Year in Ideas special issue as one of the top ideas of 2006. His most recent book with Drew Pinsky, The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America, (Harper Collins, 2009), is an analysis of how celebrity acting out behavior is having a profound negative effect on American youth and society. This book was on both the New York Times and LA Times Best Selling Lists. Dr. Young has won outstanding teaching awards at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and several international research awards. Mark has appeared on the CNN's The Situation Room, The View, The Howard Stern Show, Fox & Friends, The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, ABC News Now, Fox Business Channel, the KTLA Morning News, and the Fox Strategy Room, and has been interviewed by Laura Ingraham, Mitch Albom, the BBC, the New York Times, the LA Times, National Public Radio, Marketplace, The London Times, Scientific American Mind, Men's Fitness, the Associated Press, Newsweek, Woman's Wear Daily, and comments regularly in the business and entertainment presses.

Mark also has an avid interest in the history and sociology of space toys and their connection to science fiction. He is a coauthor of the book (Dark Horse, 2001) "Blast Off! Rockets, Robots, Ray Guns and Rarities from the Golden Age of Space Toys," with Mike Richardson (President of Dark Horse Comics) and Steve Duin (columnist for the Portland Oregonian newspaper).