Boys' Toys of the 70's & 80's: Toy Pages From the Legendary Sears Christmas Wishbooks 1970-1989 [Paperback]

Thomas W. Holland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2001

This thick, 192 page book is jammed with authorized reprints of rare Sears, Roebuck and Co. Christmas "Wishbook" pages. Organized by year from 1970 through 1989, these selected pages have all the great toys collectors want to know about: Star Wars, Marx playsets, electric trains, GI Joe, Action Jackson, He-Man, Transformers, Hot Wheels and much more. A "Must Have" for all toy collectors and perfect for everyone else who wants to bring back happy childhood memories! Companion to BOYS' TOYS OF THE 50's & 60's.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Thomas W. Holland is a Los Angeles-based Television producer and long-time toy collector.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Windmill Pr (December 15, 2001)
• ISBN-10: 1887790179
• ISBN-13: 978-1887790178
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #361,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great toys, great memories...but where's the COLOR??, March 24, 2004

By 

Cro-Moly Man (Culver City, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boys' Toys of the 70's & 80's: Toy Pages From the Legendary Sears Christmas Wishbooks 1970-1989 (Paperback)

I saw this book last weekend at the Universal Citywalk (L.A.) in one of their stores. As an 80s kid (DOB 1970) and a terminal 80s freak, you best believe I snatched this book up like a Rubik's Cube. I was ready for heaven.

Now the cool thing is, someone out there took their time to compile images from actual Sears catalogs, which is awesome. Sears was a total icon of my childhood in the 70s and 80s, and page after page was filled to the rim with all the toys I had and wished I had back then. Millenium Falcons, BMX bikes, tanks and trucks...*sigh*

But the sucky thing is, someone out there took their time to compile images from actual Sears catalogs and DIDN'T print them in COLOR like they originally were...which ultimately led me to leave the book behind. The whole darn book was in Black & White, and not of the best print quality. I mean, c'mon, they even show a sample page from a Sears catalog on the back of the book, in all its full-color glossy glory. Why couldn't they bring that color and gloss into the book itself?

It was quite odd to see a book done with a slick, heavy full-color cover, with cheap and poorly printed pages within. Trust me, at 34 years old, I'm still a tremendous kid at heart and go on constant nostalgic rampages. You'll still find my dear wife dragging me from Toys R Us aisles with me going "But you said I could have one! Please please pleasse? Just one toy!!" So one would think that this book would've been the ultimate treasure for someone like me.

Well, it would've. If only it was in living color! DANG!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Where's the color?, January 27, 2009

By 

Roberto Silva (CLEWISTON, FLORIDA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boys' Toys of the 70's & 80's: Toy Pages From the Legendary Sears Christmas Wishbooks 1970-1989 (Paperback)

Upon finding this book on Amazon, I was estatic!...having been a child of the 70's, but when I went "inside" the book was in black & white!. What a disappointment. I hope the author will consider re-releasing it in color, he would sell more copies.

2.0 out of 5 stars Where is the color?, May 8, 2011

By 

Dave Cofelice - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boys' Toys of the 70's & 80's: Toy Pages From the Legendary Sears Christmas Wishbooks 1970-1989 (Paperback)

I ordered this on Amazon, just received it, and was very excited until I opened the book and saw that all the pages were in a very low quality black and white print(more like a grey and white). My guess is that they didn't want people scanning or photocopying the pages. Maybe they thought this would cut down on people copying the pages, but what a let down! It is also incomplete! I do have some original Sears Christmas Catalogs that I ordered on Ebay and that is a much better way to go. Would have gotten five stars if it had color pages and was more complete! I DO NOT recommend this book. Buy the Totally Tubular 80's Toys book instead!