4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Joys of Toys, March 7, 2008
This review is from: Boys' Toys: An Illustrated History of Little Things That Pleased Big Minds (Library Binding)
I got this from Amazon's bargain books because I'm interested in the history of toys and it looked like a great read. It's not really a read at all. My three stars are not to say don't get this book, but rather don't get it at the $16 retail price, as it's at most an hour of reading. Glancing at it I guessed it was a UK book redone in an American edition, which it is. Why did I guess that? Because one of the best features of such books is that they focus on, or at least include, British toys and manufacturers. An American author might be tempted in such a small book to skip over the Daleks from Dr. Who, which here receive their due.
This is a small, hardback, all color, graphically lain out 128 page book. Even after reading many books on the subject, I learned things here I didn't know, mostly about the UK connection. That said, the author obviously didn't know about some of his subjects, which is why there are so many thank- yous in the credits. The text trumpets that photos were taken especially for the book, but that's also the drawback. The photos either don't match the text or the blurbs about them are wrong, which is why this is not a collector book, regardless of that subject on the cover.
For instance, in the chapter titled Lost in Space, the brief text is about the rare Remco Lost in Space (B-9) robot, but the picture is of the excellent Trendmasters B-9 robot which was sold through Toys R Us at the time of the Lost in Space movie release (along with the robot in the movie, Trendmasters released toys of the classic Lost in Space TV series, most of which are now rare, as Toys R Us declined to carry most of them). The Smoking Spaceman is also a picture of the recent repro model, since the original version was dark gray, and this one is blue, one of the recent color variants.
There are many rare toys mentioned, but not pictured, the graphics instead featuring easy to get over hard to find. This is even the case with UK specific toys, such as the Matchbox Thunderbirds Tracy Island playset, and toys by Pallitoy, Gilbert (also US) and Corgi. Why mention Remco if you're not going to show either their amazing battleship or submarine? Regardless, the book is interesting reading, and might make an enquiring mind want to know more. In which case, I'd recommend
Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Created Them,
Space Toys of the 60's: Major Matt Mason, Mighy Zeroid Robots & Colorforms Outer Space Men,
Blast Off! Rockets, Robots, Ray Guns, and Rarities from the Golden Age of Space Toys,
Toys of the Sixties: A Pictorial Price Guide, and
Marx Toys: Robots, Space, Comic, Disney & TV Characters : With Values (Schiffer Book for Collectors).
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
