The Fantastical Engineer : A Thrillseeker's Guide to Careers in Theme Park Engineering [Paperback]

Celeste Baine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 7, 2000

This title describes how engineers make the magic that is every theme park, amusement park, roller coaster, aquarium, zoo, cinema, sporting event, or trade show. Book features articles from industry experts and tells how to survive in this fast-paced and changeable industry. You can also preview the future of themed attraction design in this one-of-a-kind career guide.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Fantastical Engineer takes an enticing, exciting, and exhaustive look at the variety of opportunities for engineers in the entertainment industry today. -- Debbie Silver, Science Methods Teacher, April 2000

"The Fantastical Engineer: A Thrillseeker's Guide to Careers in Theme Park Engineering" drives information like a bullet train, ignites the imagination like fireworks and provides resources at each turn like the best coasters! -- Annette Segal, author of The Game of Truth

From the Publisher

The Fantastical Engineer is for anyone interested in an engineering career, especially if they want to explore nontraditional career paths. And, it’s extremely useful for school counselors. The book also makes a great gift for students! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Professional Pubns Inc (August 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966476328
• ISBN-13: 978-0966476323
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,210,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Celeste Baine is a biomedical engineer, the director of the Engineering Education Service Center and the award-winning author of several engineering career publications. She won the 2005 Norm Augustine Award for Engineering Communications. The award is given to an engineer who has demonstrated the capacity for communicating the excitement and wonder of engineering. She also won the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education's Engineering Dean Council's Award for the Promotion of Engineering Education and Careers. In addition, she is also listed on the National Engineers Week Web site as one of 50 engineers you should meet!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting Resource, December 12, 2000

By 

Cathi Cox (Ruston, Louisiana USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fantastical Engineer : A Thrillseeker's Guide to Careers in Theme Park Engineering (Paperback)

"The Fantastical Engineer" provides an opportunity for students and teachers alike to get inside the exciting world of theme parks and roller coasters. While teachers have been traditionally limited to showing pictures of theme park attractions and talking to students about what it must be like to actually get inside such attractions from the ground up, this book provides a guide that takes the reader right into the fray. You suddenly have a "how to" when it comes to the engineering of theme parks. Students are especially fascinated with roller coasters and "The Fantastical Engineer" serves as good motivation toward directing them not only into further study in this area, but to a possible career in engineering and theme park design as well. It is an excellent supplementary resource for High School Physics and Physical Science students as well as college students and beyond.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not quite what I was hoping for..., July 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Fantastical Engineer : A Thrillseeker's Guide to Careers in Theme Park Engineering (Paperback)

As an engineer contemplating a career change into the theme park industry, I was hoping for some good leads and background information to help me in my search. However, the book was way too general to be of much value for this. There is a listing of several companies in the industry, including addresses, phone numbers and contact names, which will be helpful, but all that information (minus the names) is also available on some of the industry association's web sites. The 144 pages is deceiving, as the type is large and there are several pages of references. It only took me about 1.5 hours to read the whole thing. If you are looking for general information about what theme park engineering is, this book will be good for you. It is written for the high school and perhaps college age student, not for the serious job searcher.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay book--too little for the money though--great appendix, March 28, 2001

By 

Derek (Northern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fantastical Engineer : A Thrillseeker's Guide to Careers in Theme Park Engineering (Paperback)

I am a high school student looking forward to some sort of structural/civil engineering career, and a career in the amusement industry sounded really great, so when I found this book I was really excited. A week later, I got it in the mail, and was dissappointed. The book seems weakly set-up and organized, and too generalized when it shouldn't be, and way to specific in some spots. One chapter, to my surprise, had several pages just on how to build a model of a rollercoaster! Interesting, nevertheless, but in a childrens' book about wolves or something, would you have a chapter about collecting feces samples? I am not going to put this book down too far, though. The appendix is the most helpful part, with reccomended reading and all sorts of info (web sites and e-mail even) about most entertainment industry manufacturers, designers, etc., etc... It was good, but gave a too generalized view of the industry, I think, and not enough about how to get into it. Took me about a couple of hours of easy reading to finish it--if that says anything.