Customer Reviews

The Pinball Compendium 1982 to the Present (Schiffer Book for Collectors)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having grown up in the age covered primarily in this book, I found the latest of the author's fine books on pinball to an excellent and entertaining read.

As with the other books in the series, this one is heavy on pictures; covering the majority of releases by the major (and minor) companies manufacturing pinballs during the time period. The book is arranged in chapters by year, beginning with "classics" like Gotlieb's 'Haunted House' all the way up to the recently released 'Elvis' and 'Ripley's BION' by Stern. In between are all of your favorites, plus in-depth looks and interviews (and of course, more pics) of prototype games that were never released; including the fabled 'Loch Ness Monster' as well as custom games made for celebrities like Aaron Spelling.

Highly recommended, as are the other books by this author.

Well, I finally went ahead and took the plunge and got all 3 of the Pinball Compendium book. Sure, they're not exactly cheap, but I found the best price on them anywhere on Amazon. I have to tell you, these books are ESSENTIAL reading and must haves for anyone who collects pinball machines, or just interested in their history, and a pretty complete synopsis of all the major games put out by each of the major manufacturers, from the 30's all the way to just a few years ago. The books are very well laid out, packed with TONS of history of both the games evolution and of the manufacturers, interviews with the designers and artists, and TONS of pictures. Get the books for the pics if nothing else! Do yourself a favor and pick these up, you won't be disappointed! These are pretty much an Encyclopedia for pinball machines and collectors. Well worth the money, Highly recommended!

(IF you can only get ONE book of the series, this is my favorite and the one I look through the most, since it has all the modern/ most popular and current machines...but TRY to get them all if possible...especially if interested at ALL in the older games. They're great to look through just for historical/ educational purposes if nothing else!).

Jeff Scott
Orlando, FL

A wonderful book with beautiful photos. Even if you aren't a fan of pinball machines you will appreciate the artwork. A great price from Amazon and as usual fast service. Why drive to a store?

Truly a compendium. Covers every game from 1982 in outstanding detail with dozens of interviews and a great timeline and discussion behind the beginning and end of a great era with only one left standing.

A must have coffee table book for any pinball enthusiast/gamer.

This book is a must for any modern pinball enthusiast. Great photos and great interviews with the design teams for all of the major pinball releases of the 80s 90s and 2000s.

My 8 year old thinks I am the coolest mom every because I gave him this book. Lots of pictures of the pinball games he follows on utube and the web, and his favorites he actually plays. Detailed descriptions of the game designs and planning and how to play the game. This is the first book he grabs before school and the last book he drags to bed with him. If you are a pinball enthusiast then this book is for you.

The book and pictures is awesome. The one thing that I didn't like is that they didn't include more technical specs on the pinball like production run, etc. They did have the info on a few games, but it would have been nice to have a summary spec graph on each machine.

Much info, nice pictures i lik it a lot. excellent