Customer Reviews

The Complete Pinball Book: Collecting the Game and Its History (Schiffer Book for Collectors)

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

 

 

This book is a vibrant timepiece capturing the colorful history of a unique product of the 20th century. When you think about it, when is the last time you *saw* a pinball machine? This book has captured, in both close-up and distant pictures, the colors, lights, and complexity of how these machines work and function. Family and friends--even those who've never seen a pinball--will pull this book out and start browsing in a mesmorized fashion. My only complaint is that the book is somewhat dated as it's from 1999 and doesn't reference the closing of Williams/Bally's pinball division and the great games recently issued by the sole remaining manufactuer, Stern.

However, it very thoroughly shows the evolution of a silver ball falling through assorted pins on a wooden board to the electronic technology of today with plastic ramps, magnets, and flippers. Just facinating to read and look at. If only it had sounds!

Just simply an amazing effort. A lavishly illustrated tome, describing in detail pretty much everything there is to know about pinball machines and their various functions, with a perspective in history and development as well.

This is a great book from start to finish with outstanding photos, interviews and a timeline that brings back many child hood memories.

Certainly informative about most pinball machines. My gripe is with a book this big and thick, I should not have been able to find a number of machines not included. Not just any pictures, but no mention what-so-ever. I must say though I was educated much further about pinball machine operations then I was ever aware of prior to looking at this book. Just a little disappointed that some of my favorite machines had no mention. I am a 60's 70's pinball machine lover.

This is a wonderful work of Pinball Book Art. I checked out this book from my local library and it is a must have. The book is heavy and very well made. The photos are very detailed as well. The book takes a certain aspect of the game such as scoring and breaks that parts of the game down, while the next chapter may focus on pinball sound. The book has so much information in it about history, features, and rare pinball features. A book of this size is bound to have a few mistakes and this book has a few small mistakes, but those are very minor and this is a very detailed work and there is no way one man can know it all about pinball. If you enjoy the game of pinball, you need to check out this book. It will not show you how to repair or maintain the game, its focus is history about the game and its evolution over time. I hope you enjoy this book and also keep enjoying playing the wonderful game of pinball.

This book covers the history of pinball machines from the early days in the 1930's with the simplest electro-mechanical machines to the electronic circuit machines of the 19990's. A beautiful coffee table book, it is huge and heavy at 320 pages with 920 full color photos (many are full page), almost a foot tall and 1 inch thick. The big brands are all represented here like Williams, Gottlieb, and Bally, along with more obscure and international gaming companies. The book lists over 3,000 games. The photos are drool worthy, and will make you want to collect every machine in the book.

Great photos, looks great,but not much hard info. Good addition if you like pinballs and even interesting for the avg person but short on in depth details.

You can't go wrong picking this one up. A must for any pinball enthusiast or beginner.

This is a great book to learn about the history of pinball and it's mechanisms. It covers past and present innovations in pinball plungers, flippers, coils, sound, etc. Lots of color photographs of classic machine's playfield and backglass will satisfy a pinball lover's appetite for pinball art. I highly recommended this book as a good introduction to pinball's colorful history.

Muy buen libro sobre pinball. He recordado aquellos pinballs con los que empezé a jugar a principio de los 70.