Wham-O Super-Book: Celebrating 60 Years Inside the Fun Factory (Paperback)

by Tim Walsh (Author)
Key Phrases: air blaster, magic window, roller racer, Hula Hoop, Hacky Sack, San Gabriel (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; illustrated edition edition (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811864456
• ISBN-13: 978-0811864459
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #425,191 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating boomer flashback, March 27, 2009

By	P. P. COOK III "Tad Cook" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is very enjoyable, and a strong nostalgia flashback if you were born in the 1940s-1960s.

An extremely visual book, with more product packaging graphics than text, it covers everything from the outrageously successful (Superball, Hula-Hoop, Slip n Slide, Frisbee, Hacky-Sack, Silly String) to the hilariously obscure (Purple Moon Cat, Kooky Froot, Superball Dice, Chain Gang Drinking Coasters).

Who knew they marketed a Patio Style Bomb Fallout Shelter Cover? ("40-Million May Die! How about YOU?"). Or a rubber loop with handles that promised "bosom development" and "Swedish exercise for family health!"?

They also made weapons in the 1950s, and I had forgotten that we owned a Wham-O Sportsman ("PROFESSIONAL MODEL USED BY MEMBERS OF THE NAT'L SLINGSHOT ASSO."), their first product, which they created in 1948 to launch airborne meat (I am not making this up! It's in the book!) for training pet falcons! My dad, a biology prof and bird-lover who authored a book on genetics for pigeon breeders, used one to fire ball-bearings at feral felines stalking bird nests in the ravine behind our home in the sixties.

[...]

Get it! It's SUPER! It's WHAM-O! Hours of FUN for the WHOLE FAMILY!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome! Get this book and crack open your childhood!, October 23, 2008

By	Neumann Being "Electic Reader" (KCMO) - See all my reviews

I loved this book! IT's SUPER!

I was apparently a WHAM-O addict in my youth... I identified so many products! SuperElasticBubblePlastic, Super Stuff, Water Wiggle, Slip'N'Slide, Frisbee, Super Balls, Hacky Sack... just to name a few.

Either I bought them because they were priced at "allowance" level, or I begged my parents until they relented. Much to their chagrin due to scraped elbows and knees, stained or melted carpet, furniture varnish ruined, or windows smashed. Oh well, childhood was not so "safe" then but I survived with a big grin!

Wonder layout, graphics, ads, photos, stories and anecdotes about the company's full history and the time line of the products: winners, losers and lethal categories.

For kids of ALL AGES... toys 'n'n stuff from the 60s, 70s, 80s and later!

More info and teasers about the book can be seen at the author's website here:

http://www.theplaymakers.com/WHAM-O/SUPERBOOK.html

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flashback Fun, January 25, 2009

By	A. Pinney "Film+Television" (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you ever owned a frisbee, super-elastic bubble plastic or a super-ball... this book's for you. A great nostalgic look back at all things Wham-O.
I gave this to my wife for Christmas and we spent and hour just reading, laughing and yelling "I had that"!