The Amusement Park

[The Amusement Park] is stunningly writ-ten while being both entertaining and vastly informative.... A must for any-one with interest in the business of fun. --Tim Baldwin, Amusement Today [The Amusement Park is] rich with anecdotes that complement its easy-to-read style; truly this book is suggested for those who have a strong interest in the subject as well as for those interested in American recreational culture of the 19th and 20th centuries... This ambitious project could possibly be considered the definitive work on the history of what is considered today the Amusement Park.--Boston City Paper A vivid -- often ardent -- history... A legitimate way to study American cultural and social history... Even in this digital age, it seems, there's a craving for communal diversion, and for gathering agog crowds before a shared spectacle.--Wall Street Journal Compelling.--New York Post Spectacular...lavishly illustrated, deeply researched and widely enjoyable.--Chicago Tribune Starting with the Middle Ages, Silverman traces the path from European 'pleasure gardens' to Universal Studios, profiling the colorful characters who created amusement parks and the rides that drew customers.--Publishers Weekly, Spring Announcements feature The most fascinating part of the book is the schemers and dreamers who made [the parks] all become reality all the way back to the Venice ferris wheel, to P.T. Barnum, Walt Disney and to the latest from Universal Studios, Disney and Six Flags... It's a perfect summer book.--Provokr