The Amusement Park

900 Years of Thrills and Spills, and the Dreamers and Schemers Who Built Them

By: Stephen M. Silverman

Narrated by: Allan Corduner

Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Experience the electrifying, never-before-told true story of amusement parks, from the middle ages to present day, and meet the colorful (and sometimes criminal) characters who are responsible for their enchanting charms.

Step right up! The Amusement Park is a rich, anecdotal history that begins nine centuries ago with the "pleasure gardens" of Europe and England and ends with the most elaborate modern parks in the world. It's a history told largely through the stories of the colorful, sometimes hedonistic characters who built them, including:

• Showmen like Joseph and Nicholas Schenck and Marcus Loew
• Railroad barons Andrew Mellon and Henry E. Huntington
• The men who ultimately destroyed the parks, including Robert Moses and Fred Trump
• Gifted artisans and craft-people who brought the parks to life
• An amazing cast of supporting players, from Al Capone to Annie Oakley

And, of course, this is a full-throttle celebration of the rides, those marvels of engineering and heart-stopping thrills from an author, Stephen Silverman, whose lifelong passion for his subject shines through. The parks and fairs featured include the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, Coney Island, Steeplechase Park, Dreamland, Euclid Beach Park, Cedar Point, Palisades Park, Ferrari World, Dollywood, Sea World, Six Flags Great Adventure, Universal Studios, Disney World and Disneyland, and many more.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Stephen M. Silverman (P)2021 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"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)

"Spectacular...deeply researched and widely enjoyable." (Chicago Tribune)

"[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)

Thrills and spills and lots of amusement park information

Written with wit and charm, this book contains everything you would like to know about the history of amusement parks. Chock-full of information, photographs, and side texts, Silverman not only discusses the parks but also the people behind them. Reading It was a great ride.

A thorough history of amusement.

A historical account of the amusement industry through the ages is what The Amusement Park is about. When I read it again, I will put all the reoccurring timelines out on a spreadsheet to see how densely some times are filled with change. As the saying goes, everything changes all at once.

Excellent

Fascinating and fun information about amusement parks. I highly recommend this book! It's a classic.