The Amusement Park
900 years of thrills, chills and spills
Stephen M. Silverman has delivered the answer to all the mysteries and histories of the Amusement Park you have ever wondered about as the Cyclone took the next curve. In his new book, The Amusement Park: 900 Years of Thrills and Spills and the Dreamers and Schemers who Built Them, we are taken through a startling history of humankind’s desire to go faster and higher and realize people have come to be part of a communal fantasy built of side shows, crazy rides and cotton candy and other stomach turning treats for years.
When PROVOKR asked why Amusement Parks, Stephen M. Silverman responded, “After I’d finished my history of the Catskills, my publisher asked what I wanted to do next. ‘The Adirondacks,’ she wondered. The whole thing made me laugh, because I was never a nature boy. So, she asked, what do you like? And without hesitation, I replied, ‘Disneyland.’ Of course, hundreds of books have been written about that place and its offshoots, but there was no one cohesive story about the full range of amusement parks, starting with their very beginnings — and their beginnings, who developed them, and how did they evolve were all a great mystery to me. Well, who doesn’t love a mystery? So I decided to dig in. I also knew I’d have a wonderful opportunity to travel to some spectacular destinations, which I did: Asia, Oceania, the Emirates, the Continent, and Cleveland (for Cedar Point).”
The most fascinating part of the book is the schemers and dreamers who made them all become reality all the way back to the Vienna ferris wheel, to P.T. Barnum, Walt Disney and to the latest from Universal Studios, Disney and Six Flags. It is amazing we did not know more history than the local amusement park and the roller coaster and ferris wheel and the once in a lifetime trip to Disneyland.
We asked Stephen M. Silverman if he was a thrill seeker and he said, “As a kid, I wasn’t drawn to amusement parks so much for their thrills as I was for the entire immersive experience. I lived in a perfectly nice home in Southern California, but Disneyland was so much better. You almost felt like you had to dress up to go there. Everything was bright, shiny, new, and different. It also taught me a lesson I’ve carried with me to this day: Reality is a bore. Leap into the fantasy.”
There are amazing rare illustrations and photographs to accompany your ride through the crazy fact filled and thrilling read of The Amusement Park: 900 Years of Thrills and Spills and the Dreamers and Schemers who Built Them.
It’s a perfect summer book for all of us and you will be suddenly struck with the experiences of your own time at Amusement Parks either making out at the top of the ferris wheel, sunburns, being scared witless or avoiding your best friend’s throw-up as you exited Hell’s Hole with your head spinning.
