The Amusement Park

"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 "Compelling."--New York Post "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 "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 "Spectacular...lavishly illustrated, 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 "[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

Stephen M. Silverman is a twenty-year veteran of Time Inc. and was the founding editor of People.com. He is the author of The Catskills: It's History and How It Changed America among many others. His work has appeared in Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, The New York Times, The Times (London), Vogue, and The Washington Post. He lives in New York City.