This is a coffee-table type book, but it is actually a whole lot more. Coaster enthusiasts should have this book for the great information as well as the amazing pictures. I cannot say enough about the photographs in this book. Each one made me want to drive to wherever that coaster is and ride it. I could be planning road trips well into the next century.
There is so much more to this book than just pictures. Roller Coaster provides a tremendous amount of information not just about contemporary coasters, but it goes back through the history of the ride. It is believed they originated with ice slides in Russia as early as the 17th century. However, no one is certain exactly what spawned the enthusiasm for this ride. There were also wooden toboggan rides in Paris in the 18th century, as well as a gravity railroad in Pennsylvania in the 19th century.
The first chapter touches on this origins debate. It contains a wide variety of sketches and drawings depicting these early coasters. I found that they aided greatly in imagining what these early "rides" were like.
I found the depictions of the gravity railroad (used for hauling coal down from the mountain) to be very interesting as well. Could you imagine covering 18 miles of countryside after just a nudge to get started? The coal cars were hauled up the mountain first by mules and later on by steam engines, then controlled by a brakeman for 18 miles where they were offloaded.
As they move into the latter half of the 19th century, photographs begin to come into play rather than drawings. The photographs of the early switchbacks are interesting, as well as the paintings and sketches from early advertisements or postcards. Looping coasters were in amusement parks as early as 1908!
There is a lot of information about the development of Coney Island and its various amusement parks. This was part of the growth of amusement parks now that they were accessible to city-dwellers due to the trolley bus. All of the early photographs appear to have been perfectly restores and are absolutely incredible to see the contrast from almost 100 years ago.
Chapter two talks about the roller coaster designers. In modern times, enthusiasts are used to hearing names like B & M, Vekoma, Schwarzkopf, Arrow Dynamics, and The Philadelphia Toboggan Company. They owe their heritage to men like John Miller, Frederick Church, Harry G. Traver, and Herbert P. Schmeck There are design specs of roller coasters in this chapter. Some of the coasters from this era still exist today. Most notably is the Cyclone at Coney Island, and Thunderboltat Kennywood Park which was originally called The Pippin.
So much is made of safety concerns today, but fatalities were common on the coasters of years ago. Sometimes this drew more people to them - go figure.
The second golden age of roller coasters has come around thanks to Walt Disney, according to the book. It credits him with being the savior of the amusement park industry. The book then takes us into modern times and the modern design of coasters; wood, steel, inverted, suspended, and hyper coasters are all talked about and shown with the same incredible photographs. Each one makes me want to ride that coaster!
I also liked seeing the photographs of some of the coasters from overseas. Since the chance of my getting to ride all of them is slim to none, I enjoy flipping through the book trying to imagine what it would be like to ride on these.
Chapter three talks about how a roller coaster works. This is a great chapter for people who can't bring themselves to ride coasters for fear of it flying off the track. There are drawings and specs showing the various safety devices, as well as the physics of coasters. It even talks about where to sit on the ride; the various pros and cons of both the front and back of a roller coaster train.
The difference of wood and steel coasters is also discussed in this chapter, as well as the different terms used to describe the type of coaster. Out and back, twister, and racer are terms usually applied to wooden coasters while corkscrew, vertical looping, shuttle looping, boomerang shuttle looping, suspended, stand up, hyper, mine train, and wild mouse are all varieties of steel coasters.
Chapter four goes into the greatest rides of today. Since this book was published in 1998, it is a bit dated since so many new coasters have been added at amusement parks since then. However, all of the coasters which are talked about are accompanied by the same incredible pictures which entice the reader/enthusiast. (We prefer not to be called "Coaster nuts" or "Coaster Freaks", thank you!)
In particular, as I look at the photographs of a coaster called Nemesis at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England, I know I have to go there someday. Quite a few of the coasters here I have already ridden. There is a certain beauty to these structures which this book manages to capture. Many of them seem to be works of art - especially the wooden structures.
Chapter five talks about the amusement park industry. In it the author takes a look at a typical day in the life of three parks: Kennywood in West Mifflin, PA, Blackpool Pleasure Beach in England, and Alton Towers in England. This part does not deal specifically with coasters, but with the actual park operation. The author then turns to other prominent amusement parks: the Six Flags Theme Parks, Cedar Point, Buffalo Bill's Resort Casino, Elitch Gardens, King's Island, and Disney Theme Parks. He also devotes some discussion to theme parks in japan and the far East.
Finally, we are given some statistics on theme parks showing attendance figures for parks in the U.S. and the world from 1989 and 1995.
One of the last items in the book is a listing of roller coasters by state, followed by country. There is a key to ride symbols, so the reader is given a general overview of each coaster listed. This is followed by a compilation of roller coaster records as of 1998, a page-long dateline of the roller coaster, and the picture credits. A bibliography including picture credits, source material and useful reading precedes the index.
If you like roller coasters and want a book with great photographs as well as a veritable treasure-trove of information, this book is for you!
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