
The Amusement Park
900 Years of Thrills and Spills, and the Dreamers and Schemers Who Built Them
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Narrated by:
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Allan Corduner
About this listen
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 AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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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)
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Story
In this searing exposé, former Wall Street insider Nomi Prins shows how the 2007-2008 financial crisis turbo-boosted the influence of central bankers and triggered a massive shift in the world order. Packed with tantalizing details about the elite players orchestrating the world economy, Collusion takes the listener inside the most discreet conversations at exclusive retreats like Jackson Hole and Davos. A work of meticulous reporting and bracing analysis, Collusion will change the way we understand the new world of international finance.
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Fair history survey, lazy characterizations
- By Philo on 05-09-18
By: Nomi Prins
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The Revenge of Analog
- Real Things and Why They Matter
- By: David Sax
- Narrated by: David Sax
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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One of Michiko Kakutani's (New York Times) top 10 books of 2016. A funny thing happened on the way to the digital utopia. We've begun to fall back in love with the very analog goods and ideas the tech gurus insisted that we no longer needed. Businesses that once looked outdated, from film photography to brick-and-mortar retail, are now springing with new life. Notebooks, records, and stationery have become cool again.
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Late to the party and heavily padded.
- By Phil Queeg on 12-25-16
By: David Sax
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Hit So Hard
- A Memoir
- By: Patty Schemel
- Narrated by: Patty Schemel
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Patty Schemel was a drummer at the epicenter of the Seattle grunge scene in the early '90s, best known for her work with the alternative rock band Hole. Hit So Hard begins with stories from a childhood informed by the AA meetings Schemel's parents hosted in the family living room. Their divorce triggered her rebellious adolescence and first forays into drinking at age 11, which coincided with her passion for punk rock and playing drums.
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The BEST Book I have ever read. Hands Down.
- By Crystal on 11-22-17
By: Patty Schemel
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The Number Ones
- Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music
- By: Tom Breihan
- Narrated by: Ray Stoney
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Beloved music critic Tom Breihan's fascinating narrative of the history of popular music through the lens of game-changing #1 singles from the Billboard Hot 100, The Numbers Ones features the greatest pop artists of all time, from the Brill Building songwriters to the Beatles and the Beach Boys; from Motown to Michael Jackson, Prince, and Mariah Carey; and from the digital revolution to the K-pop system. Breihan also ponders great artists who have never hit the top spot, like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and James Brown.
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Narrator very inept.
- By D. Cutter on 12-24-22
By: Tom Breihan
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We Need to Hang Out
- A Memoir of Making Friends
- By: Billy Baker
- Narrated by: Billy Baker
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In this “entertaining mix of social science, memoir, and humor, as if a Daniel Goleman book were filtered through the lens of Will Ferrell” (The New York Times Book Review) a middle-aged man embarks on an entertaining and relatable quest to reprioritize his ties with his buddies and forge new friendships, all while balancing work, marriage, and kids.
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Worth the listen.
- By Dr. DeezNutz on 12-16-22
By: Billy Baker
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Soul Full of Coal Dust
- A Fight for Breath and Justice in Appalachia
- By: Chris Hamby
- Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Decades ago, a grassroots uprising forced Congress to enact long-overdue legislation designed to virtually eradicate black lung disease and provide fair compensation to coal miners stricken with the illness. Today, however, both promises remain unfulfilled. Levels of disease have surged, the old scourge has taken an aggressive new form, and ailing miners and widows have been left behind by a dizzying legal system, denied even modest payments and medical care.
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A perfect blend of informational and interesting
- By Josh Boyle on 09-12-20
By: Chris Hamby
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Brother Robert
- Growing Up with Robert Johnson
- By: Annye C. Anderson, Preston Lauterbach, Elijah Wald
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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In Brother Robert, nonagenarian Annye C. Anderson sheds new light on a real-life figure largely obscured by his own legend: her kind and incredibly talented stepbrother, Robert Johnson. This book chronicles Johnson's unconventional path to stardom, from the harrowing story behind his illegitimate birth, to his first strum of the guitar on Anderson's father's knee, to the genre-defining recordings that would one day secure his legacy.
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the best part of the book is the new photo of RJ
- By Catalyst on 06-25-20
By: Annye C. Anderson, and others
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See You Again in Pyongyang
- By: Travis Jeppesen
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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From terrifying missile tests, its unmissable Olympic cheering squad, and the war of words between President Trump and Kim Jong Un - not to mention stranger-than-fiction stories of purges and assassinations - news from North Korea has dominated global headlines. But what is life there actually like? In See You Again in Pyongyang, Travis Jeppesen, the first American to complete a university program in North Korea, culls from his experiences living, traveling, and studying in the country to create a multifaceted portrait of the country and its idiosyncratic capital city.
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Save me from the hippie millennials with a PhD
- By Verified purchaser on 06-21-18
By: Travis Jeppesen
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The Truth About Animals
- Stoned Sloths, Lovelorn Hippos, and Other Tales from the Wild Side of Wildlife
- By: Lucy Cooke
- Narrated by: Lucy Cooke
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Mary Roach meets Sam Kean and Bill Bryson in this uproarious tour of the basest instincts and biggest mysteries of the animal world. In The Truth About Animals, Lucy Cooke takes us on a worldwide journey to meet everyone from a Colombian hippo castrator to a Chinese panda porn peddler, all to lay bare the secret - and often hilarious - habits of the animal kingdom. Charming and at times downright weird, this modern bestiary is perfect for anyone who has ever suspected that virtue might be unnatural.
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Great listen, highly recommend
- By Thomas on 06-26-18
By: Lucy Cooke
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The White King
- Charles I, Traitor, Murderer, Martyr
- By: Leanda de Lisle
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Less than 40 years after England's golden age under Elizabeth I, the country was at war with itself. Split between loyalty to the Crown or to Parliament, war raged on English soil. Its casualties were immense. At the head of the disintegrating kingdom was King Charles I. In this vivid portrait - informed by previously unseen manuscripts, including royal correspondence between the king and his queen - Leanda de Lisle depicts a man who was principled and brave but fatally blinkered.
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Enlightening Stuart history
- By Adeliese Baumann on 01-25-18
By: Leanda de Lisle
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Pale Rider
- The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World
- By: Laura Spinney
- Narrated by: Paul Hodgson
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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In this gripping narrative history, Laura Spinney traces the overlooked pandemic to reveal how the virus travelled across the globe, exposing mankind's vulnerability and putting our ingenuity to the test. As socially significant as both world wars, the Spanish flu dramatically disrupted - and often permanently altered - global politics, race relations, and family structures while spurring innovation in medicine, religion, and the arts.
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A Predilection for Those in the Prime of Life
- By Cynthia on 02-12-18
By: Laura Spinney
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Ungovernable
- The Victorian Parent's Guide to Raising Flawless Children
- By: Therese Oneill
- Narrated by: Dara Rosenberg, Betsy Foldes Meiman
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Feminist historian Therese Oneill is back, to educate you on what to expect when you're expecting...a Victorian baby! In Ungovernable, Oneill conducts an unforgettable tour through the backward, pseudoscientific, downright bizarre parenting fashions of the Victorians.
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Unexpected and Hilarious
- By M. Huber on 05-21-19
By: Therese Oneill
Thrills and spills and lots of amusement park information
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A thorough history of amusement.
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Excellent
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