Fairground Machines: Machines of Today and Tomorrow 
by Christine Hahn
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ISBN Number: 0853407258
Format:
Hardback
Number of Pages:
32
Publication Date:
1979
Publisher:
Wayland Publishers Limited

Here we have all the fun of the fair in lovely coloured photographs showing some of the exciting rides and amusements that can be found in fairgrounds all over the world. There are the giant Big Wheels, the Merry-go-Round, Big Dipper, swings, water chutes, cable rides and all sorts of other thrilling fairground machines for you to read about.

Review
Initially released in the USA as 'Amusement Park Machines' this book was released in the UK in 1979 by Wayland Publishers and renamed 'Fairground Machines'. Of course, the US name was actually more accurate as this is a book about amusement park rides: roller coasters and log flumes, and all are clearly set in American amusement parks.

The book is full of wonderful colour photographs. The text is clearly aimed at younger readers, but actually says little or nothing about the rides. And what it does say is often highly inaccurate. For example, a picture of a Sky Wheels ride has the caption: "This machine is called a Big Wheel. It has seats which hang from the rim of the wheel. The wheel carries you right up over the fairground." A meteorite/round-up ride has a caption that inaccurately states: "This machine spins around at great speed. Your  back is pushed against the outside screen. Then the floor drops away. But you don't fall down, because you are spinning so fast". Of course, the floor does not drop away; instead the ride rises into the air on an arm. It also suggests later on that the Corkscrew roller coaster train stays on the track only because of the forces pressing it down into the track; the author presumably was not aware of under track wheels! Log flume rides are described as 'water chutes' and cable cars move along the rope, rather than being pulled by it! The fun of this book is really spotting all the mistakes - there are more! Just don't use it as an educational book.

Condition: Very Good. (Click on image above for close-up of front cover).
 

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