Both of these books are published under the University of Wisconsin Press' Popular Press imprint. In 1984, America celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of the first successful roller coaster device - La Marcus A. Thompson's switchback railway - erected at Coney Island. Although more than a century has gone by, the literature of the amusement park and its history is still in its infancy. Robert Cartmell examines every phase of roller coaster history, from the use of the roller coaster by Albert Einstein to demonstrate his theory of physics, to John Allen's use of psychology in designing one.

Many books have been written about the history, secrets, and design of Disneyland, but this guide looks at the California landmark from a different angle. It explores the little known ghost stories and strange folklore surrounding this famous tourist destination, and offers new insights into this beloved theme park.

Norman Anderson has written a gripping story of one of the engineering marvels of both the nineteenth and the twentieth century, the ferris wheel. The idea of this contraption may be as old as the water wheel, and written descriptions and drawings of pleasure wheels go back at least four centuries. There have been dozens of experiments with design and construction--early portable wheels by Strobel, the Condermans, Sullivan and others; one-of-a-kind wheels like Schnitzler's Asbury Park wheel with a tower and Stubb's water-turned wheel at Electric Park in Waterloo, Iowa; giant wheels in London, Blackpool, Vienna, Paris and recently in Japan.