Roller coaster books...

What are some good roller coaster books? I am looking primarily for books that explain history and the mechanics of these great inventions. Any ideas?

I forget who the author is, but I think the book "The American Roller Coaster" is pretty good. It takes you, chapter after chapter, through the history of coasters... through the good years, and the bad. There is a chapter or two devoted to "how things work" and "how things are built."

There are lots of pics of now defunct coasters.

Some of the more recent "scream machines" are not featured because of the date the book was written (1999 I think... even Hersheypark's Lightning Racer is only in the book as the "pre-construction" computer graphic).

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Kind of hard to take a post as objective if a park or coaster name is part of the "user name"

Scott Rutherford is the guy's name. I have seen that book myself. Although I find it to be very informative, I was just wondering if there are any books that get into some major depth about how they work. What would also be nice would be a book that gives history on some of the most famous amusement parks.

Thrillride by Robert Corker is a excellant book!!

I have 2 books."Roller Coasters-A Thrill Seeker's Guide to the Ultimate Scream Machine" by Robert Coker is good with a lot of good pics but I don't think it's what you're looking for. The other is "Roller Coaster" by David Bennett. It has quite a bit of history and pics of old coasters. It also has a section on how they work with formulas for g-forces and other things.It's probably more what you're looking for. It's published by Chartwell Books Inc. and came out in 98.

The best coaster book I have is Robert Coker's book. His ride reviews can't be matched. Scott Rutherford's book is really good and has some great sections on safety in it.

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I was asked to describe X in one word. The word? -- OhmygoshwhathaveIgottenmyselfintothisisthescariest
thingintheworldhelpmeIamgoingtodieAHHHH!!!

I've got Rollercoaster as well and it's a well written book which gives some good biographies on most of the top designers of the past and present,you can find some information on how coasters work from a phyiscs standpoint but not much else.

Another book to check out is White knuckle ride by Mark Wyatt,it gives some good detail into the history of coasters but not as great as in Rollercoaster,other recomended titles include rollercoaster lovers companion and rollercoasters of the US and Canada 2nd edition.

Robert Coker's book is excellent. Before I did my first big coaster trip at HersheyPark last June, I read this cover to cover to help get me interested and excited about something that I had previously dreaded. It worked like I charm, as I haven't looked back since. It does have some great pictures and reviews and I really liked the fact that it is pretty current through the beginning of this year.

Well, I have the three mentioned, Rutherford's, Bennett's, and Coker's, but only one was signed at SRM.....all good books....

Bennett's book is one of the best in my mind. It has some great pictures along with description about coasters and designers. Here is a link to his book on Barnes and Noble's website.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bookSearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=54BOR3WU3W&isbn=078580885X&pdf=Y

Here are three books along those lines. . .

THE FANTASTICAL ENGINEER: A Thrillseeker's Guide to Careers in Theme Park Engineering, Celeste Baine.

THE INCREDIBLE SCREAM MACHINE: A History Of The Roller Coaster, Dr. Robert Cartmell.

ROLLER COASTERS, FLUMES AND FLYING SAUCERS, Robert Reynolds.

And you might find something of value on this site.

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