This book presents the rich history of the old amusement parks and beach resorts frequented by Baltimoreans beginning in the 1870s and stretching into the late 20th century. Readers may recognize such popular amusement parks as Gwynn Oak; Carlinrsquo;s; and Tolchester Beach; and will learn about some of the more obscure places like Frederick Road Park and Hollywood Park. Each of the major parks is documented here; complete with a detailed history of the sites they were built on; the creative owners behind the parksrsquo; inceptions; the individuals and companies who provided the rides and attractions; and; the people that happily traveled by boat; streetcar; train and automobile to reach their favorite park or resort.
#2230672 in eBooks 2013-02-04 2013-02-04File Name: B00NEU0PQM
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Mostly funny but some tediumBy Eric BehrleThis is strictly for fans of Jon Glaser. Unless youre a fan of all the bands he includes in the book; you probably wont appreciate or even recognize his dry; subtle humor. In other words; this book has the potential to be boring and tedious. After a solid opening with his dead-dad-in-ZZ Top bit; which was a segment in one of his stand-up routines years back; the book falls into a lull with the song lyrics. Some of the lyrics were indeed hilarious -- for example; Bob Dylan changing "Highway 61" into an advertisement for a sub sandwich shop -- but the rest of this section takes effort to get through.The book picks up after the song lyrics; though; and most of the supposedly true behind-the-scenes stories about the rock stars are entertaining. Without even knowing the bands very well; I laughed out loud at the stories about the Keith Richards-Mick Jagger name change; The White Stripes; The Sea and Cake; The Butthole Surfers; and most of the others. Even when I didnt laugh out loud; I was interested enough in reading the last half of the book just to see what scenarios Glaser would concoct.Still; I know that part of my motivation to read the book and to plow through the slow; unfunny parts was that I already liked Jon Glasers comedy before I bought the book. I dont think My Dead Dad was in ZZ Top can earn Glaser any new fans.Regardless of comedic value; one feature about the book continually frustrated me: the length and the glossy pages. The cost of the book couldve been much lower if he had placed 2-3 of the "document" facsimiles and section openers on a single page instead of devoting 1 whole page to each one. Some of the facsimiles are very short and really belong on one of the previous pages. Most sections are very short; too; and yet for each section; the book includes a blank side of a page and then a whole page devoted to the heading and a 1-2 sentence introduction. This 168-page volume only contains around 40 pages of actual text! And the glossy pages were just completely unnecessary.I hate to say this about Jon Glaser; but I wonder if he purposely padded the book with more pages and included unnecessary features in order to jack up the cost per unit. I wouldve preferred more content in fewer pages.But; hey; not many books are actually laugh worthy; and if you like Jon Glaser; youll definitely laugh at some of the content in this book. I do see myself rereading sections of My Dead Dad several times; and Im glad I could support him as a comedian. If he writes another book; Ill buy that; too.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Quick readBy MikeI finished this book in 2 fairly short sittings. Im a huge fan of Jon Glasers work in TV but this book just didnt quite do it for me. I found myself racing through it just to finish it.Some of the documents were amusing but overall the book was a pretty tedious read.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Hilarious!!By Brett RThis book is so funny in a sarcastic-type of way. Its really only good for people who know a lot about music; but if you do; its really awesome and really funny.If you like this you might also want to try Adult Swims "Delocated."
