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NuSpark Publishing
The Story of the Roller Coaster: The History, Science, & Thrill of the Ultimate Ride
The Story of the Roller Coaster: The History, Science, & Thrill of the Ultimate Ride
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$12.99 USD
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$12.99 USD
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What if the roller coaster is one of the most ingenious machines ever built—not because it takes you somewhere, but because it makes you feel everything along the way?
The Story of the Roller Coaster: The History, Science, & Thrill of the Ultimate Ride takes readers far beyond the first drop to uncover how a simple gravity-powered idea evolved into one of the world's most exciting forms of entertainment.
Travel through the rise of early gravity rides, the birth of purpose-built amusement coasters, the golden age of wooden construction, the transformation of parks, and the arrival of steel track that changed what designers could build. Discover how loops returned, how coaster technology spread around the world, and how generations of designers kept pushing the ride in new directions.
Then climb into the science behind the scream.
Why does a taller hill usually mean more speed? What actually creates airtime? Why do modern loops look more like teardrops than perfect circles? Why are high-speed turns banked? What does "G-force" really mean—and why can a coaster make you feel nearly weightless even though gravity never switches off?
The answers reveal a ride built from energy, acceleration, geometry, materials, precision engineering, and an extraordinary understanding of the human body.
But roller coasters are not only machines.
They are also about anticipation: the lift hill clicking beneath you, the track disappearing over the crest, the nervous laughter in the queue, and the few seconds when you know exactly what is coming but cannot do anything about it. Explore the many families of coasters, from wood and steel to inverted, wing, flying, launched, spinning, and hybrid designs. See how scenery, darkness, music, storytelling, and even the people riding beside you can transform a few minutes of motion into a memory that lasts for years.
Along the way, you'll discover how coasters are designed, built, tested, and operated; how fans track records and favorite rides; and what the roller coaster of tomorrow might look—and feel—like.
Richly illustrated with realistic historical reconstructions, engineering visuals, and immersive ride imagery, this book is designed for curious adults, families, teens, educators, coaster fans, and anyone who has ever looked up at a towering first drop and wondered:
How does that actually work?
Understanding the machine does not spoil the magic. It makes the next ride even more remarkable.
The Story of the Roller Coaster is part of Learn...Wow!, the illustrated nonfiction series from NuSpark Publishing that uncovers the surprising history, science, engineering, culture, and human stories hidden inside familiar things.
Because the best learning does more than give you facts.
It makes you say:
"Wow—I didn't know that."
Visit nusparkpublishing.com for more books, new releases, and updates from NuSpark Publishing.
The Story of the Roller Coaster: The History, Science, & Thrill of the Ultimate Ride takes readers far beyond the first drop to uncover how a simple gravity-powered idea evolved into one of the world's most exciting forms of entertainment.
Travel through the rise of early gravity rides, the birth of purpose-built amusement coasters, the golden age of wooden construction, the transformation of parks, and the arrival of steel track that changed what designers could build. Discover how loops returned, how coaster technology spread around the world, and how generations of designers kept pushing the ride in new directions.
Then climb into the science behind the scream.
Why does a taller hill usually mean more speed? What actually creates airtime? Why do modern loops look more like teardrops than perfect circles? Why are high-speed turns banked? What does "G-force" really mean—and why can a coaster make you feel nearly weightless even though gravity never switches off?
The answers reveal a ride built from energy, acceleration, geometry, materials, precision engineering, and an extraordinary understanding of the human body.
But roller coasters are not only machines.
They are also about anticipation: the lift hill clicking beneath you, the track disappearing over the crest, the nervous laughter in the queue, and the few seconds when you know exactly what is coming but cannot do anything about it. Explore the many families of coasters, from wood and steel to inverted, wing, flying, launched, spinning, and hybrid designs. See how scenery, darkness, music, storytelling, and even the people riding beside you can transform a few minutes of motion into a memory that lasts for years.
Along the way, you'll discover how coasters are designed, built, tested, and operated; how fans track records and favorite rides; and what the roller coaster of tomorrow might look—and feel—like.
Richly illustrated with realistic historical reconstructions, engineering visuals, and immersive ride imagery, this book is designed for curious adults, families, teens, educators, coaster fans, and anyone who has ever looked up at a towering first drop and wondered:
How does that actually work?
Understanding the machine does not spoil the magic. It makes the next ride even more remarkable.
The Story of the Roller Coaster is part of Learn...Wow!, the illustrated nonfiction series from NuSpark Publishing that uncovers the surprising history, science, engineering, culture, and human stories hidden inside familiar things.
Because the best learning does more than give you facts.
It makes you say:
"Wow—I didn't know that."
Visit nusparkpublishing.com for more books, new releases, and updates from NuSpark Publishing.
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