The Roller Coaster Lover's Companion: A Thrill Seeker's Guide to the World's Best Coasters

Rating:
Summary: A should have, not a must have
Review: To put it best, Urbanowicz did something very convinient for us all -- he put most of the coasters in the United States and the rest of the World in this lovely little book. However, in the age of the internet, specifically, with the Roller Coaster Database available (rcdb.com), this book really needs to have more than just a listing of coasters.

To me, the book is good for trip planning, and that's all. The section entitled "Best Roller Coaster Trips" is very good, but nothing that an enthusiast, with a brain capacity equaling that of a horse, couldn't figure out. Having the tips and hotel info is a nice plus, but other than that, nothing that can't be done alone.

The listing of the coasters, to me, is somewhat pointless, especially with the aforementioned web sources available. This section also provides ratings for the coasters, which to me is fine, but I tend to disagree with quite a few of them, so it affects my experience. One last thing to note here is that he claims to have every operating wooden coaster on the planet. I know of at least two that, at time of printing, were not included.

The top 10 and top 5 lists are ok, though again, I disagree with quite a few of them. The section on history and manufacturers are also both nice, but nothing far fetched from what you would read in any other recent book.

Overall, I would say that this book is good for two kinds of people: Those who want to know the opinions of Steven J. Urbanowicz, and those who have no access to the internet.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful rollercoaster reference book
Review: While this book is a good read, its strength lies as a reference material - rating coasters the world over. One of the best sections is a Coaster Tour Guide which suggests places to take rollercoster vacations. Inspired by this book I did the Eighteen Flags Over Texas Tour and was able to ride 20 coasters in just three days!