Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 688
EAN num: 9781586635893
ISBN number: 1586635891
Label: Friedman
Manufacturer: Friedman
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 160
Printing Date: May 01, 2002
Publishing house: Friedman
Sale Popularity Level: 892125
Studio: Friedman
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
“With its lavish colour pictures...[this book] should elicit nostalgic smiles from anyone who grew up with the company’s electric toy trains....the text...chronicles the company’s history and its place in an era of optimistic technological progress...Bill Milne’s sharp photography reveals why these toys found legions of devoted fans. ...Exquisite illustrated gift book.”—Publishing houses Weekly
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
This book is for everyone who always wanted a Lionel set, and never got one. The photographs accurately capture the marketing appeal of the sets and take you back to when you were eight years old and a Lionel train set was what you wanted for Christmas. The book commemorates 100 years of Lionel trains.
For those who know Lionel as a company and as a product well, this volume will probably prove to be disappointing. It is an "overview of the company's development and the way its products reflect the eras in which they were produced." Now, there's nothing wrong with that, but those who know Lionel well already have that perspective. So if you are an expert, I suggest that you avoid this book.
The strength of of this book lies in the photographs by Bill Milne. He has done a fine job of capturing the child's eye view of the cars and accessories. You can almost feel the rug pressing against your cheek as you remember lying sideways to get a closer look at ground level of someone else's new set.
Many of the pieces I had not seen before, especially from the 70s and on. If I had a place to put a set, I'd almost be tempted to make a belated start.
I was pretty familiar with Lionel over the last 50 years, so it was the early years that added to my knowledge. The founder, Joshua Lionel Cohen (later changed to Cowen), was interesting to me. He had a good technical background for toy trains, having been educated at Cooper Union and partially completing degree work in engineering at Columbia. His very first job was for Acme Electric Light Company, which made many small electric appliances. He developed a way to ignite magnesium more evenly, and used that to found his own company to make fuses for the military. This led to a light for illuminating plants, a fan, and finally a battery-powered train. The rest is history.
The text comes across like something out of a fan magazine more than as a legitimate history. As an "authorized" version, undoubtedly the people at Lionel had some influence. I graded the book down one star for lack of insight into what all of this history means.
Think about how toys create aspirations and lives. What toys created what aspirations in you? Did an erector set cause you to take engineering courses? Did a microscope help establish a career in biology? If you had a toy train, how did that influence you?
What gifts should you give your children and grandchildren this holiday season to make for the best aspirations in their lives for the years ahead?
Rated by buyers 
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This "licensed" Lionel book has been corporately washed and shoved out the door. The photography is stylish, but hardly informative. Lionel buffs want the real story of Lionel's rise and fall, rise and fall with real people behind the pictures. For a Lionel fan, this book is a big disappointment. A better book just came out entitled "Lionel: America's Favorite Toy Trains" by MBI Publishing houses. It is everything this book isn't - and cheaper.
Rated by buyers 
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This is the best book I have ever read about Lionel trains. It is complete with pictures, history, and popularity. This is a must for all train collectors young and old. I'm a model train expert and I learned some things I didn't even know from this book! My hat is off to this auther because he did such a wonderul job.
Rated by buyers -
I thought that this is an excellent book about the standard train company of the world called Lionel. I thought the book gave a good prospective of the company, but unbenonst to all, Lionel is not quality. If you want high quality railroading, you should look at a company called Mike's Train House and I think they should make a book about them. Overall, I would like to say, Happy 100th Birthday Lionel!
Rated by buyers -
The Lionel toy company celebrates its one hundredth year of supply the children (and adults!) of the country with toy trains, settings and accessories. Lionel trains are famous world-wide and the favored collectibles of legions of fans and collectors of all ages. In Lionel: A Century Of Classic Toy Trains, ardent and knowledgeable collector Dan Ponzol provides a wealth of detailed information on specific sets, rare models, a history of the company, wonderfully illustrated throughout with reproduced images from legendary catalogs and Lionel train ads, as well as representative models from his own expansive collection. This coffee table showcase book is a "must" for all true Lionel train fans.
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