For much of the 20th century Steel Pier in Atlantic City, NJ, was the center of American entertainment on the East Coast. There were big bands, movies, sideshows, acrobats, flag-pole sitters, Frank Sinatra, Miss America -- and throngs of people lining up to get a seat so they could watch brave horses and riders dive into a pool of water. It was aptly called the ''Showplace of the Nation'' and it was all that and more. This all-in-one entertainment mecca on the Boardwalk, novel in its day, has never been matched, not even at latter-day theme parks. Where else could you take the entire family for a day and see fortune-telling parakeets, the World of Tomorrow, John Philip Sousa and his band, a bear on a bicycle, World Famous Diving Horses, take a ride below the sea in the Diving Bell, spend the evening in the marine ballroom, and take in a movie -- all for one ticket? It was a colossal offering of escape, popular culture, fun and fantasy. It was a grand treat served up with gusto and cotton candy, a destination not to be missed -- an empire of grand-thinking impresarios, oddities and glamor that meshed into one cohesive and attainable summer destination. This large-format coffee-table book, published in full color, includes 227 historic photographs, illustrations, and advertising images. Steel Pier evokes a time when more really was more, a time when there was so much invention, talent and industry that it could only be experienced in one place -- at the edge of the continent, in a city that took its name from a vast ocean, on a great pier reaching out into the sea. (Benjamin Franklin Awards 2010 finalist: Regional Book, Cover Design, and Interior Design.) The Pier's glory days live again in 'Steel Pier, Atlantic City,' a big nostalgic history of the Pier. --The Philadelphia Inquirer Chronicling the Pier's history -- and more... in 263 picture-packed pages. --the Press of Atlantic City Celebrates Atlantic City's magical Steel Pier. --Courier Post An homage to Atlantic City's best-known entertainment mecca. --Baltimore Jewish Times Almost as much fun as a day on Steel Pier, and as close as you can get to it in the 21st century. --The SandPaper Covers the great entrepreneurs and showmen who made the Pier run through the vaudeville acts and stars of the '20s and '30s, the diving horse era, the big band era and the rock'n roll of the '50s and '60s. --Atlantic City Weekly An exhaustively researched and impressively illustrated history of what, for a large chunk of the 20th century, was celebrated far and wide as ''the showplace of America.'' --Philadelphia Daily News As I turned the pages of this book and saw so many, many people having the time of their lives, I began to care, not so much about a place that has come and gone, but about the kind of imaginative, entrepreneurial spirit that made Atlantic City the fun, fascinating place it was. Someone should read this book, and make history repeat itself. --The Philadelphia Inquirer THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE LIKE IT. For much of the 20th century it was the center of American entertainment on the East Coast. There were big bands, movies, sideshows, acrobats, flag-pole sitters, Frank Sinatra, Miss America­ and throngs of people lining up to get a seat so they could watch brave horses and riders dive into a pool of water. It was aptly called the Showplace of the Nation and it was all that and more. It was Steel Pier. This all-in-one entertainment mecca, novel in its day, has never been matched, not even at latter-day theme parks. Memories of the excitement and wonder of Steel Pier remain untarnished. Where else could you take the entire family for a day and see fortune-telling parakeets, the World of Tomorrow, John Philip Sousa and his band, a bear on a bicycle, World Famous Diving Horses, take a ride below the sea in the Diving Bell, spend the evening in the marine ballroom, and take in a movie all for one ticket? It was a colossal offering of escape, popular culture, fun and fantasy. There will be nothing like it again. Today, the novelty and innocence of the golden age of the Pier seems a world apart. Yet it was an institution a grand treat served up with gusto and cotton candy, a destination not to be missed and an empire of talent, grand-thinking impresarios, oddities and glamour that meshed into one cohesive and attainable summer destination. Even today, though Steel Pier still exists, people who had experienced the glory days whether during the big band era, rock and roll in the 60s, or the early days of the automobile still feel the need to share their memories of this unique, beloved venue. This structure of wood and steel became much more than the sum of its parts: Even fires and storms couldn t dim the memory of the grand, the great, the always-surprising Steel Pier The World s Playground. [back cover] Steel Pier evokes a time when more really was more, a time when there was so much invention, talent and industry in the country that it could o