Growing up on Coney Island in the '50s and '60s, Charles Denson experienced legendary amusements and attractions like the Cyclone and Thunderbolt roller coasters, the Parachute Jump, and Steeplechase Park. In CONEY ISLAND: LOST AND FOUND, Denson gives us an insider's look at one of New York's best-known neighborhoods, weaving together memories of his childhood adventures with colorful stories of the area's past and interviews with local personalities, all brought to life by hundreds of photographs, detailed maps, and authentic memorabilia. CONEY ISLAND is a heartfelt chronicle that stretches from colonial times to the island's heyday in the early 20th century and through its subsequent decline and revival, culminating in the 2001 opening of the new ballpark that brought baseball back to Brooklyn.

$29.95 + $5.00 S+H.

In its heyday, Coney Island was a neighborhood of close-knit immigrant communities. German, Italian, Greek, Jewish, and Irish families came seeking a better life in the burgeoning amusement industry. Sicilian-born Joseph Bonsignore made his way to Coney in the 1920s. He saw that ambitious individual entrepreneurs owned the lucrative rides and bathhouses that drew tens of thousands of visitors. Starting small, Joe opened a penny arcade, then, one by one, acquired some of Coney's renowned landmarks - the Bobsled, Tornado, and L. A. Thompson roller coasters, and Stauch's Baths.

For his Coney Island businesses to succeed, Joe had to rely on his son, John, who put his loyalty to his family ahead of his own aspirations. Father and son worked alongside each other for four decades, sharing a dedication to their endeavors while enduring professional challenges and personal conflicts. Award-winning author Charles Denson tells the Bonsignore family story against the backdrop of exciting and turbulent times in Coney Island, "America's Playground."

Hardcover, 220 pages, 100 photographs and illustrations. $24.95 + $5.00 S+H.

This fold-out map by the author of Coney Island: Lost and Found was published in 1998. Coney Island has undergone many changes since then, and this guide serves as an important record of the neighborhood at the close of the last century. The lavishly illustrated map offers an easy-to-follow self-guided tour of historical and present-day attractions and makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in New York City history. Descriptions of over 40 landmarks are accompanied by 35 color photographs and historical images. Two maps, in full color, pinpoint all of the locations.

Printed on heavy stock with a varnished coating, the map-fold guide opens to 11 by 17 inches. When folded, it fits into a 4-by-9-inch archival plastic sleeve. $7.95 + $1.00 S+H