"Long before Disneyland or Disneyworld, there was San Francisco's Playland at the Beach, a magical and glamorous amusement park that is still revered by San Franciscans more than 40 years after it closed. A beloved part of old San Francisco, Playland incorporated rides, dining, sight-seeing, and socialization, and its pioneering rides and attractions inspired the designers of the amusement parks that followed. San Francisco historian James R. Smith completes his magisterial history of Playland in "San Francisco's Playland at the Beach: The Golden Years," the sequel to his stunning 2010 book "San Francisco's Playland at the Beach: The Early Years." Covering the years 1945 to 1972, "San Francisco's Playland at the Beach: The Golden Years" showcases both the height of Playland's postwar popularity and its decline, closure, and destruction during its final years. Illustrated by a huge collection of rare black-and-white and color photographs, "San Francisco's Playland at the Beach: The Golden Years" lets the reader experience the rides, attractions, restaurants, and behind-the-scenes operations of the great amusement park during its best-remembered period. Comprehensively documented and illustrated, "San Francisco's Playland at the Beach: The Golden Years" is the definitive and authoritative history of one of America's landmark amusement parks"--