{"product_id":"thrill-ride-the-transformation-of-hersheypark-paperback","title":"Thrill Ride: The Transformation of Hersheypark - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJohn R. Haddad\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore than an amusement park linked to a chocolate empire, Hershey Park in its early years was an extension of industrialist Milton Hershey's paternalistic capitalism. Hershey sought to avoid the labor strife seen in other industries by giving his workers a better deal. He provided employees with affordable homes, free schools, utility subsidies, and municipal services as well as amenities including a theater, library, and amusement park. In exchange, he expected hard work, loyalty, and no strikes. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEventually the Hershey Company faced intense market pressure from its competitor Mars and discontinued the services and amenities the community had come to expect. By the 1960s, the park had become so run-down that Hershey officials decided it needed a redesign, and they refashioned it into a Disney-style theme park. What had been an old-fashioned, pay-as-you-go amusement park for chocolate workers, their families, and the community would become a major mid-Atlantic attraction. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHaddad's engaging and accessible social history explores how this remodel of the park strategically used symbols of the past and future to help the Hershey community cope with change. The new park guided patrons from depictions of the Old World through subsequent eras, culminating in a space exemplifying modernity, with colossal steel structures and sophisticated thrill rides.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on deep archival work and personal interviews, Haddad charts how memory and feelings are tied to locations and how people respond when change threatens those locations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eJohn R. Haddad \u003c\/strong\u003eis Professor of American Studies and Popular Culture at Penn State Harrisburg. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eAmerica's First Adventure in China: Trade, Treaties, Opium, and Salvation\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCultures Colliding: American Missionaries, Chinese Resistance, and the Rise of Modern Institutions in China\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 288\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.9 x 8.6 x 5.8 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 28, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52048663281965,"sku":"9780271099927","price":28.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/thrill-ride-the-transformation-of-hersheypark-paperback-2519681.webp?v=1780169645","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/thrill-ride-the-transformation-of-hersheypark-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}