I love this Amazon review so much:
A FUN AND MOVING TRIP BACK IN TIME....a true hollywood dream
ByWebstercaton May 2, 2017
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
It’s actually difficult for me to write a review for this book, I felt such a personal connection to it. Thrill Ride is Bruce Kimmel’s latest book, and his first foray in the world of fantasy. It has been a long time since I have read a book that engaged me so quickly and completely. I literally found myself both laughing at crying as the insights and observations. The protagonist reminds me a bit of Steve Allen, talking, observing and finding humor in everything he sees. Kimmel has ventured into the territory of Ray Bradbury and Jack Finney, two of my favorite authors, both of whom excelled at writing about time-travel, and created a worthwhile addition to that genre. It’s particularly reminiscent of Time and Again, and Death is a Lonely Business, two wonderful books that I also recommend.
It’s the story of a designer at W.E.D. The year is 1957 and Walt Disney has created a team to design and plan his greatest creation, Disneyland. Our hero is asked by Walt to create compelling concepts for a proposed time-travel ride to be installed in Tomorrowland. Passionate about research, he takes the extra step of actually traveling into the future to come up with workable ideas. While observing the quirks of 2017, he meets a mysterious woman who guides him in his journey of discovery. I’m wary of giving too much away by saying more about the plot.
The writing is clear and straightforward, the characters honest and real, and for those readers too young to remember, the world (and Los Angeles in particular) actually used to be nicer, and the tears that I experienced while reading this were tears of recognition of that truth. Bruce’s personal knowledge of Los Angeles history, and his ability to describe exactly what things were like made me feel like I myself had travelled through time and visited 1957. I felt like strolling down the block to have lunch at Tiny Naylor’s after listening to some records down at Music City. This book is a love-letter to the Los Angeles that was (forget about Lala Land---this is the real thing!). I am so grateful that the Los Angeles that I love has been revived in this wonderful book, and I daresay that nobody could do it as well as Bruce Kimmel.
Must we always be looking at our phones, racking up points on credit cards and putting others down? Must we knock-down buildings (and whole blocks) that don’t have room for a Starbucks? Must we toss out the wonders of the past and press grimly forward, pushing aside anyone or anything that causes us to pause? This books tells us we CAN slow down and take a moment to appreciate our friends over a cup of coffee, the history of our homes, and the good things that remain.
Please read this book and join me in a journey to another time. I particularly recommend it for young folks who increasingly encouraged to think only of ME and NOW. There is a whole world of discovery that is worth experiencing…in our past.
Sorry about the rambling nature of this review, but, as I said, my connection with the book was so personal it was difficult to step back.
