Product Description

Do you remember tearing down the stairs at five in the morning, in wide-eyed anticipation of the mountain of wrapped boxes under a Woolies' fireproof silver tinsel tree? Do you remember the sense of disappointment when what you'd asked for wasn't among them? Or -- worse -- when you found a cheap, knock-off version of a toy you really wanted? Lavishly illustrated and with over 300 colour photographs, TV Cream Toys celebrates the presents that we hoped, wished and prayed would turn up in the Christmas stockings of yesteryear. From Big Trak to Buckaroo!, Mastermind to Merlin, Sorry! to Strawberry Shortcake, each peerless plaything from the '60s through to the '90s is examined and catalogued (in the Argos, rather than the scientific, sense). Culled from award-winning retro website TV Cream, this book lists a wealth of fondly remembered toys, games, and novelties, and unearths quite a few of the oft-forgotten classics that, even to this day, remain treasured in the hearts of our inner children. LET THE BLIZZARD OF MR MEN WRAPPING PAPER COMMENCE!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65320 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

Review
'Hilarious and heart-warming!' Richard Herring 'Brilliant, life-affirming and very, very funny!' Ally Ross, The Sun 'Amazing! took me back to a forlorn, inner longing!' Harry Hill 'Stirred up all kinds of nostalgic memories!' Al Murray 'I only wish he'd called it F*** You, Father Christmas!' Charlie Brooker, The Guardian

About the Author
Steve Berry is a writer and one of the founders of tv.cream.org - the UK's foremost nostalgia website.

Customer Reviews

Amazing
This is one of those great books you find yourself flicking through, stopping every few pages to loudly exclaim "I had one of those!" to the annoyance of all around you. Big Trak, Star Bird, Crossfire, Action Man, Sindy, Cascade - they're all here. Clearly a labour of love, Steve Berry has worked wonders on this wonderful book, and the humorous text is a joy to read. Even my girlfriend loved it, frequently snatching it off me to do the same flick, point, shriek "I always wanted one of those!" thing I'd been annoying her with for the last hour or so. A cracker of a book.

'A Great Fun Conversation Starter'
If you are aged between 30 and 45 and would like to revisit your childhood for a moment or two you will love this book. Full of colour, the text in this book is both light hearted, cheeky and informative (there's even a rough guide to each items Ebay value!). It's an ideal 'coffee table' book and is packed with photographs and information about of so many of the popular toys and games from yesteryear (and my youth!). For example, do you remember 'Haunted House' game (the one where you put the skull down the chinmey)? Or 'Battling Tops' (Wind 'em up and let 'em go!). Yes, of course you do (if your my age (42) HA HA) and I bet you loved 'Cross Fire' (shoot the puck with the marble guns to score a goal) collected 'Top Trumps' and played with loads of 'Action Man' toys too! Happy memories coming back yet? I bet they are and that's the real joy of this book. Show this to a group of your friends and I guarantee you'll have a lot of fun reminiscing about which of the toy's and games in this book you once owned! Well, I'm off now for a ride around the block on my 'Chopper'! BUY AND ENJOY!

"You'll Never Win!" - "Oh Yes I Will!"
With everything covered from the obvious (Spacehoppers) to the deliciously long-forgotten (Star Bird!), this book will bring those memories of staring at toys in catalogues that you wanted but never got flooding back in seconds. Each toy has their own wittily-written entry, highlighting how they were both great and a bit rubbish at the same time, and there's loads of photos to boot. If you love toys, love a bit of a laugh and love, erm, "I Love The Seventies", you'll love this!