A well-written history of pinball games unearths such little-known facts as when certain features were introduced, when certain manufacturers came into being, and so forth. And the photos and reprints of various games' sales brochures are rather nice. Later in the book, a scant section devoted to arcade video games is included; some of the rarer items depicted in the book's pages are a pristine specimen of a Dragon's Lair arcade game, the original Pac-Man sales literature (before it was a runaway hit), a 1970s Star Trek arcade game (whose manufacturer was blasted to smithereens by a volley of Paramount copyright attorneys set to "kill"), and - something I'd never even heard of before - a Joust pinball game. Photos of such machines as the Pong coin-op are also included.

Here we sit, divided amongst ourselves as to which book is best: Phoenix or Joystick Nation? (Okay, okay, so I admit, I'm the only one here facing that particular metaphysical dilemma.) And while we wait for Van Burnham's Supercade (which looks like it's going to meet or exceed national safety limits of coolness), there are other alternatives. Bill Kurtz's Arcade Treasures is one of them.

I just happened upon this book largely by accident, and wound up a little less than impressed after devouring it from cover to cover. Well, perhaps less than impressed is a little strong. It's still an impressive book...but since it's geared primarily toward pinball collectors, and barely features two and a half chapters on arcade video games and peripheral promotional paraphenalia, it may not fascinate some of you that much. Personally, I'm not a big pinball fan, so the scarcity of arcade video game information disappointed me.

Another thing to which I must take issue is this book's claim to be a price guide. While the ratio of pinball-to-video-game coverage undoubtedly meets with varying responses depending upon individual readers' tastes, the "price guide" claim is almost an outright lie. The guide only lists rather steep values for items pictured in the book - and again, naturally, it leans heavily toward the pinball end of the spectrum. If there isn't a picture of it in the book, there's not a price for it.

Arcade Treasures is a title I'd recommend checking out from the local library, rather than forking over its considerable cover price. (Even Joystick Nation had more literary meat, page-wise, than Arcade Treasures.) A definitive price guide on coin-ops is something this book isn't, so I recommend ignoring the "with Price Guide!" promise on the cover.

So, until Supercade hits the shelves in 2001...stay tuned, true believers! The ultimate visual history of video games may be just around the corner. Until then, let me save you some money and point you toward one of my favorites - and I'll admit I'm biased here - theLogBook.com's own Phosphor Dot Fossils video game museum.

Reviewed by Earl Green
theLogBook.com webmaster/editor-in-chief

• Year: 1994
• Author: Bill Kurtz
• Genre: Nonfiction
• Length: 176 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing Ltd.