Knott's Preserved: From Boysenberry to Theme Park, the History of Knott's Berry Farm

After a complete sell-out of the original 2010 edition, Knott’s Preserved: From Boysenberry to Theme Park, the History of Knott’s Berry Farm (Revised Edition) is an expanded and updated treat for berry-farm fans everywhere.

How could one place have the world’s best boysenberry preserves (no, Aunt Susan’s isn’t better!), world-class roller coasters and Independence Hall too? Where does a Ghost Town exist alongside a 360-foot Sky Jump, while people wait three hours for a chicken dinner? Knott’s Preserved reveals how the Knott family turned a berry business into one of the major theme parks in the world. Artists and designers will flip at the details the authors display--the how-it-happened of Knott’s from the earliest days. Berries and fried chicken were just a yummy lead-in to what would become a thrills capital of the world. Plus, it’s a story of how a man and a woman remained true to their values, sharing profits and credit whenever they could. Heartwarming? Yes. Decidedly so.

For everybody who ever put their arms around Whiskey Bill and Handsome Brady, screamed in terror at Knott’s Scary Farm, or marveled at the Calico Mine, this book is filled with as much nostalgia as the Farm itself.

Christopher Merritt is an artist and designer working in the theme park industry. His notable projects include serving as art director for the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough at Disneyland, and as a concept and show designer for various attractions at the Disney theme parks. He works as a designer for Walt Disney Imagineering. Lucky enough to have grown up in Southern California, he visited Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland throughout his childhood.

J. Eric Lynxwiler grew up in Southern California and spent one school year working at Knott’s Berry Farm’s shooting gallery while earning his degree in urban anthropology at UCLA. Popular host of Los Angeles’s renowned Neon Cruise and board member emeritus of the Museum of Neon Art, Lynxwiler co-authored the celebrated book Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse of Los Angeles.