{"product_id":"curious-by-design-steve-alcorn-9798188428143","title":"Curious by Design: A Theme Park Engineer's Memoir","description":"\u003cp\u003eHow does a kid whose father builds a hot tub four feet wide and six feet deep end up designing the control systems for the world's biggest theme parks-and then, in his seventies, start arguing about book titles with an AI?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eCurious by Design\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of Steve Alcorn, an engineer who spent forty years making sure the magic worked-and somehow managed to avoid taking himself too seriously. Not the kind of magic that needs fairy dust. The kind that needs a Z80 processor, a Binloop, and someone willing to sit in an equipment room at three in the morning wondering why a five-ton theater wall just moved eight feet more than it was supposed to.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a memoir about what it takes to build things that can't fail: ride vehicles that carry millions of guests, animatronic stages that rise out of the floor on schedule, theater doors that open at the right moment in the soundtrack, every time, for decades. It's about the people who build them-the mentors, the partners, the crews who become family. And it's about what happens when the control systems are all running perfectly and the question changes from \"will it work?\" to \"what should I be curious about next?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlong the way, you'll discover: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe EPCOT opening that nearly didn't happen - and the phantom emergency stop that haunted the Imagination pavilion\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Mannheim Steamroller speaker test that turned a loading dock into a weather event\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe day a software bug sent a Star Trek transporter ride into a frenzy during a press event\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe carnival balloon that escaped its moorings with nobody aboard - a ride with no control system\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe writing teacher in a geodesic dome who changed everything, and then was gone\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe total solar eclipse that made an engineer stop thinking about systems and start thinking about space\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe AI assistant that apologized for its mistakes, argued about chapter titles, and turned out to be right\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom a childhood spent taking things apart to the founding of Alcorn McBride, from the EPCOT trenches of 1982 to a dining table in Vancouver where a fox in a scarf sits at the top of a messaging app and the cursor blinks, \u003ci\u003eCurious by Design\u003c\/i\u003e follows a life driven by a single question: how does this work, and what happens if I try this?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe most interesting life happens where disciplines overlap. This is a book for anyone who has ever taken something apart to see how it fits together, and then wanted to build something of their own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author: \u003c\/b\u003e Steve Alcorn is a USA Today bestselling author, engineer, and educator. After opening EPCOT in 1982 he founded Alcorn McBride, the leading maker of technology for theme park attractions worldwide. In 2001 he founded Writing Academy, where for more than 25 years he has helped over 100,000 students structure their novels. He is the author of 30 books spanning fiction, nonfiction, and writing craft, and narrates many of his own audiobooks.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Steve Alcorn\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798188428143\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/21\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 234\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.49d","brand":"Steve Alcorn","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49097538502911,"sku":"9798188428143","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/curious-by-design-steve-alcorn-9798188428143","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}