# Pinball a Graphic History of the Silver Ball - Review **Source:** Cary Hardy **Type:** video **Published:** 2022-04-19 **Duration:** 5m 23s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozub9TupiTo --- ## Analysis Cary Hardy reviews 'Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball' by John Chad, a 200-page hardcover graphic novel covering pinball history from Roger Sharp through modern times. Hardy praises the book's quality, design, and educational value for both newcomers and experienced enthusiasts, noting it serves as both an informational resource and coffee table piece. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] The book covers Roger Sharp and how he saved pinball — _Direct statement about book content_ - [HIGH] The book includes information about Harry Williams, flipper implementation, and Steve Ritchie's high-speed concept — _Cary Hardy describing specific historical content covered_ - [HIGH] The book is approximately 200 pages with a hardcover binding — _Direct specification by reviewer_ - [HIGH] Roger Sharp wrote an introduction to the book spanning approximately two pages — _Reviewer shows and describes the introduction_ - [HIGH] The book includes worn/discolored edge design as an artistic choice, not a defect — _Reviewer investigated with other owners and confirmed intentional design_ ### Notable Quotes > "This is solid hardcover which is nice because I really didn't even know what I was getting whenever I ordered this" > — **Cary Hardy**, ~1:20 > _Indicates lack of detailed product information available prior to purchase_ > "The information in this novel may be well known to those of us deep in the hobby but it's still enjoyable to see it illustrated in this fashion" > — **Cary Hardy**, ~0:40 > _Positions the book as valuable for multiple audience tiers_ > "I recommend if you're only getting this, then you may want to go through Amazon because you're going to have to pay like $10 for shipping if you order only this through Marco" > — **Cary Hardy**, ~1:50 > _Provides purchasing guidance noting Marco Pinball shipping costs_ > "I will actually have this book in my office at work" > — **Cary Hardy**, ~2:30 > _Indicates perceived professional/conversational value of the book_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | John Chad | person | Author of 'Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball' graphic novel; lives in California | | Cary Hardy | person | YouTube content creator and pinball reviewer | | Roger Sharp | person | Pinball industry figure credited with saving pinball; wrote introduction to the graphic history book | | Harry Williams | person | Historical pinball developer referenced in book's coverage of flipper implementation | | Steve Ritchie | person | Pinball designer credited with developing high-speed pinball concept, covered in book | | Marco Pinball | company | Distributor/retailer where Hardy purchased the book; offers parts and merchandise | | Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball | product | 200-page hardcover graphic novel about pinball history; published/available through Marco Pinball and Amazon | ### Topics - **Primary:** Pinball history and education, Book review and product quality assessment - **Secondary:** Pinball community resources and literature, Distribution and purchasing options ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Hardy expresses genuine enthusiasm for the book's quality, content, and design. No criticisms are raised; only positive recommendations are made. Tone is encouraging and recommends the book to both new and experienced enthusiasts. ### Signals - **[community_signal]** Pinball educational content expanding into graphic novel/coffee table book formats to increase accessibility and appeal (confidence: medium) — Hardy describes book as suitable for non-enthusiasts (mentioning wife), office displays, and conversational pieces beyond core hobby audience - **[market_signal]** Graphic novel format being used to make pinball history accessible to broader audiences beyond core enthusiasts (confidence: medium) — Book explicitly targets both experienced hobbyists and newcomers to pinball with illustrated historical narratives --- ## Transcript I have done reviews and promotions on a number of different things related to pinball. But this is a first. Pinball. A graphic history of the silver ball. What we have here is a hardback covered graphic novel. Page count is around 200. Filled with a vast amount of pinball history. Some of the information in this book include Roger Sharp and the story of how he saved pinball. How pinball has evolved over the years. The days of Harry Williams developments and the flipper implementation. How pinball hardware works. How Steve Ritchie came up with the idea of high speed. We move through the history of pinball and even include pinball of today. It even ends on a pinball glossary to educate those unaware of the words used. The information in this novel may be well known to those of us deep in the hobby But it's still enjoyable to see it illustrated in this fashion So here it is guys Pinball A Graphic History of the Silver Ball by John Chad And I must say that I very impressed with what is all in here And the quality of materials at that This is solid hardcover which is nice because I really didn even know what I was getting whenever I ordered this I didn't know if it was going to be like, you know, paperback and how good the quality was. There wasn't any kind of good pictures or video to go over and show us that. So, I mean, I'm hoping I can kind of relay some of the audio as well as some of the images that you're seeing in this video to give you a better idea on the quality that is within this. And I got this through Marco. Now, I recommend if you're only getting this, then you may want to go through Amazon because you're going to have to pay like $10 for shipping if you order only this through Marco. But if you're getting parts, then might as well add this to the cart while you're at it. As I've already stated, this goes over a ton of information that there may be a good amount in here that a lot of you don't know about. But even for people like me that are deep into the hobby and do know all about the information within this book, I still find it a good little conversational piece and maybe even a coffee table book. Have it resting. I will actually have this book in my office at work. But I even told the wife I like you know if you want to be a little bit more knowledgeable about pinball in general then you may want to take a gander at this and she didn immediately say no she also didn say yes but she was wasn completely against the idea of going through this to be a little bit more educated on pinball so my hat's off to john chad and there's an image of him at the back of the book and it goes over him right here how he lives in california and a bunch of other information. Roger Sharp even did the introduction right here. It's like a good two-page of Roger Sharp going over a vast amount of information right there for you to read. I don't want to read it to you and everything. That's the point of you having your own book is so that you're able to see all of this yourself. Now, there's something I was kind of curious about. Let me take the cover off of here. I was kind of curious about, I'm like, I'm pretty sure I bought this new, but then when I got it, it looked like the edges were worn, like discolored. But I even messaged someone else to ask them about their copy, and theirs was the same way. So that's obviously in the art formation to make it look like it's been worn out. But that's not true for it to be. It's just art that makes it look that way. So I kind of like that. I was like okay it looks like it already been handled a great deal So if you wanted to have it just still resting on your coffee table and never been opened before it would still look like it had a good amount of plays so overall a very great piece to have i recommend this to all pinball enthusiasts honestly even for those of you that like i said that are deep in the hobby and more than likely know about all the stories that are in here it's still great to get an illustrated view of said stories and for you new people to the hobby, I recommend this book even more because, like I said, it's chock full of information and knowledge and history about the hobby, which I find will be very beneficial to those of you that are wanting to go even deeper. To pick up your own copy, I will put links in the description down below. If you like what you've seen here, maybe even learned something, give me the thumbs up, hit the subscribe button down there, ding my dong, that way you can be notified of whenever I upload something for your viewing pleasure. And until next time, guys, peace out. _(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: d5e47c4c-45d2-41d2-9f62-877860d89a15*