Taking over for Richard O'Brien, who guided O'Brien's Collecting Toys into print over 20 years ago, Karen O'Brien edited the 11th edition of the most comprehensive guide to classic collectible toys currently available.

"Although I couldn't make all of the changes I wanted with this edition, I did add several chapters," O'Brien points out. Those include a new chapter on mechanical sparkler and plunger toys, a reconstructed chapter on yo-yos, and revised chapters steam toys and ramp walkers.

There are 29 chapters in all, covering some 17,000 collectible toys from the late 19th century to the 1970s. This hefty 768-page volume featuring over 50,000 toy values is illustrated with 7,500 black-and-white pictures and 32 pages of color photos gathered in a middle-of-the-book special section.

For those new to collecting and curious about the value of their Flinstone Pals wind-up toy, or for serious collectors in need of an accurate  and up-to-date reference to steam toys, farm toys and toy guns in a single volume, this is the book to complement your endeavor.