ta0's Spintop bibliography

The Top
Universal Toy - Enduring Pastime

Spinning Tops and Gyroscopic Motion
A Popular Exposition of Dynamics of Rotation

An Elementary Treatment of the Theory of
Spinning Tops and Gyroscopic Motion

by Harold Crabtree

Written as an undergraduate textbook, this often referenced book covers the precession of spinning tops using classical dynamics. It is unusual in the detail in which it treats the common pegtop, tackling a large number of situations, in addition to some odd tops and diabolos. However, I find the exposition somewhat outdated and slow. Not a book for non-engineering/physics readers.

1909 (1st ed.)_ Longmans, Green, and Co., London

DUNCAN
Spin Top Official Trick Book

This booklet was published during the heyday of Duncan to promote its national spintop tournament, just before the company went bankrupt. It has more than 70 photographs illustrating 8 basic tricks, 8 advanced tricks and 8 twin spin tricks. In addition, there are contest rules, illustrations of their complete spintop line, and a forward by Donald F. Duncan, Jr. The company has also published over the years several booklets of yo-yo tricks with some spintop tricks included, using comics-style drawings.

ca 1962_ Donald F. Duncan, Inc., Evanston, Ill.

Collecting Tops
and the Lost Art of Spinning Top Tricks

The Tops Book
Games, Tricks, and New Twists on an Old Favorite

by Don Olney

Tops
Building and Experimenting with Spinning Tops

Tops
and Other Spinning Toys

by Beth Dvergsten Stevens

A simple children's book with as much space devoted to yoyos as to spintops. It touches on the history of tops, how to build finger tops, games, how to throw a peg top, and a chapter on "top trivia". The tops pictured are all contemporary.

Tops and Yo-Yos
and Other Spinning Toys

From the L-W Collector's Digest series. The 1995 prices are pre-Ebay (the online auctioneer started that same year) so no longer relevant, and there is no text, but it has many beautiful (but small) pictures.

The Mathematical Theory
of the Top

by Felix Klein

These 4 lectures by the famous mathematician (the same as in the "Klein bottle") were meant to show the usefulness of advanced mathematics, in particular the theory of functions of complex variables, to dynamics. This grew later into his 4-volume masterpiece, "The Theory of Tops". Brace yourself to study a simple spherical top using Riemann surfaces, non-Euclidian space and complex (2-dimensional!) time. On the 4th lecture, after announcing he will apply it to the "ordinary toy top," he solves it with hyperelliptical integrals.

Spinning Tops

A Course on Integrable Systems

by Michele Audin

The only recognizable top is on the cover page. Well, the motion of a top (i.e. "a rigid body with a fixed point in a constant gravitational field") has differential equations that are completely integrable. But don't even try to find much about mechanics in this book: this is pure advanced math. If you want to find what a Kowalevski top is, you can read it here.

Buzz Monkey

by Sam Hill

The hero of this novel is the private detective Top Kiernan, who happens to collect and play with spinning tops! Although I am not a big fan of the genre, I enjoyed it, and so did the critics. The characters and props are interesting and the action is "movie-like". This is the first novel of the author, but he promises it will become a series. In fact, Top Kiernan is back in "Buzz Riff".

L'enfant de Guernica

Bill Nye the Science Guy

Spinning Things

This educational program from the somewhat hyperactive science popularizer Bill Nye covers the basics of spinning things like tops. At the end has a video clip song "Spin Around" from House of Spin.

1995_ Buena Vista Television

		Books
		*The Top* Universal Toy - Enduring Pastime by D.W.Gould By far, the most comprehensive book on the history of the spinning top. It proves that tops have been discovered independently by almost every culture in the world. It has 121 drawings, covering tops from ancient times to the 1960's. 1973 (1st ed.)_ Clarkston, N.Y. _ 274 pg.
		Spinning Tops and Gyroscopic Motion A Popular Exposition of Dynamics of Rotation by John Perry A delightful little book from a presentation of John Perry at a meeting of the British Association in Leeds. The informal exposition, fun to read, equation-less but accurate, together with 66 illustrations, has made this a classic with several reprints. It has lots of quotable statements on the importance of playing with tops for the development of the intellect! 1890 (1st ed.)_ (pictured the cover of the 1957 Dover edition)
		An Elementary Treatment of the Theory of Spinning Tops and Gyroscopic Motion by Harold Crabtree Written as an undergraduate textbook, this often referenced book covers the precession of spinning tops using classical dynamics. It is unusual in the detail in which it treats the common pegtop, tackling a large number of situations, in addition to some odd tops and diabolos. However, I find the exposition somewhat outdated and slow. Not a book for non-engineering/physics readers. 1909 (1st ed.)_ Longmans, Green, and Co., London
		DUNCAN Spin Top Official Trick Book This booklet was published during the heyday of Duncan to promote its national spintop tournament, just before the company went bankrupt. It has more than 70 photographs illustrating 8 basic tricks, 8 advanced tricks and 8 twin spin tricks. In addition, there are contest rules, illustrations of their complete spintop line, and a forward by Donald F. Duncan, Jr. The company has also published over the years several booklets of yo-yo tricks with some spintop tricks included, using comics-style drawings. ca 1962_ Donald F. Duncan, Inc., Evanston, Ill.
		Collecting Tops and the Lost Art of Spinning Top Tricks by Ed Levin This 28 page large-format booklet has several beautiful magazine-quality pictures of collectible tops and related artwork, written descriptions of 15 tricks, and some advise and comments from the author. Ed is not only a spintop collector, but he owns an antique shop and used to perform as a magician and juggler (including tops). 1996_ Ed Levin, Winettka, CA
		The Tops Book Games, Tricks, and New Twists on an Old Favorite by Don Olney Don Olney was the owner of The Toycrafter and is an avid collector and designer of tops. In short chapters the booklet covers the history of top toys, their classification ("top-ology"), collecting, basic tricks and games with pegtops, and how to design and build your own finger tops. It has many black and white photographs and drawings. 1994_ Running Press, Philadelphia
			The Little Book of Tops Tricks, Lore, and More by Don Olney
		This very cute, miniature-format, book, covers similar (but not identical) ground as Olney's other book, in its 94 hardbound pages. It has color drawings and an actual wooden finger top as a bookmark. 1993_ Running Press, Philadelphia
		Spinning Tops by Larry Kettelkamp A children's book describing pegtops (including games), yoyos, diabolos and gyroscopes. It has color crayon-style drawings 1966_ Morrow and Co.
		Tops Building and Experimenting with Spinning Tops by Bernie Zubrowski This activity book by the Boston Children's Museum teaches science using home-built tops and yoyos. It has pencil drawings. 1989_ William Morrow and Co.
		Tops and Other Spinning Toys by Beth Dvergsten Stevens A simple children's book with as much space devoted to yoyos as to spintops. It touches on the history of tops, how to build finger tops, games, how to throw a peg top, and a chapter on "top trivia". The tops pictured are all contemporary. 2000_ Perfection Learning
		Things that Spin from Tops to Atoms by Irving and Ruth Adler A children's science book with pencil drawings. A good elementary overview of the science of rotation and the things that spin, including peg tops and our Earth. Do you know how a gyrocompass works? 1960_ The John Day Co., NY
		Tops and Yo-Yos and Other Spinning Toys From the L-W Collector's Digest series. The 1995 prices are pre-Ebay (the online auctioneer started that same year) so no longer relevant, and there is no text, but it has many beautiful (but small) pictures. 1995_ L-W Books, Gas City, IN
		Roundabout: The Physics of Rotation in the Everyday World by Jearl Walker This is a compilation of articles from the Amateur Scientist department of Scientific American. Of the ten articles, two are specific on tops: "Rattlebacks and Tippe Tops"; and "Tops" (see Papers listing). A third one: "Wobbling, the delights of the wobbler, a coin or a cylinder that precesses as it spins" is closely related.
		Games of the North American Indians by Stewart Culin This massive work was part of the 1902-03 Annual Report of the American Ethnology to the Smithsonian Institute and is a classic reference in the subject. The spintop section covers 18 pages and includes 47 drawings of tops used by the different Native American tribes. 1907 _ Government printing office. Image of 1975 Dover edition.
		The Mathematical Theory of the Top by Felix Klein These 4 lectures by the famous mathematician (the same as in the "Klein bottle") were meant to show the usefulness of advanced mathematics, in particular the theory of functions of complex variables, to dynamics. This grew later into his 4-volume masterpiece, "The Theory of Tops". Brace yourself to study a simple spherical top using Riemann surfaces, non-Euclidian space and complex (2-dimensional!) time. On the 4th lecture, after announcing he will apply it to the "ordinary toy top," he solves it with hyperelliptical integrals. 1897 _ Scribner's Sons
		Spinning Tops A Course on Integrable Systems by Michele Audin The only recognizable top is on the cover page. Well, the motion of a top (i.e. "a rigid body with a fixed point in a constant gravitational field") has differential equations that are completely integrable. But don't even try to find much about mechanics in this book: this is pure advanced math. If you want to find what a Kowalevski top is, you can read it here. 1996 _ Cambridge University Press
		The Story of Spin by Sin-itiro Tomonaga This is the story of the gradual discovery and partial understanding of the quantum mechanical property of Spin: the ultimate fundamental top. The book by 1965 Nobel Laureate Tomonaga is for advanced physics students, except that interspersed among the equations there are many anecdotes about the scientists behind the discovery of this strange property. 1997 (translation) _ University of Chicago Press

	Novels
	Buzz Monkey by Sam Hill The hero of this novel is the private detective Top Kiernan, who happens to collect and play with spinning tops! Although I am not a big fan of the genre, I enjoyed it, and so did the critics. The characters and props are interesting and the action is "movie-like". This is the first novel of the author, but he promises it will become a series. In fact, Top Kiernan is back in "Buzz Riff". 2003 _ Carrol & Graf Publishers
	L'enfant de Guernica by Guy Jimenez This French novel takes place during the Spanish civil war in 1938. A ten year old receives a top that he discovers belonged to another kid who may or may not be dead. This starts his quest to find him with clues he gets from the top. I was told it is a good book but I have not read it yet. 2007 _ Oskar Editions
	The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff A book about Taoism not tops. A delightful introduction to this eastern philosophy very subversive of the western ethos. A book for grown-ups using the characters appearing in the children books of Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne (1882-1956) . 1982_ Penguin Books

Videos
		How to Be A Player, Vol. 2 Spin Top Trick Video This video demonstrates over 30 tricks performed by Steve Brown and company (Vol. 1 is about yoyos). It includes tricks done with a fix tip top, such as Rollercoaster, and with a bearing top, such as Bermuda Triangle, as well as some play with a giant top. Really big coolness factor but sometimes skipping on instructions. Now available in DVD (together with Vol. 1). 2001_ Duncan Toys Co.
		Spinology Yo-Yo and Spin Top Instructional Video Dale Oliver, Valerie Krantz (now Oliver ;-) and company teach over 30 top tricks and 70 yoyo tricks. The video is very instructionally oriented. It was created just before Dale invented the modern bearing top, so there are no tricks with those. Look for the freestyle play by Herman Lau. 1999_Spintastics Skill Toys, Inc.
		Why Does a Spinning Top Stop? This is a demonstration to the general public by Professor Robert Greenler of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, part of the Science Bag series. Greenler spins part of his top collection, including the famous Malaysian Gasing tops, as well as tops he improvises using fruit, and a truly giant top made out of a car tire filled with water that keeps spinning for the entire hour of the presentation. He uses all of these to teach Newton's first and second laws. Blue Sky Associates
		Tom Rodal's Instructional Spintop Home Video This video is part of a spintop kit made by (and staring) Tom Rodal. The kit also came with an Imperial and a twin (Doble) Duncan top. Tom teaches a dozen basic to intermediate classic tricks. The video would have benefited from some added coolness factor. 1988_ C.I.B. Video
		Duncan 70's Spintop Instructional Video This was filmed in the 70's by Duncan (already part of Flambeau) to promote their spintop contests. Short cuts were included in the How to Be a Player video. It can still be found in some public libraries. Duncan - Flambeau
		My Summer Story The plot of this Hollywood movie has a significant peg top battle component so it is worth including in this list. Judith Shultz from the Top Museum provided the spintop expertise. Pay attention at how the hero and the bully have different styles of throw. 1994_Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures, Inc.
		Bill Nye the Science Guy Spinning Things This educational program from the somewhat hyperactive science popularizer Bill Nye covers the basics of spinning things like tops. At the end has a video clip song "Spin Around" from House of Spin. 1995_ Buena Vista Television

Articles
	"Top Spinning: Three grown-up Chicago men turn child's toy into skillful sport," Life , September 10, 1945, Vol. 19, No. 11, pg. 97 Top spinning is the only sport in the Table of Contents under the Sports section! A 3-page article with 8 pictures of trick playing! The three middle-age players learned their advanced style as kids in Chicago's South Side. "By a delicate process which is called the 'jerk system' . . . [they] kept their tops spinning in the air almost indefinitely. As a boy, Jim Mangan once performed this feat for six hours, without stopping for food or drink." . . . "They regard their hobby with a missionary's zeal . . . is a sporting challenge to any man's dexterity, offering considerable chance for individual art". . . "Tops are cheap (4¢) and the OPA has pegged the price of a top string at 1¢."
	"Scut Farkas and the Murderous Mariah," by Jean Shepherd*, Playboy*, April 1967, Vol. 14, No. 4, pg. 114 This is the original publication of the short story in which the movie "My Summer Story" was based. The subtitle reads: "wherein the freckled upstart of cleveland street faces an epic showdown with the fastest top in the midwest." This is the main fiction story of the issue, covering seven full pages (encompassing a play-off between playmates July, August and November). It is a wonderful family spintop story that was later published in book form. "The two insane tops, grimy, covered with mud, leaped like live things - ricocheting, leapfrogging, hovering over each other, behaving in a way that no top before or since has ever acted. They hated each other . . ."
	"The World's Top Top Maker" and "Rhode Island's Top Top Spinner (and collector)," by Harriet F. Fisher, *Yankee*, December 1968, Vol. 32, No. 12, pg.84 & pg.186 The first article is the history of the production of spinning tops by the Wetherbee mill in Lyndonville, Vermont. At one time in the 1930's it was 'the top top manufacturer in the world' (5.5 million tops per year). It talks about the mill life, the different tops produced and the Wetherbee family, but specially shines for the incredible detailed information on the spintop manufacturing process. What happened when the 'glue' men left the tops too long in the tumbler with hot hide glue? (a big mess). The paired article is about the father of American spintop collecting: Dr. J. Walter Wilson, biology Professor at Brown University. Dr. Wilson could also throw a top: ´´. . . known to spin nine tops at once-five from one hand four from the other!'
	"Top of the Line," Sports Illustrated 1998 Swimsuit Issue, pg 32 The swimsuit models follow the line of the equator while featuring some of the traditional sports played in the countries straddling both hemispheres. How appropriate than in a magazine know for capturing the raw power of professional athletes, there is this picture of an Ecuadorian man in the act of throwing his trompo, showing no less strain, skill or fury. A full page is dedicated to describing the competition in which teams of five men push a wooden plug by hitting it with eggplant-sized wooden tops along a 4 km dirt road.
	" Tops in Her Field," Reminisce, November/December 1998, Vol. 8, No. 6, pg. 32 A two page article on the "Top Lady", Judith Schulz, founder and curator of the Spinning Top Museum (now Top & Yo-Yo) of Bulington, Wisconsin. There is a picture of Judith with her father, Wally, who played peg tops in the 1930's and taught her to throw one. She started collecting about 25 years earlier by chance when she bought a magnetic top. There are nice color pictures of a few of the tops in her collection that at the time already topped 5,000. There is of course mention of her role as top expert in the 1993 filming of My Summer Story.

Books

Novels

Videos

Articles

Papers