From the Publisher

By Louis A. Weil III

The wind was blowing hard and it was raining the night that Houston bureau chief Richard Woodbury arrived at Cedar Point park in Sandusky, Ohio, for a test spin in the Magnum XL-200, the world's highest (205 ft.) and fastest (72 m.p.h.) roller coaster. Since the weather was expected to worsen, park officials insisted that they crank up Magnum for a ride right away. "Suddenly the gigantic structure was ablaze with lights," recalls Woodbury. "There was no way to argue, and so, as the wind whipped off Lake Erie, I was harnessed into the front seat of a soaking, nearly empty train." But fear soon gave way to excitement. With the coaster careering ever faster around the rain-slicked course, the monster outperformed itself. Says Woodbury: "The 20-story plunge, sharp turns and tunnels were real ripsnorters. So good, in fact, that I stayed on for three more rides."

For Woodbury, reporting and writing this week's Living story on the latest twists in roller coasters was a boyhood dream come true. Growing up on Long Island during the '40s, Woodbury caught roller coaster fever at Coney Island, which then boasted no fewer than five coasters. After conquering the legendary Cyclone, Woodbury was hooked, and ever since, when his travels allow, he dashes off to an amusement park to try out the local thrill machine. Woodbury figures he has had innumerable rides on some 25 different roller coasters over the years. As a journalist, he chronicled the evolution of the roller coaster for TIME a decade ago. Woodbury found on this trip through the turnstiles that technological advances have made the chills even bigger. "The new rides are faster, meaner and more unpredictable than the old; and the steel, looping coasters that spin riders up, over and sideways require a stronger stomach," he reports. "Fortunately for traditionalists like myself, who savor the symmetry as well as the eerie creak of wood, there are plenty of big, new wooden coasters springing up."

While most people ride roller coasters for the sheer fun of it, Woodbury believes there is also a psychological dimension to their popular appeal. Says he: "Coaster riding is a way of living through, confronting and conquering our fears. You feel a little braver and stand a bit taller when you leap off the train after it returns to the station."