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dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
informative
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
medium-paced
If you are interested in the history of the circus, this book is for you. It is a great look at how the circus developed and grew. And also how and why the traditional American circus died. The research is very thorough and put together very well. It is a story well told.
I wish it had taken a closer look at the circus of today. Of that also might make for a great volume 2.
I wish it had taken a closer look at the circus of today. Of that also might make for a great volume 2.
It started off slow. About 60 pages in, I still wasn’t sure I wanted to finish it, but it eventually picked up to the point I didn’t want to put it down.
The spectacle of the American circus, told primarily through the lives Barnum, Bailey and Ringling, is the focus of this interesting book.
From exhibitions in Rome to the World's Fairs to "museum" shows, this traces the development of the circus, and then the traveling circus, and then the great American circuses.
Through devastating fires, bankruptcies, thieves, and more, the circus became the primary exhibition in America, elephants, clowns and all. Eventually, with mergers and buyouts, the Greatest Show on Earth comes to be, and hits its pinnacle in the 1940s and '50s. Entertainment, however, changes, and the circuses struggle to keep up. Cirque du Soleil is one attempt to stay relevant.
Finally, under pressure from activists, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closes shop, and an era ends.
But, since the book was published, apparently the Barnum and Bailey show has tried to start again, this time without animals. I'm curious to see what happens.
From exhibitions in Rome to the World's Fairs to "museum" shows, this traces the development of the circus, and then the traveling circus, and then the great American circuses.
Through devastating fires, bankruptcies, thieves, and more, the circus became the primary exhibition in America, elephants, clowns and all. Eventually, with mergers and buyouts, the Greatest Show on Earth comes to be, and hits its pinnacle in the 1940s and '50s. Entertainment, however, changes, and the circuses struggle to keep up. Cirque du Soleil is one attempt to stay relevant.
Finally, under pressure from activists, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closes shop, and an era ends.
But, since the book was published, apparently the Barnum and Bailey show has tried to start again, this time without animals. I'm curious to see what happens.
Absolutely fascinating to read about the circus through the generations and lenses of some of the biggest names associated with it. Having just finished Violet & Daisy, part of the Vaudeville circuit, earlier this week, the similarities of scouting, organizing and mobilizing entire communities continues to amaze me. Though fire, money woes, and accidents plaque the subject, Les Standiford's writing offers readers the ability to visualize history perfectly due to his descriptions. My personal memories of the circus are completely reminiscent of the later chapters with using large established arenas rather than erected tents for visitors to be entertained.
"The trend in technology in recent years has been to push individuals into greater and greater electronic isolation. It seems safe to assume that in the future a sizable portion of our entertainment will come directly into our homes where we will view them as solitary pleasures. As a result, there will be fewer and fewer opportunities to come together with others to create a special group known as an audience." -Ernest Albrecht
"The trend in technology in recent years has been to push individuals into greater and greater electronic isolation. It seems safe to assume that in the future a sizable portion of our entertainment will come directly into our homes where we will view them as solitary pleasures. As a result, there will be fewer and fewer opportunities to come together with others to create a special group known as an audience." -Ernest Albrecht
Overall, this is actually a very good book - informative an interesting. I wanted to give it 4 or 5 stars.
But. Then I got to the chapter about how PT Barnum purchased a "160-year old" slave, Joice Heth, to act as his first exhibit.
This chapter could have been written in a way that acknowledged what happened without condoning it. It wasn't. At every opportunity, the author went out of his way to soften and excuse the fact that Barnum purchased a human being to use as a showpiece. He claims that while Barnum "in essence" participated in the slave industry (there's no essence about it!), this is really just a twenty-first century view, and Heth considered herself a performer, and Barnum her manager. Not that Barnum paid her or anything. He owned her.
He also said that when Barnum first heard about Heth, he knew he had to go see such a fascinating "creature." When Heth died, Barnum has a surgeon perform an autopsy to discover how old she actually was. No acknowledgement of the fact that, unless Heth expressly allowed it ahead of time, this was a gross violation and another example of Barnum treating her like an object. The author also includes a "funny" anecdote about one of Barnum's associates claiming that Heth was still alive, and they had just stolen another Black lady's corpse to do an autopsy on. But that was just a "practical joke" played on the newspaper.
If they ever come out with an edition of this book where this chapter is edited to talk about Black people like people, then I might give it more stars, because like I said, the rest of the book is fascinating. I wondered whether I should give some credit in my rating for that, but ultimately decided that if an author talked about Jews (like me) the way this author talked about Black people, I would be horrified if people rated it highly because they could ignore the anti-Semitism. And so likewise, I cannot ignore the racism here.
But. Then I got to the chapter about how PT Barnum purchased a "160-year old" slave, Joice Heth, to act as his first exhibit.
This chapter could have been written in a way that acknowledged what happened without condoning it. It wasn't. At every opportunity, the author went out of his way to soften and excuse the fact that Barnum purchased a human being to use as a showpiece. He claims that while Barnum "in essence" participated in the slave industry (there's no essence about it!), this is really just a twenty-first century view, and Heth considered herself a performer, and Barnum her manager. Not that Barnum paid her or anything. He owned her.
He also said that when Barnum first heard about Heth, he knew he had to go see such a fascinating "creature." When Heth died, Barnum has a surgeon perform an autopsy to discover how old she actually was. No acknowledgement of the fact that, unless Heth expressly allowed it ahead of time, this was a gross violation and another example of Barnum treating her like an object. The author also includes a "funny" anecdote about one of Barnum's associates claiming that Heth was still alive, and they had just stolen another Black lady's corpse to do an autopsy on. But that was just a "practical joke" played on the newspaper.
If they ever come out with an edition of this book where this chapter is edited to talk about Black people like people, then I might give it more stars, because like I said, the rest of the book is fascinating. I wondered whether I should give some credit in my rating for that, but ultimately decided that if an author talked about Jews (like me) the way this author talked about Black people, I would be horrified if people rated it highly because they could ignore the anti-Semitism. And so likewise, I cannot ignore the racism here.
Wowie. These dudes were wild. And circuses were maybe not as bad as we think. At least to the people involved. Less so for the animals for sure. And what incredible homes and legacies were left. AND the circus is back (sans animales)!!!