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I absolutely love this book & if you are a lover of the bizarre you will too. The people (& I stress PEOPLE) featured in this book are some of the amazing individuals you will ever read about. There have been so many sideshows throughout the late 18/early 1900's. It is amazing that there is even any information, let alone pictures available of these awesome folks. A lot of people called them freaks, but who was really the freak here? These people took their deformities & unusual talents which would have made them outcasts, homeless & often committed as wards of the state to mental institutions and used them in a way that made them rich beyond some of our wildest dreams. If you say they were exploited you are wrong (in most cases... unfortunately there was a percentage of sideshow folks who were taken advantage of!). It was the public who was the one suckered in to pay a quarter or however much to view these "freaks". Quarter after Quarter after Quarter after Quarter. I Love that these people had the courage & the smarts to use their unusual physical characteristics to make a living and a good living at that! Us poor suckers are just stuck gawking at them. The author of this book did a lot of deep research and sought out people who were both in the sideshow as the "freaks" or who worked with the sideshow to get information on some amazing people that unfortunately time has forgotten. There are a lot of pictures that the author obtained for his collection to add to the book & a lot of borrowed images as well. This book is a great homage to the people who gave us entertainment before there was t.v., video games & shopping malls to occupy us. Kudos to the author/s for an amazing book which tells the story of the american sideshow. And Kudos to those sideshow folks as well. I am always amazed by their strength & pride!Read full review
This book was exactly what I was looking for. It is so interesting, so many facts on so many performers! Lots of background info on the sideshows and circuses! I love that there are pictures of almost everyone featured! Great book , highly recommended if you are interested in sideshow performers!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Have mowed through this book in 3 days!!! Very well written, interesting comments, great pictures and thorough backgrounds. Written with respect to the performers and showmen and their individual motivations and personal representation as real human beings. Engrossing from a sociological standpoint as well as an entertainment standpoint. Great compilation of a by- gone history! Going to keep this one!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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