The Colossal P. T. Barnum Reader reveals the trailblazing American showman as, by turns, a moral reformer, a habitual hoaxer, an insightful critic, a savvy "puf

"Explores the life of showman P. T. Barnum, including his start as an entrepreneur, creating the American Museum, building and losing his fortune, and introduci

“Robert Wilson’s Barnum, the first full-dress biography in twenty years, eschews clichés for a more nuanced story…It is a life for our times, and the bio

The untold story of the Victorian freak show and circus, and the remarkable cast of characters who performed in them.

A thorough survey of the origins and development of the major distinct American commercial entertainments that emerged between over the course of the 19th centu