I really got a kick out of this book. it was a really unique read that gave me a glimpse into the whimsical past as sewn by P.T Barnum

Quite dated but you will learn a thing or two. Free from gutenberg.org.

DNF. Some sections of the book were interesting but I became bored with the long descriptions of how mediums performed their hoaxes.

An unexpected delight.I delved into Humbugs as research for an upcoming project featuring 19th-century fakirism (is that a word? I guess it is). I was happy to discover that the consummate old-time American showman was not only well-spoken, but also a bit of an ethnologist and historian (taking into account the limitations of research and biases of the times, of course). Barnum takes the reader on a tour of flakes through history, describing the ways in which even the brightest fell for the conm...

Dear Mr. BarnumThank you for writing this book and let the people of your time know about the manifold humbugs that were out there. I really enjoyed reading your eloquent, witty and sometimes snarky statements, even though I already knew about some of the most famous cases, like the “moon hoax” or the “diamond necklace”. Others were entirely new to me.You probably won’t believe me (call me a humbug), when I tell you that I’m writing this from the future; the year 2020 to be exact. As you can ima...

I really enjoyed the first and last few chapters of this book, but most of the middle is repetitive and boring.It's ironic, of course, that a person who blatantly tricked people as a way of business criticised others for blatantly tricking people as a way of business. Barnum addressed this at the start of his book, explaining how it all came down to whether you were conducting your business under false pretenses. Basically, people who went to the circus knew that they were being tricked, and act...

Reading the Project Gutenberg edition (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26640/...)

P.T. Barnum did many (profitable) things during his lifetime, including writing books.In this historically-interesting nonfiction work, the King of Showbusiness describes a series of "Humbugs" (which although anachronistic and Dickensian now, was apparently a common term in the mid 1800's) only one of which involved Barnum's own circus and a literally painted bird. Mostly, Barnum concentrates on profiteering fortune tellers and seance leaders, mail order scams ( For Example: "send me postage and...

If the venerable Mr. Barnum could be a bit of a humbug about humbuggers, then I suppose each of us harbor a hidden humbug, too. Parts of this book were quite a drag, but nowhere else have I encountered such an enormous collection of outrageous hoaxes, strange fads, and ridiculous trends. Everything from the Dutch Tulip Mania, to well...a whole slew that I'll bet you've never heard of, but'll take the time (as I did) to search the web for more information. (And you'll find it!) There's the beauty...

An interesting topic, sullied by the pompous and self-indulgent writing of a narrow-minded man, who can't resist but to shove his religious dogma into absolutely any topic.It's TOO ironic - the writer of a book on pretenders and charlatans, who dismisses all religions except his own, and all supernatural powers except those of God, cannot see the humbug of his own religion, and assigns Martin Luther "the noblest mind".Do not read unless you have a great tolerance to pretentious old farts.

a very interesting book. many of the descriptions of cons, swindles and quacks are as relevant today as in Barnum's time. the chapters on spiritualists and conjurers (and how they accomplished their fake feats) are especially fascinating. that said, the antiquated views on race (the book is from 1865, after all) are squirm-worthy. it is also amusing that Barnum insists that all the "heathen" religions are humbugs and nonsense, but that Christian religions are a unquestionably logical thing to be...

I loved this book! :)

I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't help but be impressed by the idea of barnum conducting extensive ethnographic research in his chosen field - the field of fooling and audience.

P.T. Barnum tells tales of some of the world's greatest deceits, cheats, cons, and delusions, all of which go under the definition of "humbug". Still a fine read, the anecdotes in every chapter will delight and even, at times, surprise.

Loved it!!! P.T. Barnum exposes the scam artists of the world and proves that a fool and his money are often too swiftly parted.

This is quite a long read with 50 chapters. And this is a classic book to begin with, so the concept of fast reading was difficult in this book. I read little by little for actually rather bored with the contents here.The content in this book was actually a compilation of humbugs story from around the world through ages. Some from mythologies and holy scriptures from many religions. Some interesting, many was a bored one. But we ought to learn something here for the author was a classic one. May...

I will not finish this book. It is very interesting but is not written in a way that I enjoy listening to. It's very choppy and changes direction frequently.

Anyone who pays for this audiobook probably believes the biggest P.T. Barnum "humbug" of all times - that he is the man who said "There's a sucker born every minute"! The quote is by David Hannum ABOUT Barnum! But whomever published this mess is at the head of the "sucker" line!This is just a jumble of antiquated nonsense that not only failed to stand the test of time, but likely wasn't that interesting when Barnum originally wrote it down. Or maybe it was interesting to him. Barnum, play your p...

A really good book. It is surprising that something written in 1865 is still relevant today.It would have been much stronger if he had omitted the last 5% or so of the work.

HUMBUGGERISH IN PARTS, BUT…“…all the world chooses to be fooled—let it be fooled then.”Who knew P. T. Barnum was such a serious Freethinker? But, of course, he would be.Reading his ‘The Humbugs of the World: An Account of Humbugs, Delusions, Impositions, Quackeries, Deceits and Deceivers Generally, in All Ages’ put me very much in mind of another exhaustive heretical tome I read many years ago called, ‘Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds,’ by Charles MacKay. Both suffer from