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Very interesting life, and you get a view of Barnum's mindset. The text does use some formal/archaic terms, like "pecuniary", which does make for a challenging read.
It was interesting to me I always found the circus to be such a happy place
This was a HARD ONE to get through...way too long...way too over-the-(big) top of SHEER number of stories Barnum shares. Two stars versus one because the stories *were* a bit interesting (especially about General Tom Thumb, the first elephants, and the humbug-ery he pulls on everyone).Barnum certainly lived an interesting life...and he shares every single story in this book (which is, granted, a compilation of two stories he wrote about his life). You learn very little about the man's family or
With this being an autobiography it is a bit biased and kind of glossed over the fact PT Barnum was kind of an asshole, and exploited people. Aside from that though it was interesting to see how he came to be and how his name became so synonymous with Americana through the side shows and circus.
P.T. Barnum is known for managing his circus later in his life, but he should be known as a writer too as his autobiography was also quite entertaining. Had I been born over 100 years earlier, I would have enjoyed attending his American Museum in NYC. His first museum was in the heart of what is now the financial district of Manhattan. In his museum, he had curiosities and animals and anything goes to entertain viewers. He had performances at his museum and he wanted to make sure everything was
Inspiring - no other words for this book and this man.Barnum - the legend!
How the Greatest Showman Went On & OnEven fire after fire didn't dissuade PT Barnum from rebuilding - never mind early "failures" that turned out to be building blocks of his success. There's nothing like the man himself sharing his journey.
Dull
Dull
PT Barnum, a truly complicated and fascinating man, tells his story in a breezy and entertaining fashion. As a known humbug you have to take his words with a grain of salt, but his autobiography paints a conflicting portrait to the reputation he has garnered in the 21st century. (He both purchased a slave and fought for the abolition of slavery.)He doesn't shy away from the more controversial aspects of his life (although in 1886, they probably didn't seem so controversial), but he does spin the...
I wrote my longest GoodReads review for this book and my iPad courteously erased the whole thing.Very frustrating.This book is phenomenal! What a person Barnum was. His joie de vive, or whatever it is, helped propel him to great longevity, 82 years, I believe. His treatment of humans and animals would never be accepted nowadays, but this was a century and a half ago. If he treated the people and animals he exhibited with the fairness with which he did business, I want to believe those people and...
This was a real enjoyable read, for those interested in Barnum's real life exploits after the 'Greatest Showman' this is an interesting book and is a real good insight into life and business at this time.The tone was good, the subject matter interesting and although he sometimes jumped about a bit in time it was easy to follow and made for good reading. Not sure if it was just my ebook copy but some of the images seemed dumped in place towards the beginning of the book with no relevance. This di...
What an interesting story. Nothing at all like the movie, thank goodness! Barnum was a man of integrity & goodness with an indomitable spirit. He survived through 5 fires that destroyed home & museum/circus, yet kept plunging ahead knowing that good can only come out of it! While there were a few chapters that held quite boring statistics & data, the rest of it was very entertaining. I'm so glad I was able to finish this book literally minutes before it was digitally returned to the library.
All right he was a braggart. He was grandious. He was a crooked genius.But, he never said "There's a sucker born every minute."I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Victorian era, oddities, or entertainment.
Very interesting as a whole, but lots and lots of details that weigh down the story.
Very interesting as a whole, but lots and lots of details that weigh down the story.
Last winter we had watched the film 'The Greatest Showman' and it got me wondering about the real life of P.T Barnum. This book takes you through the life of this famous showman in all sorts of ways. From his unassuming youth, to his first museum, and then world tours, you will travel many miles. He was a showman for sure, but also a gambler of sorts, a swindler, and a mystery. His honesty, faith and curiosity shine through the pages. It can be a bit hard to follow as he jumps back in forth in d...
Some parts were interesting. Other parts were not so much, especially all the name calling and chapters about persons I have never heard of from 150-200 years ago.
I think it's pretty safe to say that the Woke generation won't hold Barnum in much regard ...Of all the oddities in Barnum's life I think he himself was probably the greatest.
The book was really good and showed the tricks and cunning business sense of Barnum. It also showed how he used the media of the day to advertise his museums, shows,etc. he seemed to be quite good at it. Through many set backs he continued on and succeeded. It appears he really did I’ve what he did and really did try to give the people their money’s worth of entertainment. Also, he saw a positive in others that most people might have seen as misfortune such as being a dwarf, etc. It’s worth the
