American Sideshow: An Encyclopedia of History's Most Wondrous and Curiously Strange PerformersA fascinating look into the history of the American sideshow and its performers. Learn what's real, what's fake, and what's just downright bizarre. You've probably heard of Tom Thumb. The Elephant Man. Perhaps even Chang and Eng, the original Siamese twins. But what about Eli Bowen, the legless acrobat? Or Prince Randian, the human torso? These were just a few of the many stars that shone during the heyday of the American sideshow, from 1840 to 1950. American Sideshow chronicles the lives of truly amazing performers, examining these brave and extraordinary curiosities not just as sideshow performers but as people, delving into the lives they led and the ways they were able to triumph over and even benefit from their abnormalities. American Sideshow discusses the rise and fall of the original sideshows and their subsequent replacement by today's self-made freaks. With the progress of modern medicine, technological advancements, and the wonderful world of body modification, abnormalities are being overcome, treated and even prevented: Siamese twins can now be separated, and in addition to this, tongues can be forked, horns surgically implanted, and earlobes removed. There are also, of course, modern-day giants, fire eaters, sword swallowers, glass eaters, human blockheads, and oh, so much more. These fascinating personalities are celebrated through intimate biographies paired with stunning photographs. Approximately two hundred performers from the past one hundred and sixty years are featured, giving readers a comprehensive and sometimes astonishing look into the history of the American sideshow |
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appeared Armless Armless Wonder arms attraction audiences Author's collection baby Bailey show Barnum & Bailey Bearded Lady became Becker Collection began billed Bindlestiff Bindlestiff Family Cirkus birth Bobby Reynolds body born brothers Burkhart career carnival circa claimed Collections Research Center Coney Island conjoined twins Curiosities died dime museums dwarf earned entertained eventually exhibited father feet Freaks giant Gibsonton girl Goshen grew hair Harck Harley Newman head height human blockhead inches Jim Rose Jim Rose Circus Johnny Eck known Laloo later legs Lilliputian living Liz Steger married midget mother normal onstage P. T. Barnum parasitic twin Pastrana performed retired Ringling Bros Schlitzie shoes show business showman Siamese twins sideshow sister skin Special Collections Research star stunts sword swallower Syracuse University Library tallest tattooed Thumb Tom Thumb took Torture King toured traveled Ward Hall weighed wife woman Wonder Zigun