The Greatest Circus Stories Ever Told: Amazing Stories Of Life Under The Big Top

by Stephen Vincent Brennan

Everyone loves a circus. Whether it''s the Big Top or one of the earliest mud shows, the performances are as amusing as they are mysterious. This collection will allow the reader a glimpse at circuses from as long ago as the 1800s through modern day.

The pages of this collection are filled with colorful personalities, from clowns to acrobats, tightrope walkers to lion tamers. The circus offers something for everyone. It is the world in small. Some people may visit the show to gawk and stare, while others are seduced by the drama and mystique of the carefully choreographed, yet death-defying performances. Whatever the reason for going to the circus, everyone leaves in awe.

Each story in this enthralling collection is carefully selected by an author who has a unique viewpoint--firsthand experince. Selections include works from Don Rice, the ringmaster of one of the first circuses ever to be formed; Henry Miller, author of Smile at the Foot of a Ladder ; Nelson Algren, from his book The Last Carousel ; as well as pieces from P. T. Barnum, Emmett Kelly, Philippe Petit and more.

So whether your dream is to step right up, or sit back and enjoy the show, you''ll be mesmerized by this compilation.

Genres: Short Stories, History, Animals

300 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2005

About the author

Stephen Brennan is the co-author of The Adventurous Boy's Handbook and The Adventurous Girl's Handbook, and editor of The Best Pirate Stories Ever Told and The Best Sailing Stories Ever Told. He has worked as a circus clown, teacher, cabaret artist, actor, director, shepherd, and playwright. He lives in New York City and Woodstock, New York.

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine collection of stories about the circus in the heyday of traveling circuses in America. These take place mostly in the early 1900s. Readers will learn the workings of circus life behind the scenes -- how the animals were treated, early and later, how the big top and other tents and structures took shape, about the people of the circus, hardships, feeding hundreds of circus staff, bonds between people and animals, what could and did go wrong, how animals and people are trained, and much more. Fascinating stuff.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of stories, but I always have issue with "excerpt books" where the "stories" are just chapters removed from larger works (and there is the frustration of mixing fiction and nonfiction in one volume). One cool effect of this mixing, though, is that sometimes you can track a particular elephant through a few stories -- it may have changed owners, but if you take note of names you can infer some connections. And the bit about the press agents had me laughing out loud, circus PR is a wild world unto itself!

[Karen K - Ohio · Rating 2 out of 5]

An uneven collection of excerpts from circus books written from 1880 to 1926, with just a couple of selections from later decades. Some were quite good, but most didnt really grab my interest.