The Life of P.T. Barnum

by P.T. Barnum

For more than fifty years, Phineas T. Barnum embodied all that was grand and fraudulent in American mass culture. Over the course of a life that spanned the nineteenth century (1810-91), he inflicted himself upon a surprisingly willing public in a variety of guises, from newspaper editor (or libeler) to traveling showman (or charlatan) and distinguished public benefactor (or shameless hypocrite).
 
Barnum deliberately cultivated his ambiguous public image through a lifelong advertising campaign, shrewdly exploiting the cultural and technological capabilities of the new publishing industry. While running his numerous shows and exhibitions, Barnum managed to publish newspaper articles, exposés of fraud (not his own), self-help tracts, and a series of best-selling autobiographies, each promising to give "the true history of my many adventures."
 
Updated editions of The Life of P. T. Barnum appeared regularly, allowing Barnum to keep up with demand and prune the narrative of details that might offend posterity. The present volume is the first modern edition of Barnum's original and outrageous autobiography, published in 1855 and unavailable for more than a century. Brazen, confessional, and immensely entertaining, it immortalizes the showman who hoodwinked customers into paying to hear the reminiscences of a woman presented as George Washington's 161-year-old nurse, the impresario who brought Jenny Lind to America and toured Europe with General Tom Thumb, and the grand entrepreneur of the American Museum of New York. Above all, it ensures that Barnum would be properly remembered . . . exactly as he created himself.
 

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Memoir, Classics, Autobiography, Business

404 pages, Paperback

First published December 14, 1855

About the author

American man Phineas Taylor Barnum established The Greatest Show on Earth in 1871; its major competition in 1881 merged to form the circus of James Anthony Bailey.

Phineas Taylor Barnum, a best remembered entertainer, promoted such celebrated hoaxes as the Feejee mermaid and founded later the Ringling brothers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._T._B...

Reviews

[- Jared - ₪ Book Nerd ₪ · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a movie that just came out about this guy named P.T. Barnum. Apparently it’s some sort of musical starring The Wolverine, but I'm told that Professor X and the rest of the gang couldn't make it for some reason. I thought maybe that I'd probably like it still, but alas, he never once brandishes his adamantium claws! Anyway, I think my wife is going to drag me out to see it, so I thought I'd brush up on the real history of the guy so I can annoy my wife by half-seriously pointing out all the things they are getting wrong in the movie. This way I can be sure to sabotage the entertainment value of the movie and ensure that an otherwise lovely evening is poisoned thus making for another sexless night. This is truly true love, err... I mean the fact that I'm not divorced yet.

On a serious note: the book was actually entertaining and you learn a bit about the guy, his cunning business tactics, as well as the practical jokes levied against him and his friends. I was afraid that it would be dull but it proved me very wrong. A short book well worth a read!

UPDATE: 02-15-18
Well I was right, on valentines day my wife shanghaied me. She enticed me with her womanly woos, and before I knew it, I was staring at a melodic version of Logan crooning about love and various other plots. My vengeful plans of ruining the evening with factual historic accounts were thwarted by both the distracting screen (what can I say the actresses were pretty and the singing of the fat bearded lady was quite lovely) and a trio of giggly teen girls that remarkably managed to upset my lovely bride more than I was able. When it was over, I recounted to my wife as best I could all the things they completely missed about the 'real' P.T. Barnum. My wife argued that the point of the show was more for entertainment and enjoyment than it was for historical accuracy. But I would not falter and give in to her logic! I continued on about how utterly 'fake' (to use a word straight from the movie) the movie was compared to the real history. They even noted this at the very end of the credits!

As I pointed this out, rather passionately, I received an approving chuckle from the lady of a young couple sitting two rows behind us. This strengthened my resolve, embarrassed my wife, and, as a result, my passion and voice began to raise in unison. I was rewarded with a punch that wounded my pride more than my arm, but I was not discouraged. I faithfully discharged my duty to history and recounted more facts. To my astonishment, my wife laughed a bit, too. That's when I crumbled and admitted the show had its value. It was a little unusual seeing Wolverine dancing around on stage but he was actually quite talented...so, sorry folks, but you'll need to choose another hero for history, as I lost this battle and gave in to the fairer sex. :(

Final score:
Truth and History: 0
False musical and Sex: 1

[Britt Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am I really sitting here, taking the time to write out a review for P.T. Barnum's autobiography?
Why yes, yes I am.
Now, P.T. Barnum was not a good man. We all know this, and if you let Hugh Jackman's portrayal of Barnum in "The Greatest Showman" take over your idea of what real Barnum was like, well, that's your own damn problem. That being said, I do love The Greatest Showman - can we say, favorite movie? - and, as I said above, it's your own fault if you can't do research for yourself. After watching the movie, I had a few dollars left on a Christmas gift card and Barnum's autobiography was less than $2 on Kindle. So I thought, what the hell. It took me a damn month to read it, but I did finally finish it and, hell, I'm glad I did.
P.T. Barnum was an asshole, yes, and he did treat those with disabilities like shit, yes. That's all true. However, one thing I think we all need to remember is the time period in which he lived. Real Barnum was born in 1810 in Connecticut (his birthday is the day after America's Independence Day, actually) and died in 1891, aged 80, also in Connecticut. He sat down to write this autobiography in the 1850s - that's before the Civil War even happened! Put that into perspective. Yes, he was an asshole. Yes, he - along with 99% of the population - treated literally anyone with differences like they were freaks. He was literally known for it!
But he, just like everybody else who lived then, was a product of his time. That's what's so important to remember. They were not NEARLY as tolerant then as we are now - hell, the South still had SLAVES when the autobiography was written. People were exploited for PROFIT because "normal" people were disgusted and/or fascinated by them. We cannot go back and change history, no, but people should not be crucified for finding interest in the... mindset of folks like Real Barnum (as opposed to Hugh Jackman's Barnum) back then. I've always been fascinated by history and the fact that we've come so far in a relatively short amount of time. Many, MANY historical events were harmful, yes. But there is no harm in wanting to simply learn more.
Now, I'm saying that as a (at the time of this review) 19 year old who's been physically disabled - to the point of having needed a dozen surgeries over the first eight years of her life - her whole, entire life. Had it been possible for me to live back then (thank you, heckin medical advancements), I would have been a PERFECT example of a person Real Barnum would have wanted to use and abuse for his "shows" and "exhibits."
But... that was then. This is now. Real Barnum has been dead for almost 130 years now, and his show - Barnum & Bailey - was shut down last year. It's a permanent mark in American history, and there is no longer any harm in wanting to learn more so long as you accept that people *aren't* and *can't be* treated like that any longer.
I think the thing that fascinates me most about reading Real Barnum's autobiography is the fact that... he had a childhood. He was a child once, just like the rest of us, that he was fond of. He had a grandfather (*cough* who highkey looked like Elton John *cough*) that he was extremely fond of and close to, he had siblings - including a brother with whom he shared his bedroom, and who would try to catch him when he (PT Barnum) snuck out at night), and he was fond of pranks and practical jokes. Hell, there's an entire section of this book where Barnum details a prank war he had - as an adult - with a news reporter known as James Bennett. (No wonder movie-verse Bennett hated the circus so much)! And I think when somebody has a tainted reputation such as Barnum's, it's rather interesting - and totally mind-boggling - to read about them in their innocent moments. Especially when they're being written down and detailed by the man himself.
Speaking of Real Barnum's word, there are several cases - such as the woman who claimed to be George Washington's slave - that are infamous in the case against Barnum that I found EXTREMELY interesting to read from his word - essentially getting the other side (no pun intended) of the story. In the case of the woman he claimed was George Washington's slave, for example, HE claims that SHE told him that she was a hundred and sixty (or however old the age was) when she was, in reality, something like seventy or eighty. According to his written word, he took her word for it (A+ background checks there, Mr. Barnum) and the truth of her age was never revealed until she died and they did an autopsy. I guess in an over century-year-old case of "he said, she said," we can never really 100% know the truth regarding who deceived who. But IF he's right in reporting that he truly did not know this woman's real age, then I find it absolutely fucking *hysterical* that the infamous conman himself got conned.
I think that's all I, really, have to say on the matter, I think. Everyone has their own opinions on what sort of acknowledgment P.T. Barnum should receive and I prefer to stay out of that, for the most part, though I do love The Greatest Showman and am truly glad that I decided to pick up this read because of it. Though it did take me a month, the writing style actually was not hard to follow at ALL, which I find incredibly surprising. Though Barnum is a 19th century man, he has an almost... contemporary style of writing, with only slight language modifications from translators and historians. So, if you're into history like I am, I do genuinely recommend at least checking out this book.
P.T. Barnum is, and was, an interesting man... that's for sure.
(also, I find it HYSTERICAL that real Barnum was against alcohol and yet the film Greatest Showman featured Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron practically seducing each other in a bar. A+ work there, filmwriters)

[Traa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an absolutely charming book. A good chunk at the beginning is dedicated to describing practical jokes throughout Barnum's family history as a lead-in to his career as a showman. I often found myself chuckling at his phrasing, which I believe is more than a product of the time at which he was writing. If you are looking for an objective history/biography, Barnum's autobiography is certainly no source of hard facts, but the spin he puts on his stories is an interesting piece of the truth, and my favorite part of reading this book was constantly trying to imagine how his version of his life's story would line up with the experiences of his contemporaries.

[Pam Baddeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not my usual reading fare, but I was intrigued, as my vague knowledge of this man was that he coined famous phrases such as 'There's one born every minute'. However he does not allude to that in his autobiography, but his career perhaps demonstrates it.

As an autobiography it is rather bitty and rambling and the beginning consists mostly of accounts of practical jokes the males of the community where he grew up played on each other - women were mostly excluded it seems. But Barnum's grandfather was a great one for this and also for speculation of various kinds - he was involved in state lotteries for example, where big commissions could be made - and the young Barnum, named after his grandfather Phineas, took after him. From an early age young Barnum did not enjoy working for a salary but instead wanted to make money for himself and try out various schemes. Some were more successful than others, and in some he made money only to lose it through being swindled or having employees who absconded.

As time went on, Barnum moved into the entertainment business as a manager, and he toured the United States with various acts including dancers, jugglers etc, and was involved with circuses. Eventually he engaged a young boy who had a growth problem and, calling this boy General Tom Thumb, enjoyed great success touring the States and then the United Kingdom and Europe where the boy was a great favourite with the royalty of those countries as well as the public at large. Having amassed quite a fortune through this, and hearing of a singer called Jenny Lind who was nicknamed the Swedish Nightingale, he set out to convince her, through one of his agents, to sign on with very favourable terms for a large tour of concerts. Quite a chunk of the book details his travels with her.

As well as this, he managed to obtain a museum in New York where he exhibited various curiosities and made it into a great success. This was an age where the public craved marvels and novelties as shown by the way they flocked to see a young boy with a growth problem singing, dancing and acting out various characters plus being driven around in small carriage driven by Shetland ponies. Earlier on Barnum had taken an financial share in an elderly black woman who had been presented to him as the nurse of George Washington and had toured her around the country - the woman came from the southern States and was in effect sold to him and a partner. This and the idea of the boy being objects that people went to gawp at, is by modern standards very distasteful, but this simply was not the mindset in the period up to 1850 or so where the book finishes. Things were very politically non correct and this has to be borne in mind by the modern reader: Barnum's attitudes were no different to anyone else of his day apart from a few enlightened people who, for example, were campaigning for the abolition of slavery.

One interesting point is that Barnum was engaged as a public speaker over the years, either on the subject of religion or on the temperance movement - he had signed the pledge and become teetotal and was part of the huge movement that eventually led to Prohibition.

On one page, after telling of an attraction which he had arranged where the routine exaggeration or changing of minor facts was done to make it more of a draw to the public (one example is a team of bell ringers from Lancashire who he persuaded to dress as Swiss men and be billed as such - when one objected that they didn't speak any language but English, he assured them it would be fine because no one in America could understand their accent anyway!), he goes on to speak of how great a comfort Christianity has been to him without a suggestion of awareness that he routinely broke the commandment not to bear false witness! The irony of this appears entirely to pass him by.

Due to his association with various attractions over the years including the "Fejee mermaid" - a skillful sewing together of a mummified monkey and a fish probably done in Japan as he deduced - and similar such things, he had a huge reputation for 'humbug' as it was called. But people of that age didn't really resent having the wool pulled over their eyes. Instead, they admired his cleverness in doing so.

So it is an uneven read, and a bit dull or dry in places, but there are also some interesting insights into the mentality of life in the USA in the first part of the nineteenth century. For that reason I rate it at 3 stars.

[Krystle · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a librarian, I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but this one is what drew me to the book. It looked wonderful on the table beside my reading chair in our dining room for the few years it took me to read it. (Please don't interpret that as a negative - I often read many books at a time and tend to rely on audiobooks when migraines interfere, and this unfortunately did not have an audio companion. I enjoyed every page!)

The collection of letters and short background snippets accompanying them gives the reader just enough information to peek behind the curtain of The Greatest Show on Earth and get a sense of the man in the center ring. While I had previously read biographies on Barnum and encountered a few of his more popular quotes and writings, this collection spanning the majority of his life and exploring his interactions with family, friends, colleagues, and individuals of importance was significantly more informative. There are layers of his personality and psyche exposed in this book through nothing more than his own words. Where his autobiography always felt a bit "staged" to me, there are aspects of himself that in these letters are "unedited" and somehow more telling of his true interests and character. (For better or worse.) The compilation is a true testament to thorough research, as Barnum curated his life and legacy as meticulously as he did his museums. He put great care into presenting his image and adjusting it to best fit his audiences, as a chameleon of personality to match leaders of business, religion, and politics while building comradery with others in the entertainment world and appealing to his fans. I think I most enjoyed his words to his grandson, though. While still a Show Man, they held an endearing quality that helped to consider the balance between the worldly and powerful influencer and the elderly and story-loving man who worked to build the image that would outlive him.

The incredible depth and breadth of the content contributed to the length of time it took me to complete this reading. I found myself stopping after every few letters in order to research more about their context. It was such an enjoyable experience.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is a ride. A colorful guy gives an account of his work and life adventures that's 1/3 practical jokes, 1/3 savvy business advice, and 1/3 pure amusement. Barnum is an impresario who brought entertainment to the world en route to getting rich. Written in 1855, it comes with the time's formality and interesting language, which can make it slightly tedious here and there, but still well worth it. Interesting to visit a time when social media didn't desensitize people to the world's curiosities. Summary: "The Greatest Showman" but less cheesy and written by an Americanized Dickens.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was given this book as a gift after watching The Greatest Showman about a dozen times. It’s always interesting to me when a movie is based on a real person or event to see how close the depiction is to the real thing. Parts of this book were interesting and funny and parts were dry and dull. The old fashioned language and typography were tricky to decipher as well.

[Kirstie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic. A bit slow to start off with but such an interesting read when I finally had time to read!

[AnnaG · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ancestor of all social media influencers! Eye-opening to read, how much we think things have changed, but how little they really have.

[Bex · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely hated this. Not only was Barnum a conman, a racist* and an all-round deplorable human being, he's also beyond arrogant and writes in a way that comes across as big-headed and generally superfluous. Not worth the time it takes to decipher.

*I don't give a hoot for time or context tbh, so don't try to play that card, racism's racism.

[Lauren George · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The book will be very widely read, and will do infinite mischief.” This was the conclusion of a contemporary newspaper and a sentiment widely echoed by the scandalized readers of Barnum’s unapologetic autobiography. After seeing Hugh Jackman cartwheel and drink his way through The Greatest Showman, I decided that it was finally time to take the “mischievous” thing down from the shelf, brush ten years' worth of dust off it, and meet the man behind the musical.

Given his famous talents for self-promotion, it's good to take this narrator with a heaping dose of salt. His predictable self-aggrandizing is usually tempered with a dose of self-deprecation, making him more likable than he would otherwise be. Reading "The Life" feels a lot like sitting down with Barnum for a drink (a non-alcoholic drink, mind you, since he was a pledged teetotaler and impassioned temperance reformer. Sorry, Zac Efron.), as he recounts 400 pages of loosely connected anecdotes and the practical jokes whose memory still tickles him. Barnum strikes you as someone who enjoys a good laugh and his story demonstrates just how far---and with what tenacity---he will often go to get it.

Barnum himself admits, “the interest of some portions of [the book] may be an offset to the dullness of others,” and I agree with his own assessment, finding the first 200 pages to be slow and plodding. There isn't a compelling linear narrative to pull the reader through, which may jar a bit with 2018 expectations. But ultimately, I’m glad that I saw it through to the end; the shiny bits made plodding through the duller ones worthwhile. The book meanders through antebellum USA, offering a peek at a country tipped on the precipice of war, peopled with humbugs, mermaids, and Swedish Nightingales.

The introduction of this edition was helpful in setting context for the book’s initial publication. Although at the end of my reading, with a better appreciation for Barnum's skill at stirring controversy in his favor, I was left wondering: "On whose payroll were all of the autobiography's supposed moral detractors?" Well humbugged, sir.

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm the type of person who reads a book in a day or so. This autobiography was pretty dry in places and shows the movie Greatest Showman had very few facts about his life correct, which is par for a movie I guess. The book is filled with page after page of dialogue which he supposedly remembers from his young past to when he wrote the book. He was definitely full of himself and claims the public was either to blame for accepting his many lies or they knew about them and accepted them since they appreciated a good deception. 2 stars doesn't seem fair so 3 since gleaned a view of his life back then (also assuming a lot of exaggeration went into that history). I will give him credit for being a hard worker and master at creative advertising. He was making money as a lottery distributor as young as 17, paid Jenny Lind $1,000 per performance and he made over $500,000 from her 100 concerts. Pretty good money for the mid 1800's.

[Broken Lifeboat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This autobiography by legendary showman, P.T. Barnum was a problematic slog for me to get through.

I picked this up not knowing too much about Barnum. The entire book is about cons, swindles and pranks - those done to Barnum, those done by Barnum and those done to and by people around him.

Barnum weaves his life story through overly long chapters full of cons. The first half of the book is the first half of his life in Connecticut and reads like Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. Barnum comes from a long line of pranksters and hucksters and he retells and reveals the methods of these swindles.

The last half of the book deals with Barnum's entry into show business through to semi-retirement. About 30 years before the Civil War, Barnum buys his first exhibit to tour across the country. The exhibit is a black elderly female slave. Barnum never calls himself a slave owner but talks about purchasing her and her documents of authenticity as an oddity of over 160 years old. Barnum talks about touring his first major exhibit throughout the country and charging white people for the privilege of gawking at her and watching her "performance".

Barnum talks about other successful exhibits he staged, including a European tour with of a child with dwarfism he bills as an adult. He later develops a museum of oddities to include the "Fejee Mermaid" and admits it's a monkey skeleton sewed onto a fish skeleton.

Barnum's entire adulthood was dedicated to making money and while he would resist the life of a "showman" he kept going back to it, more successfully each time. Through his exhibits he meets queens and kings and presidents who are as charmed as the public it seems, because he presents his cons are performed in a good natured way that he happens to charge for, making people less mad that they've been swindled.

This was challenging to get through due to the structure and the many obsolete idioms, words and language of the time.

It's also difficult to get through because it is absolutely racist in some shocking ways - Barnum's black song and dance performer runs away so Barnum does black face pretending to be the slave. Barnum offends a white man who nearly shoots him before Barnum proves he's white and the assailant apologizes and leaves - the implication being that a black man would've been killed without a second thought and without justice. Barnum also has some horrible names for and similar stories around Native Americans, Irish and French people. The "oddities" he exhibits are the old time type of ableist 'freak shows'.

Barnum's an interesting character who led an interesting life but I think I would have preferred reading a biography of him rather than his own words.

[Elliot · Rating 2 out of 5]

My edition of Barnum's autobiography has, on its cover, a faceless ringmaster genuflecting towards a crowd while, behind him, an elephant does a trick on a pedestal. This cover was presumably chosen to attract fans of The Greatest Showman musical. It's a hoodwink worthy of the man himself: Barnum published his autobiography in 1855, some 15 years before he entered the ring in earnest. Anyone looking for an account of The Greatest Show on Earth should look elsewhere. Though Barnum does dedicate a chapter to his travels with a small travelling circus, much of this book is dedicated to his early life and his other pursuits.

The chapters on his childhood are good, to begin with. It's hard not to think of Tom and Huck as he describes his mischievous childhood in Connecticut. But we soon learn that Barnum's whole family has an asinine obsession with "practical jokes", dozens of which he describes in surgical detail. The thing is, what the Barnums think of as "practical jokes" might be better termed as grifts, scams, or in some cases, psychological torture.

We also get a long chapter about General Tom Thumb, details of Barnum's stint as a museum curator, and an account of his time as an opera promoter. He's an elegant writer and a gifted storyteller. But for the soon-to-be "greatest showman", he does have a strange preoccupation with details that will interest few and bore many.

He talks about his early career as a merchant, and tells colourful stories of his clientele. So far, so good. But this is all interspersed with long discussions of stocks, accounts, and lotteries. I now know more about running lotteries in 19th century Connecticut than I ever thought I would. Thanks, P.T.

Indeed, in almost every chapter he mixes charming and curious anecdotes with breathtakingly boring diatribes about mundane details. And you can skip the last few chapters completely, unless you want to read droning sermons about temperance, agriculture, and business. Maybe that's your thing! But it's not mine. Towards the end, the book felt interminable, and I was very glad to finish it.

It's a curate's egg in the purest sense: Some parts are good, but the bad bits dominate and leave an unsavoury lasting taste. Barnum used to fascinate me. He still does. But after reading his autobiography, I'm no longer convinced he'd be fun at a party.

WARNING: This book is very much a product of its time. Barnum makes it clear that he views certain people as considerably less than human. Here be slurs and dehumanising language. Approach with caution.

[Beth Lind · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting stories that Barnum witnessed and experienced. Some descriptions of life in the mid 1830s-1850s made me scramble for a Google search while other things seemed oddly the same. Maybe it was me but I feel so enlightened as to what “humbug” means now (and it isn’t just something Scrooge said to Christmas revelers).

I liked Barnum’s rules for success at the end and I live that he loved his wife and daughters. Also, the parts about General Tom Thumb and Jenny Lind were really interesting. Barnum clearly had a kindness about him and he loved to joke.

I picked this book after watching The Greatest Showman. I wanted to know more about PT Barnum and his life. There are great differences but the movie was the more captivating of the two. I guess it’s nice to know the real story (at least according to Barnum) but sometimes Hollywood gets the entertainment part just right.

[Michael Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

P.T. Barnum, America’s most famous marketeer. The first part of the story is most about practical jokes and scams his grandfather and uncles ran. Eventually, he describes some of his own scams. Not very nice was this guy. He was always looking for the fast buck at anyone’s expense but his own. Barnum’s America is a place of gags and deceptions. Always beware of every situation because it likely is there to humiliate you. Trust no one, especially your friends. These gags were entertainment for people. A culture of jokers and crooks. Barnum’s point was none of it was actual dishonesty. These things happen to everybody, so it is your job to look out for yourself. Buyer beware, because there is a good reason! The book has an interesting view of the world.

[Bryony Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read (surprisingly).
As someone who loves the Cy Coleman musical (1980) and dislikes The Greatest Showman, I read this with a mixed view. It’s surprisingly funny to begin with, learning of his family and the many practical jokes. You then discover his various exploits, lots of details about how much money he earned, and strikingly some real examples of how much of a horrible person Barnum was.
It’s very much of its time and I’m a firm believer you shouldn’t remove things from history as we need to learn from past attitudes and actions. But wow, there’s some real moments in this book that make you go “what on earth?!”.
Worth a read, but don’t expect some glorious ‘This Is Me’ empowering messages. This is Barnum as he really was. He must have been insufferable to be around!

[Nick Woodall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book after I saw the movie The Greatest Show. So, I really didn't know what to expect. In reading up about P.T. Barnum and this particular book, the secular press panned the book, as well as looking askance at Barnum's life and his business practices. However, once I read the book, I really liked P.T Barnum and the way he did business. He never lied to anyone, and in fact, went farther than most would have in telling the audience what was really happening. An interesting book, an interesting life.

[David Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given the recent film adaptation and its scale, I expected something a little more out of the ordinary. A fairly interesting man and a good insight into the times but the first 100 pages is perhaps too focused on his early life and the inhabitants of his town and the last section focuses a bit too much on the business economics. In between is where I found the most enjoyment in regards to his exhibits and the talent he facilitated in exhibiting to the public. A lot more of this would've better served the book.

[Emily Linacre · Rating 3 out of 5]

borrowed this one after seeing "the greatest showman." lots of funny anecdotes, especially in his early life. my major issue with the book was the printing... i'm getting old, i know, but this print was dinky, uneven--almost splotchy--and headache inducing. i was also a little disappointed at how much of the movie was fictionalized. but whatevs, both were enjoyable.

[Maryellen Walter · Rating 1 out of 5]

After seeing the movie "The Greatest Showman" I was fascinated to find out more about P.T. Barnum. In my opinion, this authobiography was terrible. The pages I read were all about his growing up and telling jokes and more stories about people in his family. I was looking for information on P. T. himself. This book was not for me and I couldn't begin to finish it.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a long time to read this book. Started it after I saw the movie and found out the movie was greatly exaggerated. This was written by P.T. Barnum himself and while he did live an interesting life, the book was bogged down in too much detail. The book is all about his sideshow days. No mention of a circus.

[Pamela Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1850s, you have to be ready for different sentence structures, terminology, and idioms that were current then. The life of PT Barnum is fantastical - he was a great promoter and showman. The term "humbug" was used to describe his many practical jokes and "pulling the wool over everyone's eyes" ... I enjoyed the Jenny Lind episodes. A true American success story!

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining for the first half, but got boring when he started talking about his different enterprises including touring Tom Thumb and Jenny Lind. I didn’t realize that this was written before he even founded the circus, so I was disappointed to never get to that. 😂 Also, he was just not a very likable person.

[Pam Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

A long book, but very entertaining about all the adventures and businesses Barnum had. Very little personal life is included, but with the success of Greatest Showman movie, it is well worth reading

[michelle park · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book

Not a bad book too read,wanted too see how his life was like compared too the film.
Some parts were a bit drawn out in old style wording but that's the age relating too when the book written.
It was alright,there may be better books about him out there.

[Dan Blackley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Biography about the ultimate showman. P.T. Barnum. This is a very informative look at the man who many today do not know who he is. Creator of the side show, the circus, Foreign singers and an American Museum that was one of the highlights in America.

[Nic Rueth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't that interested, but I had to read it for class.

[A Ivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting how self aware he was of his tricks. Nothing close to the movie portrayal. Narrative meanders at times.

[➸ Gwen de Sade · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a fascinating human being.