Fall of the Big Top: The Vanishing American Circus [Hardcover]

David Lewis Hammarstrom (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0786431695 | ISBN-13: 978-0786431694 | Publication Date: October 31, 2007

Once an eagerly awaited spectacle, the traveling circus--that miracle of red wagons, trumpeting elephants and spangled trapeze artists that slipped into town at dawn and disappeared by midnight--has all but vanished from the American landscape. This work explores circus history from 1793 to the present and addresses the forces of modern culture (such as the popularity of Cirque du Soleil, and pressure from the animal rights movement) that are pushing big top shows toward what the author calls "circus ballet." Numerous photographs and in-depth interviews conducted with show owners, performers and directors enrich the narrative. Overall, the book reveals a sobering contrast between circuses of yesterday and today, even as it honors the outstanding performers who created, and have sustained, the enduring appeal of the circus.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Entertainment journalist and critic David Lewis Hammarstrom has written articles for The Christian Science Monitor, American Skating World and Variety. He lives in California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 239 pages
• Publisher: McFarland (October 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786431695
• ISBN-13: 978-0786431694
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,541,957 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Big Top uncovered, April 30, 2009

By 

Dave Russell "Dave Russell-Author of Dreality" (Reisterstown, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fall of the Big Top: The Vanishing American Circus (Hardcover)

David Hammarstrom's book, "Fall of the Big Top," is a beautiful hardcover, "coffee table book," filled with wonderful historic pictures. To those with an interest in the subject, such as myself, it gets down to the causes and socio-economic pressures that have taken the traveling circus from its heyday in the early 20th century to its diluted form of today. It's a rather sad account, for it makes clear that the three-ring traveling circus will never approach the spectacle it once was. Some may enjoy the "ballet-circus" that has become the spin-off of the original, but it can harldly capture the thrilling acts of risk-taking that previously defined "circus."

"Fall of the Big Top" covers many aspects of the circus and how they have changed over time; things like the array of performing animals, the live bands and the "death-defying" acts that kept drawing you back. I especially enjoyed the personalities that made up the circus "back when" and the passion with which they performed. There was a raw electricity to the circus that has pretty much disappeared, although if you search hard you can still find some present-day circuses that will make your heart pound and jaw drop open.

1.0 out of 5 stars Smarmy and overly sentimental, September 22, 2011

By 

theAJIshow - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fall of the Big Top: The Vanishing American Circus (Hardcover)

Sure, there's a little bit of circus history hidden here in this book, but boy do you have to dig through a lot of whining and ranting about the "old days" to get to it. Often times this book seems more like a Mickey Rooney tirade from Sixty Minutes about how the circus used to be, and how it isn't any good anymore, than a history of American Circus.

More at home taking potshots at Irvin Feld and Cirque du Soleil than recounting any stories or facts about the circus and spectacle that is, sadly, in decline.. I walked away from it wishing all the whining and crying had been edited out.. But then I would've been left with only ten pages of book. All pictures.

Worth it from the library or for a couple dollars in a thrift store, otherwise, don't bother.