Customer Reviews

Girl Show: Into the Canvas World of Bump and Grind

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For anyone who is old enough to have seen a "Girl Show" on the midway of a traveling carnival, this book is a great piece of nostalgia. For those who have never seen or heard of these titilating venues, this book is a look at a forgotton age. The profuse illustrations and photographs are priceless glimpses of our societies changing moral compass, and the interviews and transcripts of early ballyhoos are a hoot.

I teach burlesque dance and lecture on burlesque and striptease, and this is one of the books I always recommend--I consider it absolutely essential for students of the genre. It's a fabulous history of girl shows, and it's fun and informative for anyone with any kind of interest in the subject. It goes beyond stagnant discussions of the place of striptease in society, and gives the reader an opportunity to understand that there is too much variety in the field to ever settle for one definition of what constitutes real burlesque. The text is a pleasure to read, with plenty of detail that is bound to be news to both scholars of the leisure arts and folks seeking a little breezy entertainment. It includes descriptions of other people involved in the Girl Shows, including the producers, the patrons, the variety artists, and more. And the pictures are amazing--what a collection Stencell has!

D'you ever wonder where all the stars of Burlesque went during the hot summer months before air conditioned theaters? Well, they went on the road in carnival shows, and this is the story of that world. This is a lovely, delightful, very informative book!I was enthralled by the stories of these plucky men and women who travelled across the country bumpin and grindin. This is a great book to read after watching "The Greatest Show On Earth". I especially enjoyed the sections on Burlesque performers, and the chapter on "Hooch" dancers was interesting too (kinda gives you some insight on why Vera Ellen was so horrified to be discovered as a hooch dancer by Gene Kelly in "On the Town"!) This book is an absolute must buy/must read!!!

This book is like taking a trip back to the 50s & 60s when as a teenager we used to go see the girly shows at all the local fairs especially the King NC fair.