James Taylor's Shocked & Amazed! On and Off the Midway, Vol. 3 [Paperback]

James Taylor (Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Dolphin Moon Press / Atomic Books (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940475049
• ISBN-13: 978-0940475045
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,815,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Taylor is a graduate of the University of Maryland and the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars and co-founded Dolphin-Moon Press in 1973, making it one of Baltimore's oldest small press publishing houses. For nearly a decade, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Taylor was literary chairman to the Baltimore Mayor's Advisory Committee on Art and Culture and was a member of the Maryland governor's panel choosing the state's poet laureate. In 1999 he co-founded with Dick Horne the American Dime Museum in Baltimore, a museum that was part Victorian recreation and part homage to circus, carnival and dime museum culture; Taylor dissolved his partnership with Horne in 2003. Almost immediately, he began work on reestablishing his own museum attractions in Washington, DC, in the Palace of Wonders, which opened in 2006. He has given countless readings of his work both here and abroad and has been featured internationally on numerous occasions on TV, radio and in print in connection with his own writing, his museums and Dolphin-Moon Press. He has also served as historical consultant to numerous television productions in his capacity as variety arts historian. He has three books of poetry and fiction to date: Tigerwolves, Tricks of Vision, and Artifacture (featuring illustrations by half a dozen artists). His Shocked and Amazed! - On & Off the Midway, published through Dolphin-Moon since 1995, is the world's only journal devoted to novelty and variety exhibition and life in the sideshow; in 2002, Lyons/Globe Pequot Press published a "Best Of" Shocked and Amazed! In his private life, he has worked for the state government of Maryland since 1975, and for 25 years, beginning in 1984, he was an Associate Professor of English at the Dundalk Campus of the Community College of Baltimore County.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful piece of American history!!, July 20, 2011

By 

Turkey Bird Studio - See all my reviews

This review is from: James Taylor's Shocked & Amazed: On & Off the Midway (Volume 2) (Paperback)

I couldn't put this series down. The stories are wonderful bits of American history. Great pictures, beautiful art work. This is perfect for anyone interested in the sideshow, the circus, fairs, magic, tattoos, theater, art, performers, oddities, etc. etc. When I was little we used to go to the sideshow and these books are a wonderful reminder of those times. The sideshow is a very important part of American history and the Shocked & Amazed series is helping to keep alive the art and performances of this very unique group of people. Hurray!!! It looks at the past, present and future. The stories, by a wide range of authors, are very well written & interesting to read. The old photos are a blast. The words of many of the performers are inspirational. Thanks to creator James Taylor and all involved. Keep up the good work.

5.0 out of 5 stars Freakin' Great! Buy This Book!, October 24, 2001

By 

D.B. "terraplaned" (Gibtown, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: James Taylor's Shocked and Amazed! On & Off the Midway, Vol. 4 (Paperback)

James Taylor is a minor genius on the order of Typhoid Mary, or the guy who invented the wide-mouthed soda can. What I mean is that Mr. Taylor has distilled the sweetest and most powerful liquor out of the grease and rust of the sideshow, and packed it into the meaty pages of "Shocked and Amazed". If you have any interest in the sideshow, freakery, or the hard red underbelly of American culture, you need these books. So far there are 5 issues, with "Shocked and Amazed" Number 6 coming soon.