Customer Reviews

The Life of P.T. Barnum

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the first modern version of Barnum's original 1855 autobiography. Barnum not only admits that deception made him rich, he also takes great pleasure in recounting his notorious "humbugs." All in all, this is a fascinating and startling story told by one of the founders of American mass culture.

One of the most ambiguous figures in American history is P.T. Barnum. He was a legendary showman, curator, writer, entrepreneur--but he was also known for his humbugs. Many of his great successes were based on scamming and frauding the American public.

He was a master of marketing and advertising. His ability to manipulate the media was a precursor for much of American life in the last 150 years. Barnum had a genius for drawing in the crowd and creating scandals. He was often the one who exposed his own frauds.

This autobiography provides a fascinating glimpse into the man behind the legend and myth. Barnum begins with childhood and works his way through his life up to that point. This one is the original autobiography written in 1855. Many of his great triumphs like General Tom Thumb and the Jenny Lind tour had already taken place.

It should be remembered that Barnum is telling his own tale so it would be wise to maintain a cynical stance when reading this tale. I often found myself nodding with agreement at what I was reading and then pausing to consider that Barnum may have been hoodwinking the reader.

Overall, this is a compelling read in spite potential exaggerations. Barnum, for better or worse, is one of the most famous of all American showman. He set the stage for much of the entertainment world since his time. I found myself disdainful of some of his excesses but I came away with an overall appreciation for this man.

The American landscape is richer for having him. He has provided us with one of our greatest myths.

Barnum is one of my "great american heroes." This is his life in his own words, written at the peak of his fame and success, and before bad things began to make him bitter. He is cocky, bemused, hilarious and thoroughly full of beans: he knows it and revels in it. If you ever have an interest in self promotion or promotion of any kind, read this book. Learn from the greatest master of marketing of all time.

I really enjoyed reading P.T. Barnum's auto-biography. He was a great showman. I highly recommend this book. The musical version of his life "Barnum" staring Michael Crawford is really good too.

Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 - April 7, 1891), American showman who is best remembered for his entertaining hoaxes and for founding the circus that eventually became Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

In Brooklyn, New York in 1871, he established "P.T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Circus", a traveling amalgamation of circus, menagerie and museum of "freaks", which by 1872 was billing itself as "The Greatest Show on Earth".

There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase often credited to P.T. Barnum. However, when Barnum's biographer tried to track down when Barnum had uttered this phrase, all of Barnum's friends and acquaintances told him it was out of character. Barnum's credo was more along the lines of "there's a customer born every minute" -- he wanted to find ways to draw new customers in all the time because competition was fierce and people bored easily

Barnum wrote several books, including The Humbugs of the World (1865), Struggles and Triumphs (1869), and his Autobiography (first in 1854, and later editions including 1869).

Barnum is a treat to read and is never boring! I highly recommend his books.

While this is a great true story, I cannot recommend this Kindle edition, which is wrought with typographical errors and seems to have not been copy-edited for layout. I've returned mine, and I'm hoping a cleaner Kindle copy becomes available.

My APUS textbook mentioned a little on P.T Barnum and his museum with the "fejee" mermaid and Tom Thumb. The elaborate freak show hoax was by far the most interesting tibet of US History I've yet to find and spurred my mild obsession with this amazing figure.

This book is charming and witty, but a little to long to be truly enjoyable (at least to high school student). But still completely worth the hours spent.

Also, after spending the 3.99 on the kindle version i found it free on Google Books as well as Project Gutenberg, but my amazon customer loyalty will forever bind me to kindles!

I think the story is interesting and a good read but the print is so hard to read . It seems like it was printed on a machine that was out of ink so it is unpleasant and uncomfortable to read so I am losing interest. If there is a problem there maybe you could look into it. I would love to have the book with a nicer print.

I bought this after seeing the movie about the life of PTBarnum.It is interesting to read his take on his own life.Esp. since he wrote this book in the 1850's and his life was only about half over.This book was written before he became involved in the circus business.It really was a little early in his life to write an autobiogaphy.People did not live as long then so maybe he felt it was time to do it.
The book feels old timey in language and style.I liked it

P.T. Barnum was a creative force in the worlds of advertising, museums, entertainment and finally, the circus. He was also a politician who held two high offices. He supported the northern view of the Civil War, he was anti-slavery, he constantly fought to bring the rich and powerful and regular folk together under one roof. He believed in the American Dream and that those that came to America had the curiosity to find out what was on the other side of the ocean for themselves. It was this same curiosity that led them inside museums and under the big top. He coined many phrases and terms used freely today. P.T. Barnum created worlds similar to worlds written by authors Frank L. Baum (the Oz books) and Mark Twain. Perhaps P.T. Barnum is not the best person to tell that story, but the book is a classic American tale of an American legend. Too bad it was packaged with mocking commentary on the cover and introduction which was completely inappropriate for display on one's bookshelf. It is difficult to tell why the publishers would sell the book when they have such obvious disdain for it. Everyone will always remember Barnum and not even buyers of the book will recall the names of the authors, but still, this is certainly not the way an autobiography should be published. Imagine buying a book of famous portraits only to find that the publishers have drawn mustaches on each one. As a collector, this is a waste, wait for another edition.