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Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and Profit
 
 
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Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and Profit (Paperback)

~ (Author) "OTIS JORDAN, a man with poorly functioning and underformed limbs who is better known in the carnival world as "Otis the Frog Man," was banned..." (more)
Key Phrases: high aggrandized mode, freak portraits, freak show platform, United States, Tom Thumb, Becker Coll (more...)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
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Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and Profit + Carny Folk + American Sideshow
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  • This item: Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and Profit by Robert Bogdan

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From 1840 until 1940, freak shows by the hundreds crisscrossed the United States, from the smallest towns to the largest cities, exhibiting their casts of dwarfs, giants, Siamese twins, bearded ladies, savages, snake charmers, fire eaters, and other oddities. By today's standards such displays would be considered cruel and exploitative—the pornography of disability. Yet for one hundred years the freak show was widely accepted as one of America's most popular forms of entertainment.

Robert Bogdan's fascinating social history brings to life the world of the freak show and explores the culture that nurtured and, later, abandoned it. In uncovering this neglected chapter of show business, he describes in detail the flimflam artistry behind the shows, the promoters and the audiences, and the gradual evolution of public opinion from awe to embarrassment. Freaks were not born, Bogdan reveals; they were manufactured by the amusement world, usually with the active participation of the freaks themselves. Many of the "human curiosities" found fame and fortune, becoming the celebrities of their time, until the ascent of professional medicine transformed them from marvels into pathological specimans.


About the Author

Robert Bogdan is professor of special education, cultural foundations of education, and sociology at Syracuse University.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (May 15, 1990)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0226063127
  • ISBN-13: 978-0226063126
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #382,949 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #38 in  Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Theater > Circus

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
OTIS JORDAN, a man with poorly functioning and underformed limbs who is better known in the carnival world as "Otis the Frog Man," was banned in 1984 from appearing as part of the Sutton Sideshow at the New York State Fair. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
high aggrandized mode, freak portraits, freak show platform, popular amusement industry, aggrandized exhibits, amusement organizations, presenting freaks, freak show world, aggrandized modes, exotic mode, skeleton dude, freak exhibits, exhibiting people, freak show attractions, exotic presentation, freak show exhibits, ossified man, amusement world, freak attractions, human ostrich, human oddities, sideshow exhibits, dime museums, born freaks, tattooed people
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Tom Thumb, Becker Coll, Coney Island, American Museum, Syracuse University, Henry Johnson, Hilton Sisters, Charles Stratton, Lavinia Warren, Charles Eisenmann, Robert Wadlow, Mary Hilton, Civil War, Eli Bowen, Madison Square Garden, Wild Australian Children, Mathew Brady, Midway Plaisance, Nate Eagle, Charles Tripp, Clyde Ingalls, Frank Wendt, Hertzberg Coll, Jack Earle
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Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and Profit
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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to the sociology of deviance, November 15, 1999
By A Customer
I have been using Freak Show in my Introduction to Sociology class since it has been published. I find the book to be a great way to introduce students to a qualitative approach to the sociology of deviance. Bogdan's fresh approach to the material makes the experiences of the so-called "freaks" come alive. Discussion that ensues covers the range from the construction of disabilites, how non-white "races" were constructed as "inferior," and the way modern-day "Freak shows" live on in TV-talk shows. I have frequently cast about for a newer supplemental reading to offer my students, but have always come back to Freak Show. And for all you non-professors out there, I recommend the book as a great read!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars For Young and Old Alike!, January 21, 2008
I was afraid that this was going to be one of those hand-wringing tsk-tsk-tsk books with pretenses to sociology. Not a bit of it! It's a well-researched and pleasant history of just what we all want to read about and see at the sideshow. It is particularly uplifting to know that many of these "freaks" are equananimous about their condition, and don't consider themselves particularly ill-treated. The belief that they are sad creatures whom fate has done poorly by, is simply our own condescension.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars freak shows in their historical context, October 31, 1998
By hdjohn01@maxwell.syr.edu (Syracuse, New York) - See all my reviews
The author did an excellent job of writing about freak shows in their historical context. Even though written as sociological qualitative research, the lay person can read and enjoy this book. I am buying it for my mother who is not involved in the world of academia. It is well written and provides the reader with an appreciation of the history. I would recommend it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!
I bought this book as a gift for my husband after we viewed a documentary on circus side shows. It is a very well-written book, and the people are sensitively portrayed.
Published 22 months ago by Dr. Dee

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good Freaky Book
I read this book and I will probably read it again. The subject is handled with respect - I appreciated that. Read more
Published on September 26, 2004 by John Preble

4.0 out of 5 stars for Freak Geeks Only
I loved every page of this book. It gave me the most in depth information on the development of the side show and the expoitation of human beings. Read more
Published on August 1, 2002 by Linda Elmquist

4.0 out of 5 stars history of the sideshows
This book is a book that tells you about the ins and outs of how the freakshows started and profited. I had no idea that it was a social book. Read more
Published on January 2, 2002 by Josh Cackowski

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting context, but a slow read
If carnivals and sideshows are of great interest to you, this book may be worth a read. However, if you've read much about carnivals and sideshows, I think you'll find this... Read more
Published on August 23, 1998

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