American Sideshow: An Encyclopedia of History's Most Wondrous and Curiously Strange Performers

This book is informative, thorough and makes a lively read. Hartzman obviously has a lot of passion and affection for his subject. He has detailed the lives of many odd, strange and unique human beings in a refreshingly straight forward manner. He has a light touch and a wry sense of humor that pokes through from time to time. It is apparent that this was a labor of love and the author brings the book right up to date with a review of contemporary performers who are bringing various aspects of the sideshow to modern audiences. The book opens in the 'golden age' of the sideshow, from the 1830s, through the Barnum years up to the early 1900s. A time when the only way rural working people could be 'amazed and amused' was when the circus or the fair blew in to town. Hartzman documents some of the most famous performers and human exhibits of that period. He continues through the 'silver' age, around the end of WW1 through to the Vietnam era. And finishes with the 'modern' age. The three sections document nicely the rise, decline and subtle rebirth of this unique corner of American theater. In a world where reality TV rules supreme, it is gratifying to read a book that is dedicated to celebrating those who truly kept it and continue to keep it very real. Highly reccomended. The pictures alone are worth the price of the book, stop reading and order it.

Hello. My name is Ses Carny. I am only one of the many modern day sideshow performers that Marc interviewed for this book. When I got my copy I was very happily surprised at the fondness found in the pages. Most books about the sideshow performers are somewhat degrading to the acts. BUT NOT WITH AMERICAN SIDESHOW! Marc really went above and beyond to bring out the truth about the performers, both past and present. We are not monsters, or people to feel sorry for. Marc has certainly brought a level of dignity, that has not been found published before, to the acts of the sideshow. Thank you Marc for writing such a fantastic book! I am looking forward to your next venture greatly! Ses [...]

This is a well informative book on the lives of sideshow people. The accuracy and even comical facts are entertaining! I have enjoyed reading the book and learning more about people with very different lives.

The first things that come to mind when looking at a book on sideshow freaks wouldn't be dignity, but that is what comes off the pages of Marc Hartzman's documentary. The stories are wonderous and show both the fascination for these people and the oddness of their lives and careers but what you leave with is respect. Not only is this a fun book, it is a social document that reaches into what it means to be an American, and in broader terms, what it means to be human. Quite lofty stuff, but done grandly.

Marc Hartzman has undertaken an ambitious project: a chronicle of those showfolks who performed in America's sideshows from circa 1830 to the present. Starting with the golden era under P.T. Barnum, Hartzman gives the reader brief biographical introductions to these unusual performers. Hartzman's prose offers a good humored look at the place where truth and hype converge in the lives of these human oddities. The text is accompanied by rare photographs from the author's and other collections (including that of yours truly). I find it gratifying that whereas most books focus on sideshow's illustrious (or dubious) past, Hartzman also takes time to acknowledge the contemporary performers and showmen keeping the tradition alive out there on the sawdust trail. The short, the tall, the fat, the tattooed, the conjoined, the hirsute, the limbless: they're all here to discover inside Hartzman's tent.