Fall of the big top : the vanishing American circus / David Lewis Hammarstrom.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hammarstrom, David Lewis, 1940- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Circus--United States--History.

Circus.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (241 p.)

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, North Carolina ; London, [England] : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

""Excellent...recommended""--Choice. Once an eagerly awaited spectacle, the traveling circus--that miracle of red wagons, trumpeting elephants and spangled trapeze artists that slipped into town at dawn and disappeared by midnight--has all but vanished from the American landscape. This work explores circus history from 1793 to the present and addresses the forces of modern culture (such as the popularity of Cirque du Soleil, and pressure from the animal rights movement) that are pushing big top shows toward what the author calls ""circus ballet."" Numerous photographs and in-depth interview

Contents:

Cover; Contents; Preface; 1. The Big One Falls; 2. Back Before Barnum ; 3. American Heyday; 4. Brother, Can You Spare a Ring? ; 5. Spectacles Unsublime ; 6. Mavericks on the Midway ; 7. Cirque du Invasion ; 8. Encore for the Eighties ; 9. Vanishing Visions ; 10. Laliberte Latitudes; 11. Ringling in Retreat; 12. Reparations for Jumbo?; 13. Gunther in Black; 14. There Go the Shriners

15. And the Band Did Not Play On16. Minus Clyde Beatty; 17. This Way to the Ballet; 18. Bumpin' Back with a Voice; 19. Big Apple Delicious; 20. And in the Only Ring That Matters; Chapter Notes; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4766-0835-0