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American Sideshow : an encyclopedia of history's most wondrous and curiously strange performers
A fascinating look into the history of the American sideshow and its performers. Learn what's real, what's fake, and what's just downright bizarre. You've probably heard of Tom Thumb. The Elephant Man. Chang and Eng, the original Siamese twins. But what about Eli Bowen, the legless acrobat? Myrtle Corbin, the four-legged woman? Or Prince Randian, the human torso? All these and more were stars during the heyday of the American sideshow, from 1840 to 1950. American Sideshow chronicles the lives of truly amazing performers, examining these brave and extraordinary curiosities, not just as sideshow attractions, but as people, delving into the lives they led and how they were able to triumph over their abnormalities. American Sideshow discusses the rise and fall of the original sideshows and their subsequent replacement by today's self-made freaks. With the progress of modern medicine, the physical abnormalities are disappearing, either through treatment or prevention; and, ironically, those same technological advancements now make it possible to change our bodies at will. It's amazing how easy it is to have your tongue forked, horns surgically implanted, or your earlobes removed. There are also modern-day giants, fire-eaters, fire-breathers, sword-swallowers, glass-eaters, human blockheads, and, oh, so much more. These fascinating personalities are celebrated through intimate biographies paired with stunning photographs. Approximately 200 performers from the past 160 years are featured, giving readers a comprehensive and sometimes astonishing view of the history of the American sideshow.
291 pages, Paperback
First published November 3, 2005
53 people are currently reading
1328 people want to read
About the author
Marc Hartzman
17 books31 followersABC News has called Marc Hartzman "one of America's leading connoisseurs of the bizarre" and George Noory from Coast to Coast AM said he's "as bizarre as Robert Ripley." Hartzman considers both high praise since his passion for the unusual started with Ripley's Believe It Or Not and the annual Guinness World Records books during his youth.
In addition to his books about UFOs, ghosts, Mars, Oliver Cromwell's embalmed head, weird things on eBay, sideshow performers, and unorthodox messages from God, Hartzman has written for Mental Floss, HuffPost, AOL Weird News, All That's Interesting, The Morbid Anatomy Online Journal, and Bizarre magazine. He's discussed oddities on CNN, MSNBC, Ripley’s Radio, History Channel’s The UnXplained, Xploration Outer Space, the Travel Channel's Mysteries at the Museum, and dozens of podcasts. Hartzman has also been a featured speaker at a various of events for a range of audiences, including the Explore Mars Humans to Mars Summit in Washington, D.C., the Coney Island Congress of Curious Peoples, New York ComicCon, the Exeter UFO Festival, and the Brooklyn Historical Society.
More of his love for the unusual can be found online at Weird Historian. Outside of these projects, Hartzman earns a living as an award-winning advertising creative director.
In addition to his books about UFOs, ghosts, Mars, Oliver Cromwell's embalmed head, weird things on eBay, sideshow performers, and unorthodox messages from God, Hartzman has written for Mental Floss, HuffPost, AOL Weird News, All That's Interesting, The Morbid Anatomy Online Journal, and Bizarre magazine. He's discussed oddities on CNN, MSNBC, Ripley’s Radio, History Channel’s The UnXplained, Xploration Outer Space, the Travel Channel's Mysteries at the Museum, and dozens of podcasts. Hartzman has also been a featured speaker at a various of events for a range of audiences, including the Explore Mars Humans to Mars Summit in Washington, D.C., the Coney Island Congress of Curious Peoples, New York ComicCon, the Exeter UFO Festival, and the Brooklyn Historical Society.
More of his love for the unusual can be found online at Weird Historian. Outside of these projects, Hartzman earns a living as an award-winning advertising creative director.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
March 22, 2025
3.5 stars
A Ripley's Believe It or Not in book form. I went looking for information on Mary Ann Bevan - pegged as the World's Homeliest Woman. I had read a brief description of her in another book and wanted to know more. There is scant information on her anyplace.
So I picked this book up hoping to learn more about Bevan and I did, kinda! Here again barely anything - a brief page and a half on her. However, within the mix of oddities. I learned a bit more about the sideshow, from the Golden Age - 1830's to early 1900's - the Silver Age - 1919 to 1970's - and the the Modern Age - 1970's to 2005. And yes there are still sideshows being performed, even today. As long as people have something odd to sell there will be sideshows
Where in times past people born with body disfigurement, or ravishes due to illness was the rage, today it is more body adaptation. Adaptation to sword and fire swallowing, laying on nails, contortionist, selective implants such as horns and buttons, or stories tattooed on the body.
A Ripley's Believe It or Not in book form. I went looking for information on Mary Ann Bevan - pegged as the World's Homeliest Woman. I had read a brief description of her in another book and wanted to know more. There is scant information on her anyplace.
So I picked this book up hoping to learn more about Bevan and I did, kinda! Here again barely anything - a brief page and a half on her. However, within the mix of oddities. I learned a bit more about the sideshow, from the Golden Age - 1830's to early 1900's - the Silver Age - 1919 to 1970's - and the the Modern Age - 1970's to 2005. And yes there are still sideshows being performed, even today. As long as people have something odd to sell there will be sideshows
Where in times past people born with body disfigurement, or ravishes due to illness was the rage, today it is more body adaptation. Adaptation to sword and fire swallowing, laying on nails, contortionist, selective implants such as horns and buttons, or stories tattooed on the body.
July 30, 2008
Perhaps the most widely-researched book of its kind that I've read; but perhaps it is that which lost it a few stars for me. In his attempt to fit in all the possible relevant material, some of the biographies come off as rather trite, and the descriptions aren't anywhere near as sympathetic as those in similar books I've read.
All in all, I'd recommend Daniel Mannix's book Freaks before this one, but it's definitely a volume worth having on your shelf.
All in all, I'd recommend Daniel Mannix's book Freaks before this one, but it's definitely a volume worth having on your shelf.
September 9, 2008
When I was smaller, I found my mother's battered copy of "Very Special People," outlining the lives of certain sideshow performers of carnival heyday. I loved the book then, and I was so glad to find this larger book with more up to date information on many of the individuals from Very Special People, as well as performers still working today.
April 2, 2009
I've always found myself unusually drawn to the unusual. This includes, to a great degree, circus folk. So, when I saw a single copy of American Sideshow in the theatre section at the bookstore I immediately honed in. This book is a treasure chest of information about sideshow performers throughout America's history that will never leave my personal library.
American Sideshow gives us short vignettes on, easily, more than a hundred different midway "freaks". But don't let the length of these biographies, most about a page long, fool you into thinking the information is insignificant.
Where else would you find personal and professional information on Fanny Mills, The Ohio Big Foot Girl, who was earning $150 a week in the 1880's. That's 100 yrs before I was making $150 a week at my first job and feeling rich!
And look at the story of Isaac W. Sprague, The Original Thin Man. Born in 1841 he was consistantly loosing weight from the age of 12. He ate regularly and well but was wasting away, dumbfounding his doctors. He worked for his father as a shoemaker until his parents death at which time he began working at a grocery. Once this work became too difficult (he was only in his 20's) he was lucky enough to be offered a job with a sideshow. Here he was making $80/wk in the 1860's. He took a wife and had a family. His condition was finally diagnosed as extreme progressive muscular atrophy.
Mr. Sprague's story, unfortunately, ends very much the way that is often assumed of many sideshow performers.
The same, gladly, can't be said for Dick Brisben, The Penguin Boy who may well still be alive and kicking, at least at the time this book was written. Born in the 1940's with feet but no legs and hands but basically no arms, Brisben began his career with the sideshows in 1960. He had been on wellfare until Ward Hall invited him to join his show. The Penquin Boy stayed with Hall for 27 years after which he was able to purchase a home in southern California.
This book contains so many amazing stories about people who could easily have lived lives as "burdens" to society and family but instead took what they had and used it to their advantages.
Marc Hartzman as divided this book into 3 sections. It begins with the "Golden Age" which encompasses 1830's-early 1900's. This was the heyday of Barnum & Bailey. It continues on to the "Silver Age" with the introduction of the Ringling Brothers and eventual downfall of the sideshow as it was known. The final section covers the "Modern Age", the new sideshows.
For me, the final section is the only failing in this book. I see the old-time performers as people who found themselves in unusual circumstances entertaining an audience. As for the modern performers, they are people putting themselves in unusual situations to entertain.
I can't recommend this book enough to anyone with even the slightest interest in this subject. I would also reccommend it to creative writers looking for springboard material.
http://nobsbookreviews.today.com
American Sideshow gives us short vignettes on, easily, more than a hundred different midway "freaks". But don't let the length of these biographies, most about a page long, fool you into thinking the information is insignificant.
Where else would you find personal and professional information on Fanny Mills, The Ohio Big Foot Girl, who was earning $150 a week in the 1880's. That's 100 yrs before I was making $150 a week at my first job and feeling rich!
And look at the story of Isaac W. Sprague, The Original Thin Man. Born in 1841 he was consistantly loosing weight from the age of 12. He ate regularly and well but was wasting away, dumbfounding his doctors. He worked for his father as a shoemaker until his parents death at which time he began working at a grocery. Once this work became too difficult (he was only in his 20's) he was lucky enough to be offered a job with a sideshow. Here he was making $80/wk in the 1860's. He took a wife and had a family. His condition was finally diagnosed as extreme progressive muscular atrophy.
Mr. Sprague's story, unfortunately, ends very much the way that is often assumed of many sideshow performers.
The same, gladly, can't be said for Dick Brisben, The Penguin Boy who may well still be alive and kicking, at least at the time this book was written. Born in the 1940's with feet but no legs and hands but basically no arms, Brisben began his career with the sideshows in 1960. He had been on wellfare until Ward Hall invited him to join his show. The Penquin Boy stayed with Hall for 27 years after which he was able to purchase a home in southern California.
This book contains so many amazing stories about people who could easily have lived lives as "burdens" to society and family but instead took what they had and used it to their advantages.
Marc Hartzman as divided this book into 3 sections. It begins with the "Golden Age" which encompasses 1830's-early 1900's. This was the heyday of Barnum & Bailey. It continues on to the "Silver Age" with the introduction of the Ringling Brothers and eventual downfall of the sideshow as it was known. The final section covers the "Modern Age", the new sideshows.
For me, the final section is the only failing in this book. I see the old-time performers as people who found themselves in unusual circumstances entertaining an audience. As for the modern performers, they are people putting themselves in unusual situations to entertain.
I can't recommend this book enough to anyone with even the slightest interest in this subject. I would also reccommend it to creative writers looking for springboard material.
http://nobsbookreviews.today.com
May 12, 2022
American Sideshow has been on my 'want to read' shelf for years following a circus rabbit hole I went down after reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. The book resurfaced on my TBR pile while reading Beth Macy's Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother's Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South. The Muse brothers spent over 30 years inside sideshows across the country and abroad during the height of circus performances and into their decline. I wanted to see if the encyclopedia included them, and it did!
Because the book is a collection of so many performers, their write up is brief and errs on the side of them being paid performers, but that's not the full story. I suggest reading Truevine if you want a more in depth look at traveling circuses and HOW many of their sideshow attractions were launched.
On its own, American Sideshow is an encapsulated look at sideshow performers across the years. One interesting facet is the timeline that bridges early performers to contemporary ones and how medical advancements that could've saved many of the lives of early performers also became the opportunities for contemporary artists to willingly choose to change their own appearance.
I had some difficulty reading several of the bios which the author wrote with much tongue in cheek. I can understand his direction of writing about them in the same way the circus managers would've as they convinced audiences to pay the entrance fee and see for themselves. Still, it's undeniable the majority of these individuals were very exploited by the circus, its managers, and owners, as well as the media and public. I wish a more nuanced voice had been present.
Overall though, for fans of circus history, there is a lot packed in and these folks certainly contributed most of their lives to being part of "the greatest show on earth."
Because the book is a collection of so many performers, their write up is brief and errs on the side of them being paid performers, but that's not the full story. I suggest reading Truevine if you want a more in depth look at traveling circuses and HOW many of their sideshow attractions were launched.
On its own, American Sideshow is an encapsulated look at sideshow performers across the years. One interesting facet is the timeline that bridges early performers to contemporary ones and how medical advancements that could've saved many of the lives of early performers also became the opportunities for contemporary artists to willingly choose to change their own appearance.
I had some difficulty reading several of the bios which the author wrote with much tongue in cheek. I can understand his direction of writing about them in the same way the circus managers would've as they convinced audiences to pay the entrance fee and see for themselves. Still, it's undeniable the majority of these individuals were very exploited by the circus, its managers, and owners, as well as the media and public. I wish a more nuanced voice had been present.
Overall though, for fans of circus history, there is a lot packed in and these folks certainly contributed most of their lives to being part of "the greatest show on earth."
August 2, 2023
Like so many others, I've always been so intrigued by the history of "sideshows" and the like. I wish there were more first-hand experience accounts by the people who participated in the older sideshows to be honest.
This book was informative, educational and quite the read. I enjoyed learning about all of the different people who participated in the sideshows. There were times that the stories / information about the people felt rather cold or lacked general sympathy overall. Especially compared to other books on this topic. I did enjoy the biographies though. They were a perfect length to give you the important information without boring you with too much extra or unrelevant information.
all in all, well worth the read if this subject interests you.
This book was informative, educational and quite the read. I enjoyed learning about all of the different people who participated in the sideshows. There were times that the stories / information about the people felt rather cold or lacked general sympathy overall. Especially compared to other books on this topic. I did enjoy the biographies though. They were a perfect length to give you the important information without boring you with too much extra or unrelevant information.
all in all, well worth the read if this subject interests you.
June 22, 2021
This book is amazing. I felt I would have liked more information about each person. But as there were over 230 sideshow acts this would be a huge book. Some are familiar but a lot aren't well known. It covers the period from the 1800s to present day. The earlier ones are the most interesting by far.
November 4, 2021
Since there aren’t many references or sources, it’s hard to know what’s real and based in fact or what’s total heresay. It’s so curious to me how these white men can get away with writing books like this about sideshow performers when they don’t have any qualifications at all, and don’t even present proper research. Just wild. Anyone else would have to have a list of sources as long as the book to get a traditional publishing deal for an “encyclopedia” like this one. I’m just going to treat it as a collection of stories until I can find primary sources that confirm the information.
September 6, 2011
This book truly is fantastic. Mr. Hartzman does a LOT of research on which he's written, so it's not some "OK-here's-some-freaks-enjoy" sort of book. It deals with the history of the sideshows, from the days of first inception to today, as well as 'teaching' you the lingo of the carnys and the methods they used to draw a crowd. People today think that 'freakshows' are something to be banned, as modern thinking and medicine can help (even cure!) an affliction that, say, 100 years ago would never have even seen the light of day, but these aren't folks that are exploited JUST to make a buck and to say "Aww, how awful," and walk on. These are independent individuals that in spite of the cards life had dealt them, made themselves quite a good living, instead of being a burden to their families, or worse, institutionalized and hidden away. The photos and bios are a WONDERFUL addition to this book. So if you're curious about how circuses and sideshows got started, the history of a by-gone era, or are just plain curious, step right up....and see the show!
February 18, 2008
I would've given this book 5 stars if it wasn't for the last few chapters. Included in the end of the book are modern American sideshow acts and they are nothing more than self-made freaks. Not remotely interesting. They may be cool people. I don't know. But they had no place among the great ones, Commodore Nutt, Tom Thumb, Chang/Eng. It felt really anachronistic to be reading about Barnum's acts and then suddenly some couple who gets lots of tattoos. Big deal! It's a completely different era. Tattoos and self-mutilation like tongue-splitting are not uncommon and not nearly so taboo as they were when sideshows were in their hayday. It just took away from what could've been a perfect read.
October 4, 2010
I read this in a couple of hours today. Water for elephants reawakened my love of circus history as Freaks did when I first saw that film 10 years ago. If I ever need a new career circus historian it will be. I appreciated the encyclopedia format and found I was not quite interested enough to read the bios of EVERY fat man/woman, dwarf/little person, set of conjoined twins or bearded lady - lots of these individuals profiled here. Interestingly, a lot of people who were from or settled in Ohio.
May 8, 2016
Ok, some great pictures and good history of the sideshow, I wish there was more biographical information on some of the more interesting people shown in the books.
January 4, 2017
2.5 stars
I was so excited for this book as I have always been fascinated by circuses and sideshows. I loved how many performers were highlighted and how the book was sectioned into the Golden, Silver and Modern Ages of sideshows. However, I was generally disappointed as I finished this book. Yes it is an encyclopedia but I felt many entries were way too short while others were strangely long. The same biographical information was not given for all persons (date of birth, place of birth, cause of death, date of death etc.) and though this lack of info is sometimes acknowledged, other times it was excluded with no explanation. This lack of consistency with basic information about performers threw me off and took away from the fluidity between entries.
I also found what I began to call the Star Boxes to be very strange. The shaded boxes that randomly popped up in the middle of entries giving completely unrelated information about other performers (who were not given entries in the book) was a bit jarring. Many of the entries had strange "jokes" about performers that seemed to be in bad taste to me as well.
Overall I would say this is a decent place to start your journey into sideshows and would be better appreciated by younger audiences who don't mind the brevity of the entries and the unrelated pop up facts.
I was so excited for this book as I have always been fascinated by circuses and sideshows. I loved how many performers were highlighted and how the book was sectioned into the Golden, Silver and Modern Ages of sideshows. However, I was generally disappointed as I finished this book. Yes it is an encyclopedia but I felt many entries were way too short while others were strangely long. The same biographical information was not given for all persons (date of birth, place of birth, cause of death, date of death etc.) and though this lack of info is sometimes acknowledged, other times it was excluded with no explanation. This lack of consistency with basic information about performers threw me off and took away from the fluidity between entries.
I also found what I began to call the Star Boxes to be very strange. The shaded boxes that randomly popped up in the middle of entries giving completely unrelated information about other performers (who were not given entries in the book) was a bit jarring. Many of the entries had strange "jokes" about performers that seemed to be in bad taste to me as well.
Overall I would say this is a decent place to start your journey into sideshows and would be better appreciated by younger audiences who don't mind the brevity of the entries and the unrelated pop up facts.
December 8, 2019
He certainly covers a lot of performers. I'm not sure whether it's his interest or actual history, but there certainly were a lot of sideshow acts revolving around being the fattest/tallest- that got a bit tedious. I also think that the book could have had a preface explaining the difference between "legitimate" (mostly huge) circuses that could be sued, and small sideshows.
I ultimately found it to be very depressing. He seems to be coming from the point of view that making money is making a difference in someone's life. And while he sometimes acknowledges that developmentally disabled people were exhibited even when they couldn't consent, his argument is "they were paid", without acknowledging that in many cases it was their managers/guardians/parents who were paid, not them. There was horrendous sexual and physical abuse of "oddities" throughout circus history, and he never acknowledges that at all. Some performers did avoid that, but it wasn't the norm, from everything I've read about vulnerable people being on display.
I think that it's possible to have a real love for circus history and for "outliers" in society, while still accepting that in many historical cases, being exhibited meant physical and sexual abuse on top of social ostracization.
I ultimately found it to be very depressing. He seems to be coming from the point of view that making money is making a difference in someone's life. And while he sometimes acknowledges that developmentally disabled people were exhibited even when they couldn't consent, his argument is "they were paid", without acknowledging that in many cases it was their managers/guardians/parents who were paid, not them. There was horrendous sexual and physical abuse of "oddities" throughout circus history, and he never acknowledges that at all. Some performers did avoid that, but it wasn't the norm, from everything I've read about vulnerable people being on display.
I think that it's possible to have a real love for circus history and for "outliers" in society, while still accepting that in many historical cases, being exhibited meant physical and sexual abuse on top of social ostracization.
May 25, 2020
I read this book for research on circus sideshow performers. It lived up to the bill. Marc Hartzman did an excellent job of researching the American sideshow. Numerous people are highlighted throughout the book. It really is helpful if you're an author and want your character to experience a circus sideshow. With this one book, you can provide the names of several performers. Marc also details some personal information about the performers and how the sideshow has evolved. He lists several websites for more information and a bibliography. If you want to know about the sideshow, this is your first stop, hands down.
August 5, 2019
I came across this book after watching Freaks for the first time and being enamored with the actors, I had to know more about them. This book has small biographical entries for a wide variety of famous and not-so-famous sideshow performers from the beginning of the circus to the 2000s. I didn't care for the author's attempts at cracking jokes/editorializing, because I felt it brought nothing to the text, but I did appreciate all the research in putting together this collection.
January 14, 2018
This was a fascinating look at the three main eras of sideshows. The book is not exploitive and focuses on what lead each person to join a sideshow, how they did there and what happened after. In many cases, it highlighted how it enabled them to have a success of their own and independence. It was a fascinating read about the historical sideshow, and how it is evolved to the sideshows seen today.
March 8, 2025
An encyclopedic approach. The strength of this is breadth. You see there were lots and lots of "freaks," and in fact whole categories, genres, subgenres, or performers. But the weakness the lack of analysis. American Sidewhow raises lots of questions that it doesn't seem actually interested in? But then the aim of the book is not analysis, even if more would have been welcome.
February 3, 2018
Detailed compilation of many famous 'freaks' with background stories that are known. It includes a section of today's 'freaks'. I was surprised to learn many 'freaks' earned quite a bit of money to retire with.
May 20, 2024
Could not finish. The author unfortunately seems to view the performers through the same lens as yesteryear. You're able to say she was billed as the world's ugliest woman without also saying he "took his repulsive find". Disappointing from a well-researched book otherwise.
February 24, 2019
since this is encyclopedia style, it's 2-3 pages of biography per performer. after a while, the stories of very tall men or bearded ladies all blur together. for circus completists only.
July 27, 2019
Really fascinating read! I didn’t particularly care for the last chapter, as most self made “freaks” but most stories were very interesting.
July 29, 2019
great book interesting read.
August 28, 2019
I liked the sections on the Bronze and Silver Age but the modern stuff was boring.
January 25, 2020
Nice overview of the history of "freak" performers, with many heart-touching personal stories.
February 10, 2021
This was an interesting story of the history of side shows. A great read!
April 18, 2022
"Freaks" yesterday, today -- and tomorrow!
September 24, 2023
A thorough and well-written overview of sideshow performers, past and present. Because this is a rather difficult research area, thorough citations are glaring omission.
June 29, 2025
Fascinating!!
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December 28, 2021This book is an encyclopedia of American sideshow performers between 1830 and 2005.
The encyclopedia is divided into three sections: The Golden Age (circa 1830 to early 1900s), The Silver Age (circa 1919 to 1970s), and The Modern Age (circa 1970s to 2005). The entires within each section are listed alphabetical by last name, but the names are not given surname first, which can be confusing and makes searching difficult. There is also no index, so readers who are unsure of dates will have to flip through all three sections when looking for a specific person. Most of the entries do include a black and white photograph of the person(s).
A selected bibliography and a list of websites are included at the back of the book. Sidebars with explanatory and bonus information related to sideshows are throughout the book.
This book will be of interest to readers interested in sideshow performers and human wonders. It features some little known performers. Caveat: The author does not use neural language, and his sensational tone can sometimes appear insensitive to the real people whose lives are being documented.
The encyclopedia is divided into three sections: The Golden Age (circa 1830 to early 1900s), The Silver Age (circa 1919 to 1970s), and The Modern Age (circa 1970s to 2005). The entires within each section are listed alphabetical by last name, but the names are not given surname first, which can be confusing and makes searching difficult. There is also no index, so readers who are unsure of dates will have to flip through all three sections when looking for a specific person. Most of the entries do include a black and white photograph of the person(s).
A selected bibliography and a list of websites are included at the back of the book. Sidebars with explanatory and bonus information related to sideshows are throughout the book.
This book will be of interest to readers interested in sideshow performers and human wonders. It features some little known performers. Caveat: The author does not use neural language, and his sensational tone can sometimes appear insensitive to the real people whose lives are being documented.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews