Very Special People: The Struggles, Loves and Triumphs of Human Oddities

by Frederick Drimmer

These are the true stories of human oddities, many of whom Drimmer knew personally. The stories are matched by rare photographs of: a three-legged man, a 1,000-pound man, the ugliest woman in the world, the frog boy, and more. B&W photos.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Biography Memoir, Horror

357 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[James Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A recent picture, posted on social media, reminded me of this book. The Hardcover edition, white cover, heavy grain pages, I read back when six or seven years of age. I say read, I mainly looked at the pictures, of which there were many in that original '70s edition. those characters have remained with me, populated my nightmares and dreams and have inspired my own writings.
The Caterpillar Man, The Human Skeleton, The Siamese Twins.
The text when I came to it brought humanity to the shocking photographs. An important document for a child to read and see. The text is matter of fact non-judgmental reporting on the lives of these characters, many of whom travelled the world with P.T. Barnum's circus.
Having read Harry Crews' work recently a link was found between these human oddities and their place within the world around them and the world of fiction. All of us have scars and deformities, often internal, yet those who had disadvantages visible to all encountered stares and pointing wherever they roamed.
Barnum believed misfortunes could be turned to profit.
This, of course, is what art is.
The author, Drimmer, does not attempt to explain or justify the concept of displaying human oddities for cash.
And why should he? How is it any different from a Miss World Beauty contest? The cast of Special People for the most part here were able to make a good living. Visits with royalty, money, fame, the rise and fall of their careers are detailed frankly, straight-forwardly.
I'm glad to have returned to look at this book. A book that raises a very difficult social and human question that has never been properly answered, at least not in my mind. Should we celebrate freaks of nature? Be it beautiful freaks or ugly freaks. A freak is something that by definition doesn't happen often.
Should we hold up the beautiful or the ugly on a pedestal and admire them or simply look the other way?

[Emily Mellow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. I think it would be great to read to the kids when they are a little older. There are so many examples of people doing amazing things despite their physical challenges, which is inspiring. In addition, I think it is amazingly valuable to be able to read about, and get to know the lives of, people who are so different. We don't have much opportunity to make the acquaintance of severly handicapped, or differently abled, people in our lives (and many of the conditions in this book are prevented these days through hormone treatment, surgury, etc) but when my kids do meet a dwarf, or a giant, or a legless man, I hope that they will feel comfortable knowing that they are the same kind of person, kind and full of talents and hopes and all that, as we are. This book will help.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 1970's advertisements for this book were in almost every comic book, but I never saw a copy in the wild. I finally found one for a decent price and got it.

It's a collection of biographies of people born with physical deformities. They used to be called freaks. These biographies are told with a surprising amount of compassion and empathy. Many of them could find no other work but appearing in freak shows in traveling carnivals. Even so, a number of them became affluent and influential people.

Very interesting. Has a large number of photographs of these very special people.

[Jessica]

I read this as a child. Seeing it here and reading the reviews makes me want to find it again.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although not very well written, this book is an enlightening read. It reveals the truth behind the lives of many of the circus sideshow attractions in the time of and popularized by P. T. Barnum, one of the greatest showmen to ever live. Piecing together events scattered throughout the book, a rough timeline of the ups and downs of Barnum’s show business career emerges. A few profiles of sideshow performers who gained fame after the death of P. T. Barnum (and up until the book’s publication in the early 1970s) are included, but most of the accounts are from Barnum’s time.

Oftentimes the book reads like an encyclopedia, with many brief entries of particular performers. It is sectioned into categories of human oddities and the chapters are divided by the liberal use of headings. The edition I read was poorly copy-edited with complete lines of text missing in some places. I believe some of the performers shown in the photo section were not even mentioned at all in the text.

The last chapter concerns the most tragic of all human oddities, John Merrick, the Elephant Man. This chapter is the pay off. It makes reading the book worthwhile. The bulk of the chapter is excerpted from a book by Sir Frederick Treves, the doctor who saved John Merrick from the exploits of cruel showmen and hard life on the streets. Dr. Treves worked very closely with Merrick until the death of the Elephant Man at age 27. Frederick Drimmer, of course felt impelled to add useless section headings throughout this chapter in his book. Overall, a worthwhile read for those interested in learning more about the lives of early circus sideshow performers or “freaks”.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly, my grandmother passed away this year, but this was one of the lovely treasures that we found when going through her house. I have long had a deep fascination with circus sideshows, P.T. Barnum and his "oddities," etc., not because of the physical differences on display. I am well-aware that sideshows and similar performances were sad and exploitive in many ways. However, that is not the part that fascinates me. I am interested in the families of choice that they provided. I am interested in places where people who have been shunned or mistreated by mainstream society gather and find their families and (sometimes) their voices. The complicated webs of humanity formed within these families of choice are a huge source of inspiration to me.

This book delivers those stories in abundance. In places the language used (it was published in 1973) is not the language that we would prefer to describe people living with disabilities or unusual physical traits. There are also a few points when the writer is talking about individuals with similar circumstances where the writing starts to feel a bit like a fill-in-the-blanks template. However, these issues did not interfere with my enjoyment of these sometimes sad, often inspiring, deeply human stories. Many stories made me want to do further research on specific people. I am especially interested in reading about Millie and Christine, the conjoined twins who were born into slavery who gained their freedom and performed their way into wealth and fame.

All-in-all, this was an inspiring and highly informative book.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Very Special People," like Tod Browning's classic film "Freaks," is a tragic but irresistible look at some of life's most unfortunate people. Bearded ladies and siamese twins were all the rage once in America, and almost every circus boasted a side show full of these human oddities. This book details the stories of some of the most famous and sad figures in the history of side shows. I think the one that effected me most was Robert Wadlow, the world's tallest recorded human being, at 8 ft. 11 inches. Wadlow was the victim of an extremely rare pituitary disorder, and was still growing when he died at age 22. He looked at least 50, and was in terrible pain for most of his life. Basically, his organs (heart, lungs, etc.) weren't growing along with the rest of him. One can only imagine how miserable his existance must have been, but by all accounts he was a gentle, kind soul who certainly deserved a better fate. Whenever any of us are tempted to feel sorry for ourselves, this book provides a great tonic.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to track this title down via Interlibrary Loan, but it’s still a compelling read 30+ years after it was written.

A little background:

I’ve been interested in sideshows and physical deformities ever since my dad brought home a VHS copy of The Elephant Man when I was 5-years-old and scared the hell out of me. As kids tend to do, I became obsessed with my fear and spent more than one afternoon at the library carefully turning the pages, taking quick glimpses of the photos that I did and did not want to see.

The book itself is not politically correct and part of my interest in this book is seeing how far we come with labels and acceptance as a society. There aren’t photos of everyone featured in this book, but keeping Google by my side has enhanced the read with images.

[Julie Brister · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever I'm feeling down and wallowing in my own misery, I pull Very Special People off the shelf and immediately feel better.

[Jamie Bronstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that is itself a primary source, written before the provision of special education or the general accommodation in society of people with disabilities, and the book itself looks back to a time when people with bodily differences were exhibited, and often exploited, in sideshows for other people to make money. Funny story: the sociologist Alice Dreger has also written about such folks, and lauds sideshows because they provided people with extremely visible differences with an occupation. I thought that was sociological BS, but the app tiktok is full of people with the same kinds of differences on view in the sideshows of old, and they make money by doing live broadcasts, answering questions, and just generally allowing people to stare at them.

Frederick Drimmer tries, sort of, to convey a tone of seriousness and respect for people with major human differences--conjoinment, limb differences, extreme weight or extreme thinness, dwarfism or pituitary giantism, albinism, etc. But he never really gets away from a tone of childlike excitement about looking, and the language of the book is cringy at times.

Some of the biographies in the book are interesting and some are poorly researched and raise more questions than they answer, but for anyone interested in the history of disability it's a good way to get introduced to some individual stories. I think the best-written part of the book wasn't written by Drimmer at all, but rather by Frederick Treves, who discovered and befriended Joseph Merrick. Treves wrote an extremely moving little biography of his deceased friend.

[Reet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really minimal effort was put into this book about deformed humans, or humans with some kind of difference that makes them a curiosity. One used to be able to pay money and stare at them. Now that happens in zoos.

[Granny · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a fact that some people are born with or acquire physical changes to their bodies which make them stand out among others. And there was a time when these people often earned their living as part of circus "Freak shows", because other people could not accept the humanity beneath the appearance.

They are all here, the very special people who met presidents and kings. Some were masters of their fate, and chose the circus life deliberately, others were sold or forced to be on exhibit against their will. All are subject to the dual fascination and repulsion which characterizes their interaction with "normal" people.

Lavishly gifted with many vintage photos of "freaks" both widely known and obscure. Their stories are here, often stories of the power of the human spirit. Not everyone has a taste for these amazing people; but for those who do, this book is the gold standard.

[Chad Schimke · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE - Very Special People is a book by Frederick Drimmer. Mostly, the book explores human oddities (sideshow freaks) within the idiom of circus performers. Conjoined twins, hairy/ bearded, little people/ giants and fat/ skinny. The book is excellent, but my favorite part isn’t written by Drimmer. Hands down, the best section of the book is The Elephant Man by Sir Fredrick Treves. I’ve always been captivated by this eccentric character; conflicted by a horrific youth, later famous and adored near the end of his life. To me, it’s beautiful the way he was treated kindly by the doctor, with generosity and love. He deserved special care as someone who was fragile; not able to fend for himself. It’s the ultimate tale of human compassion.

[Jennifer Barbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the stories get a bit repetitive - yeah, okay okay...strange exteriors, beautiful souls. I think that this theme is part of what makes the book effective, but Drimmer isn't the most inventive writer. The difference between his overview of these Very Special Peoples' lives and the excerpts of the story of the John Merrick, the Elephant Man, in the last chapter is vast. But I think it's probably beside the point to pooh pooh the writing style. It's not the style that matters, it's the characters. This group of circus folk and extraordinary people create a great tableau for triumph over adversity. Just fascinating.

[Michael Stockinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! There isn't enough written about these curiosities - especially in a humane way that doesn't display them when they were alive. I loved this book. The author also states (in 1971) that he would like to find out what happened to Julia Pastrana's body. Well here it is:

http://www.newsy.com/videos/the-uglie...

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always been fascinated by Very Special People ever since I visited a sideshow as a young child and wondered at the dichotomy between exploitation and self-preservation. This book has such a wonderfully kindhearted view, as its title suggests. I learned a lot about the world of sideshow performance, but even more so about the full humanity that these individuals experienced.

[Jason Medina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, I have no idea when I read this book. It was sometime in the 1980s or 1990s. It definitely left a lasting impression on me. I had an all new respect for people with these kinds of special disabilities and deformities. I still own my copy, which my mother gave me long ago.

[Benjamin Bogardus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Special People is a dry autobiographical description about the lives of ‘freaks’: Siamese twins, the shortest midgets and tallest giants, people born without arms and/or legs, bearded ladies. There is the caterpillar man, born without arms or legs, whose famous trick is to roll and light a cigarette with his lips. There are the original Siamese twins who after years of ‘demonstrating’ themselves in shows settled down as farmers in NC (and married separate wives). There is General Tom Thumb, a remarkably short midget trained to perform by PT Barnum who became popular in courts across Europe.

The general public at the time was fascinated by what makes these performers special and how they go about doing daily tasks in spite of whatever characteristic makes them ‘special’. Fascinated by what makes Very Special People different, many ‘normal’ people of the period were willing to pay to witness the strange and odd.

This books begs the question: what is normal? What is not special? That which is common is not special. Being average height and weight, having all your limbs and appendages without any extras, fitting into traditional gender roles and working the same occupation as most of your neighbors makes a person normal.

As told in The Strager In The Woods, this is the one book the hermit kept by his bedside. The hermit is most happy alone. In his search for complete isolation from society he is a Very Special Person. While I and I judge most other people crave company and connection, the hermit did not. And this made him an oddity to be seen and talked and read about when ironically all he wanted was the opposite.

I can relate. When people look at me, they see a 6-foot 30-something ‘normal’ white man. In my mind, I feel like a legless midget with a parasitic twin. The penetrating gaze during first encounters bores down into my soul where all past trauma and shame and a deep well of insecurity are exposed.

[no elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

ive been slowly reading this one since i picked up a copy in august but i powered thru the last 75 pages last night so i could shelve it. reading a decent chunk of the book in one go rly put into perspective how sad it that anything in here passed (or passes!) as compassion or empathy for disabled ppl cuz lol once u scratch thru that veneer its steeped in the perceived grotesquery of disability & racial/sexual animus. thats abt what i expected tho! still a fascinating document, glad i found it at my fav bookstore but all of this book's kindness for the disabled or anyone physically othered is quietly tempered by an undercurrent of disgust

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. I feel bad for those that are born with deformities, but now-a-days a lot of that can be fixed at birth. The only good thing that I could see is that some of these people got quite wealthy from showing themselves in sideshows and were able to buy land and build their own houses. Otherwise, they may have starved to death or run out of town as freaks. As for the little people, that's just the way they are and I don't see how it's a problem, except for the fact that this world was built for people of a larger stature.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I'm actually not too much into human curiosities but I had to pick this book up as I've read a review about it in one of the horror mags. Inside you'll find Siamese Twins, two headed people, arm- and legless wonders (e.g. the armless fiddler), little people, giants, fats and skinny, very very special people. The black and white photo section was quite interesting with its curiosities. At the end you'll even come across The Elephant Man. Not exactly my cup of tea but well researched and presented in an intriguing way. Recommended to all those interested!

[Brandon Stout · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in the 1970s, this book uses some of the terms that would be frowned on today, yet it also acknowledges the problems with the terms. This book captures the humanity of many people once paraded around and displayed as "Freaks". In fact, the beginning of the book talks about the unfortunate use of the word "freaks" and the reason the book called them "Very Special People" instead. You can find this book for free on openlibrary.org. It is out of print and unavailable other than as a used book other than openlibrary.org.

[Courtney Chappell · Rating 2 out of 5]

My dad is not a reader, so when he said he loved a book as a kid growing up, I knew I had to read it. It wasn't my kind of book. I just felt bad for these people and grossed out at times as well. This book was written in the 70s and it showed. But now I can say that I've read a book that my dad has as well.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has thoroughly researched so many different types of deformities, and presents many of the best known, as well as the lesser known, examples of each. He also includes pictures, where available. His scientific descriptions are dated, obviously, but show at least an attempt at sensitivity.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have read this book several times and always enjoyed it. Frederick Drimmer wrote a moving account of their lives, haunting at times but always showing the strength of the human spirit without pitying.

[Carrie Donohue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written, kind and thoughtful

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite interesting book about various types of human oddities, many of which were shown or performed in circus or sideshows.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this book from the library when I was a kid. Was reminded of that fact recently while reading a book on a similar subject.

It was here that I first read the story of John Merrick.

[Tara Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of those random oddities I picked up on a whim from a section of my mother's bookshelves when I was a child. It was full of pictures and stories of people who had been born with physical handicaps, and for many of them, it included stories of their exploitation at the hands of sideshow carnivals. Needless to say, anything of its ilk was ultimately fascinating to a child. I re-read it occasionally as an adult to help put my own life in perspective.

[Judi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read. I was most interested in the chapters on Siamese twins but the other chapters were equally interesting. It is a very readable, personable book with many charming moments. Includes people with "special" characteristics" and then also profiles of famous individuals who have carried those features. There were some writing "technical" issues, but I could look past that due to the extensive content.