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  • Barnum's Own Story

  • The Autobiography of P. T. Barnum
  • By: P. T. Barnum
  • Narrated by: David Colacci
  • Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (4 ratings)
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Barnum's Own Story cover art

Barnum's Own Story

By: P. T. Barnum
Narrated by: David Colacci
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Summary

P. T. Barnum's career of showmanship and charlatanry was marked by a surprising undercurrent of honesty and forthrightness. His exuberant autobiography forms a happy combination of all those traits, revealing the whole story of his world-famous hoaxes and publicity stunts. Here is a pageant of 19th-century America's gullibility and thirst for marvels, as told by the master of revels himself.  

A born storyteller, Barnum recalls his association with Tom Thumb, his audience with Queen Victoria, and his trouble keeping Jenny Lind's angelic image intact during a trying tour. He tells of Jumbo, the most famous elephant in history, from the creature's heroic arrival in America to its tragic death in a railroad accident; of his attempts to transfer Shakespeare's house and Madame Tussaud's Waxworks from England to New York; and of his triumphant reentry into public life after financial failure and five disastrous fires had all but wiped him out. The true-life tale of a man of boundless imagination and indomitable energy, Barnum's autobiography embodies the spirit of America's most exciting boom years.
Public Domain (P)2019 Tantor
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Profile Image for Amazin Karen

interesting but repetitive

a somehow biased review of Barnum's life which attempts to offuscate the least glorious aspects of it. a bit tiresome towards the end

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