Asset Details
Do you wish to reserve the book?
Circus Life
Hey, we have placed the reservation for you!
By the way, why not check out events that you can attend while you pick your title.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place the reservation. Kindly try again later.
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
Circus Life
Do you wish to request the book?
Circus Life
Please be aware that the book you have requested cannot be checked out. If you would like to checkout this book, you can reserve another copy
We have requested the book for you!
Your request is successful and it will be processed during the Library working hours. Please check the status of your request in My Requests.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place your request. Kindly try again later.
eBook
Circus Life
2023,2018
Overview
The nineteenth century saw the American circus move from a reviled
and rejected form of entertainment to the \"Greatest Show on Earth.\"
Circus Life by Micah D. Childress looks at this transition
from the perspective of the people who owned and worked in circuses
and how they responded to the new incentives that rapid
industrialization made possible. The circus has long been a subject
of fascination for many, as evidenced by the millions of Americans
that have attended circus performances over many decades since
1870, when the circus established itself as a truly unique
entertainment enterprise. Yet the few analyses of the circus that
do exist have only examined the circus as its own closed
microcosm-the \"circus family.\" Circus Life, on the other
hand, places circus employees in the larger context of the history
of US workers and corporate America. Focusing on the circus as a
business-entertainment venture, Childress pushes the scholarship on
circuses to new depths, examining the performers, managers, and
laborers' lives and how the circus evolved as it grew in popularity
over time. Beginning with circuses in the antebellum era, Childress
examines changes in circuses as gender balances shifted,
industrialization influenced the nature of shows, and customers and
crowds became increasingly more middle-class. As a study in sport
and social history, Childress's account demonstrates how the
itinerant nature of the circus drew specific types of workers and
performers, and how the circus was internally in constant upheaval
due to the changing profile of its patrons and a changing economy.
MICAH D. CHILDRESS received his PhD in history
from Purdue University and currently works as a Realtor® in Grand
Rapids, Michigan. His articles have appeared in Popular
Entertainment Studies and American Studies.
Publisher
University of Tennessee Press,The University of Tennessee Press
Subject
ISBN
9781621903949, 162190394X, 9781621903956, 1621903958
