A holistic and thorough insight to the freak show, exploring the lives of many notable performers, but also the culture and ethos that created the circus itself. Absolutely fascinating to explore the psychology of this form of entertainment; how performers were chosen, how they were presented, and the cultural implications behind these choices. Loved it.

For being one of the first researchers to investigate this topic, Bogdan's work is a necessary starting point when you want to learn more about the history of Freak Shows. I didn't entirely agree with his assessment that Freak Shows were largely beneficial and not exploitative to performers, and I found his eventual use of the term "exhibit" or various derogatory terms for performers (despite their being common and accepted terms within Freak Show circles, I still thought they were a little too offensive to use as casually as he did) to be discomforting. Still, he did show that for SOME (usually white, less unusually shaped) performers Freak Shows could provide a means for them to improve their social statuses.

Robert Bogdan is a Professor of Cultural Foundations of Education and Sociology and the Director of the Social Science Doctoral Program for the Center on Human Policy, Law, and Disability Studies at Syracuse University. His book, Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and Profit, looks at the history and practice of the freak show through a social lens.

He directly states his thesis early in the book: "Our reaction to freaks is not a function of some deep-seated fear or some "energy" that they give off; it is, rather the result of our socialization, and of the way our social institutions managed these people's identities. Freak shows are not about isolated individuals...they are about organizations and patterned relationships between them and us. Freak is not a quality that belongs to the person on display. It is something that we created: a perspective, a set of practices - a social construction."

Focusing on the heydey of Freak Shows, 1840-1940, Bogdan covers the history of the presentation of freaks in conjunction with the circus, dime museums, carnivals, world fairs, the amusement industry in general. What interested me most about the history was the transition of freaks from impressive curiosities to diseased dangers to society. Freak shows drew large crowds, were extremely popular attractions, and in many cases, "freaks" settled down into "normal" communities both at retirement and when on break from the show. It wasn't until the early 1900s when doctors claimed freaks as the property of science that people started to find freaks pitiful. Science both demystified their abnormalities and changed their uniqueness into diseases.

The book is not structured chronologically, so information is repeated chapter to chapter, the history, the people, and the theory. Rather than being annoyingly redundant, this repetition actually enhanced the reading experience for me. I feel like I learned more this way.

I will leave you with another restatement of his thesis because I think it is not only an important part of the book, but a very true, very important statement: "How we view people who are different has less to do with what they are physiologically than with who we are culturally."

A strong, academic study of human oddities over an extensive period of history, with massive yet comprehensible footnotes and an enormous bibliography. If you're looking for "cheap thrills" you're not going to find them here. It's well worth the time reading this book.

This was a really interesting book. It was sad as well though. It goes through the history of exploiting people with deformities through the circus and other "freak" shows.

A look at the business of the sideshow.

This is a concise story of the early sideshow era. It also delves in the human side of this business. I was in the fair industry for over twenty years and knew Ward Hall the last of the great sideshow managers. It is too bad that society has lost this art form.

Well researched insight into the oddities that defied normalcy from 1800s to about 1950s. The rich treasure of folks on the tail ends of the bell curve are chronicled in this history of little people, the tallest man, conjoined twins, the fat lady, albinos and a variety of people who had no other means of employment but their differences.

Better than Leslie Fiedler, still pretty dated now though.

Occasionally repetitive, but by far the most thorough examination of freak shows I've ever come across.

This was a great historical history book about the circus and accompanying “freak show” that exhibited mostly in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. It does mention a lot of individual performers, but the point of the book is to describe the business of exhibiting as it pertained to the time. The practice still is used today but the visual may be different (think “reality” shows, including Trumps old show).
Everything you could want to know about this subject.

Really interesting perspective of the history of the 'Freak Show'. Exploitation vs. Opportunities/Travel/Financial Stability/Family Mentality. It's definitely a niche topic, but I am very glad I picked it up.

I just found a list of books I read as a teen. I have to admit I don't remember this one, but I think I probably read it for my senior history project on freak shows in American culture.