5 comments about The Life of P. T. Barnum, Written by Himself.

1. Barnum is one of my "great american heroes." This is his life in his own words, written at the peak of his fame and success, and before bad things began to make him bitter. He is cocky, bemused, hilarious and thoroughly full of beans: he knows it and revels in it. If you ever have an interest in self promotion or promotion of any kind, read this book. Learn from the greatest master of marketing of all time.



2. Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 - April 7, 1891), American showman who is best remembered for his entertaining hoaxes and for founding the circus that eventually became Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
   
   In Brooklyn, New York in 1871, he established "P.T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Circus", a traveling amalgamation of circus, menagerie and museum of "freaks", which by 1872 was billing itself as "The Greatest Show on Earth".
   
   There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase often credited to P.T. Barnum. However, when Barnum's biographer tried to track down when Barnum had uttered this phrase, all of Barnum's friends and acquaintances told him it was out of character. Barnum's credo was more along the lines of "there's a customer born every minute" -- he wanted to find ways to draw new customers in all the time because competition was fierce and people bored easily
   
   Barnum wrote several books, including The Humbugs of the World (1865), Struggles and Triumphs (1869), and his Autobiography (first in 1854, and later editions including 1869).
   
   Barnum is a treat to read and is never boring! I highly recommend his books.



3. P.T. Barnum was a creative force in the worlds of advertising, museums, entertainment and finally, the circus. He was also a politician who held two high offices. He supported the northern view of the Civil War, he was anti-slavery, he constantly fought to bring the rich and powerful and regular folk together under one roof. He believed in the American Dream and that those that came to America had the curiosity to find out what was on the other side of the ocean for themselves. It was this same curiosity that led them inside museums and under the big top. He coined many phrases and terms used freely today. P.T. Barnum created worlds similar to worlds written by authors Frank L. Baum (the Oz books) and Mark Twain. Perhaps P.T. Barnum is not the best person to tell that story, but the book is a classic American tale of an American legend. Too bad it was packaged with mocking commentary on the cover and introduction which was completely inappropriate for display on one's bookshelf. It is difficult to tell why the publishers would sell the book when they have such obvious disdain for it. Everyone will always remember Barnum and not even buyers of the book will recall the names of the authors, but still, this is certainly not the way an autobiography should be published. Imagine buying a book of famous portraits only to find that the publishers have drawn mustaches on each one. As a collector, this is a waste, wait for another edition.



4. Even though this is the only edition of Barnum's autobiography in print it's advisable to skip this edition as the introducer is one of a proliferating number of reductive political hacks scheming at the cultural studies fringes who have weaseled into positions of "advisers" "editors" "introducers" and similar jobs extraneous to writing proper at publishing houses. Among them Caleb Crane who has used his homosexuality to secure positions at The Modern Library & NYT Book Review, S.T. Joshi leftist historical fabricator extraordinaire, and the current specimen a dogmatic Marxist who has authored a scurrilous tome purporting that Edgar Allen Poe secretly reduced the slave figures of pre civil war America, among other delusions. In doing this he follows his predecessor Rufus W. Griswold only the offences change, overdrinking was the politically incorrect gaffe in Griswolds time. What a poverty stricken outsider would gain by such activities is not explained, not even considering it's blasé materialistic crudity as interpretation. So unless you plan on ripping out the conceited Stalinist introduction avoid this book.



5. One of the most ambiguous figures in American history is P.T. Barnum. He was a legendary showman, curator, writer, entrepreneur--but he was also known for his humbugs. Many of his great successes were based on scamming and frauding the American public.

   He was a master of marketing and advertising. His ability to manipulate the media was a precursor for much of American life in the last 150 years. Barnum had a genius for drawing in the crowd and creating scandals. He was often the one who exposed his own frauds.

   This autobiography provides a fascinating glimpse into the man behind the legend and myth. Barnum begins with childhood and works his way through his life up to that point. This one is the original autobiography written in 1855. Many of his great triumphs like General Tom Thumb and the Jenny Lind tour had already taken place.

   It should be remembered that Barnum is telling his own tale so it would be wise to maintain a cynical stance when reading this tale. I often found myself nodding with agreement at what I was reading and then pausing to consider that Barnum may have been hoodwinking the reader.

   Overall, this is a compelling read in spite potential exaggerations. Barnum, for better or worse, is one of the most famous of all American showman. He set the stage for much of the entertainment world since his time. I found myself disdainful of some of his excesses but I came away with an overall appreciation for this man.

   The American landscape is richer for having him. He has provided us with one of our greatest myths.

5 comments about Broadway Babylon.

1. Lots of Broadway dish and fun. I couldn't put it down. And I will re-read it many times. Hooray for this book!



2. This is a must have for every broadway fan. It tells the stories behind the hits and misses on the great white way. If you think you know the story wait until you read it here. How close some hits came to being misses! I could not put it down!



3. This book by Boze Hadleigh is GREAT FUN! He always entertains without being really nasty in HIS comments about celebrities talking trash about other celebs.He let's THEM do it! His focus in this book is Broadway and if you love Broadway, you should find this book entertaining. Some quotes of stars are "repeats" from his other books, but they are well-placed and relevant to what is his focus.Don't expect any bombshells but DO expect to enjoy!
   Note: If "Show Biz" is of no particular interest to you, you might want to skip Boze's new work.



4. A mix of rather humorous, sometimes outlandish, sometimes unbelieveable quotes from various Broadway personalities and stories about the Great White Way, Boze Hadleigh's book is rather trashy, but entertaining to read on a rainy day when there's nothing better to do.
   The book spends much too much time on the topic of homosexuality and the horrible AIDS crisis. Of course, this topic cannot be ignored as much of Broadway's community consists of gay men and AIDS was a disease that killed an entire gerneration of brilliant talents, but much of this becomes redundant and sometimes sort of bitchy.
   On one final note, you could find plenty of these stories and one liners in other books as well. For the David Merrick section, Hadleigh seems to use bits from Jerry Herman's lovely memoir Showtune and for the Michael Bennett section, repeats of stories from Ken Mandelbaum's book appear. This could be said for numerous other chapters. Honestly, if you'd like to spend some extra cash, buy those various books instead of this one.



5. This is a weird little scrapbook promoted as a book.
   
   Hadleigh has two goals.
   
   One is to make sure we know that a great many people working on or around Broadway are gay. Even when he is addressing topics unrelated to sexuality, he must get in that such-and-such was -- Wow! -- gay. But how many people who would buy this book have missed that there is a certain nexus between the gay world and the theatre world?
   
   The other goal is to just dish, and that could make for a fun book. But what Hadleigh wants to dish about often makes him seem like someone who stepped out of a time machine from 1986.
   
   This is a book most excited about the likes of Carol Channing, how bad CATS was, Michael Bennett, and AIDS. Except for the coverage of RENT, this book reads as if it was written two decades ago-plus by a show music fan of a certain age. Mary Martin? Harold Lang? THE BOYS IN THE BAND?
   
   I suppose there is value in getting the nuggets Hadleigh has mined from dishy conversations in piano bars and after cabaret shows down in print, and I am sincere in that.
   
   But readers going from the title will be disappointed. This book is largely a meandering anthropological survey of the Broadway scene from about 1948 to 1988. Special attention is paid to who was gay and which among them died of AIDS. Special attention is paid to performers and shows most of interest to people who were attending to the aforesaid scene during those years, and thus chapters on the controversy over Jonathan Pryce in MISS SAIGON, whether or not Ethel Merman was nice, and magnificently "floppish" shows (a cultish in-joke cherished largely by fans the age of Ken "Not Since Carrie" Mandelbaum).
   
   One chapter follows another for no apparent reason; it's like a transcript of a conversation you could have with an august old gent at Don't Tell Momma's.
   
   If you wouldn't mind having that conversation, pick this one up. Otherwise, be under no impression that this is, in the true sense, a book.

No comments about El Burlador De Sevilla.

1 comments about Play Production Today.

1. I've read this and other books by Jonniepat Mobley. This book is simple, clear, concrete; it's a wonderfully practical, thoughtful book.
   
   What I don't understand, though, is why (when the name of the author is clearly on the cover of the book), Amazon is listing this as being written by McGraw-Hill, the publishers. Don't authors deserve credit?

No comments about Great Scenes for Young Actors (Young Actor Series,).

2 comments about Devil Inside.

1. I actually saw a production of this play in Chicago before buying this copy of the play.
   Abaire's text is surprising and entertaining down to the very end. It twists and turns, revealing secret by secret, all the while the characters are weaving their separate stories together, or back together as the case may be. The world of the play makes a nice progression from ordinary, normal, small potatoes to chaotic dystopia with crazy professors, invisible little demons, and amputation. Not to mention, skateboading, packs of wild dogs, and Dostoyevski!
   It's a really fun piece. One of my favorite modern plays. Good one to produce or direct.



2. I ordered this play because I had seen Fuddy Meers (also very good). David has a very unique vision of the world and that flows into his plays. I'm actually going to be directing a prodution of A Devil Inside this fall, I love this play.

2 comments about Passionate Views: Film, Cognition, and Emotion.

1. I would rate this book as a very beautiful step in the best direction for film making. Normally film schools doesnt give so much importance to Emotions in a movie .And movie is all about emotions. This book bares down to the minimum How emotions actually are generated and how the behaviour of emotions is. This book tries to atleast get you started on your journey of understanding how to play with emotions in movie.



2. A welcome and insightful anthology, bringing much needed attention and light to the affective dimension of film. Too often the undeniable emotional power of the cinematic experience has been ignored by scholars and critics, unless this elusive register of film was being "politicized" in Marxist or feminist critiques of the "insidious" messages of a dominant ideology.

   The essays about "Clockwork Orange" and "The Elephant Man" are especially useful (though I would argue that no director has captured the "sound of silence" more affectingly than does Lynch in the disturbing montage sequences representing Merrick's consciousness).

   Since Jeff Smith's essay addresses my own somewhat "pioneering" analysis of Friedhofer's score for "Best Years," I'll briefly respond. The representation of my own position and approach--influenced by Lacanian "suture" theory--is impressively accurate. But I would suggest that Smith's counterproposal of a more cognitive-based approach would not necessarily produce a more reliable account of the viewer's response to the film score--especially given the widely-accepted discreditation of music's inherently narrative, or "programmatic," features. Rather, music is one of cinema's most fluid and elusive signifiers, capable of reaching the viewer at both conscious and sub-conscious levels as well as evoking emotions through incongruous juxtapositions of the ironic and the literal. Representing this "transaction" between the film's emotive messages and the viewer's claiming them as "his own," will always be an activity located in a rhetorical as much as an analytic space.

2 comments about Plays: Man and Superman; Candida; Arms and the Man; Mrs Warren's Profession (Signet Classics).

1. This should be required reading just for the "Don Juan in Hell" act of Man and Superman --an excerpt "Your friends are all the dullest dogs I know. They are not beautiful: they are only decorated. They are not clean: they are only shaved and starched. They are not dignified: they are only fashionably dressed. They are not educated: they are only college passmen. They are not religious: they are only pewrenters. They are not moral: they are only conventional. They are not virtuous: they are only cowardly...."

   One of my science teachers recited this famous speech in the lab one day, just to show off, and I started appreciating Shaw. Funny thing is that of all the playwrights, GBS is the best just to read. Except for Pygmalion and maybe Arms and the Man, most of Shaw's plays are too "talky" to stage well, but read like short stories. If you haven't read them, you are in for a treat.




2. This would be an excellent collection to have for anyone looking for a taste of Shaw's basic philosophies about socialism--and of course, a good way of finding out how his writing suits you.

   Some thought provoking social statements are made in all four plays, though some of the prefaces might be more informative about the author than the plays themselves. Great witticisms and depsite the sometimes heavy philosophy, the reading is light and quick. The last play, Man And Superman, perhaps his most significant play in terms of philosophy, pure and simple, would be fun reading but the socialist's handbook given at the end would definitely not be everyone's cup of tea, unless they're philosophy students. This can be skipped without spoiling the play though, which contains some of the most excellent dialogue I've come across in a play with philosophical overtones.

   All Oscar Wilde and Chesterton lovers would appreciate the epigrams and the witty one-liners. If for nothing else, Shaw is worth reading for his lovely style of execution, the flowing conversations and some uncanny insight.

No comments about The Messingkauf Dialogues (Modern Plays).

1 comments about Preventing Dance Injuries.

1. I have danced for 17 years and have been a PTA for 3 1/2 years so this book is right up my alley!! I love this book and is a must have for any dancer or those treating dance injuries!!!