Circus category: 41 books
Beneath the Big Top
A Social History of the Circus in Britain
Language: English
Release Date: September 3, 2014
“A valuable and illuminating read, shedding a lot of light on the political, economic and technological factors that have driven circus evolution” (The Circus Diaries).
Beneath the Big Top is a social history of the circus, from its ancient roots to the rise of the “modern” tented travelling...
by William L. Slout
Language: English
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Language: English
Release Date: February 7, 2012
William L. Slout, circus historian par excellence, here provides six essays on the development of the American circus. "From Rags to Ricketts: The Roots of Circus in Early Gotham" looks at the beginnings of circus entertainment in old New York City during the eighteenth century. "The Great Roman Hippodrome...
DIY Circus Lab for Kids
A Family- Friendly Guide for Juggling, Balancing, Clowning, and Show-Making
Language: English
Release Date: February 13, 2018
DIY Circus Lab for Kids gives families everything they need to produce their own circus! Author Jackie Leigh Davis invites the you into the international youth circus community, then dives into the circus skill families: juggling, acrobatics, manipulation, balance, and clowning.
The book...
The Ordinary Acrobat
A Journey into the Wondrous World of the Circus, Past and Present
Language: English
Release Date: February 26, 2013
The extraordinary story of a young man’s plunge into the unique and wonderful world of the circus—taking readers deep into circus history and its renaissance as a contemporary art form, and behind the (tented) walls of France’s most prestigious circus school.
When Duncan Wall visited...
by William L. Slout
Language: English
Release Date: April 13, 2016
Language: English
Release Date: April 13, 2016
William L. Slout, entertainment historian par excellence, here provides five fascinating essays on the development of the American traveling circus in the post-Civil War era: "En Route to the Great Eastern Circus" (on the creation of this great show); "The Great Eastern Circus of 1872"...
The Meaning of the Circus
The Communicative Experience of Cult, Art, and Awe
Language: English
Release Date: August 23, 2018
This book documents and discusses the meaning(s) of the creative process at play in the crafting and staging of circus acts. It highlights the experience of circus artists as their skills develop and mature into public performances that create aesthetic and emotional values in the modern economy of...
by Douglas McPherson
Language: English
Release Date: April 1, 2011
Language: English
Release Date: April 1, 2011
A history of the circus from its origins in the Roman times, through its establishment in Western Europe, and to the modern day circus-absolutely diverse and captivating
Circuses have existed since Roman times, but centuries later, the circus world has never been more diverse and...
The Contemporary Circus
Art of the Spectacular
Language: English
Release Date: October 10, 2006
The fun, energy, and hard work integral to the exciting world of the circus is lovingly captured in The Contemporary Circus: Art of the Spectacular, an in depth look at the creative process of today's circuses. Through numerous personal interviews with directors, designers, composers and performers,...
Homemade Academic Circus
Idiosyncratically Embodied Explorations Into Artistic Research And Circus Performance
Language: English
Release Date: June 24, 2016
This book takes its starting point in a rare experiment, that of an academic researcher attempting to learn to do circus. What happens to the knowledge of the performance theoretician when physically engaging with the circus arts? One of the (im)material outcomes of this experiment is what the author...
The Circus Age
Culture and Society under the American Big Top
Language: English
Release Date: October 15, 2003
A century ago, daily life ground to a halt when the circus rolled into town. Across America, banks closed, schools canceled classes, farmers left their fields, and factories shut down so that everyone could go to the show. In this entertaining and provocative book, Janet Davis links the flowering...
Never Quote the Weather to a Sea Lion
And Other Uncommon Tales from the Founder of the Big Apple Circus
Language: English
Release Date: April 23, 2013
Never Quote the Weather to a Sea Lion (and other uncommon tales from the founder of the Big Apple Circus) is a celebration of Paul Binders life in and around the circus. Drawing on thirty-five years with the show he created, the Big Apple Circus founder and founding Artistic Director invites us inside...
by Juha Kurvinen
Language: English
Release Date: September 10, 2017
Language: English
Release Date: September 10, 2017
Juha Kurvinen, chainsaw juggler and holder of two official Guinness World Records, gets one day an invitation to perform at a circus in North Korea organized to honour the birthday of president Kim Il-Sung. Joining Kurvinen is the most famous Finnish professional magician Jori A. Kopponen, who...
Flying Funny
My Life without a Net
Language: English
Release Date: April 11, 2017
Dudley Riggs didn’t have to run away from home to join the circus. Home was the circus. Son of the acclaimed aerial flyers Riggs and Riggs, he made his circus debut as a polar prince parading in a wagon pulled by a polar bear. At the age of five, he graduated to a risqué vaudeville act during the...
The Circus Fire
A True Story of an American Tragedy
Language: English
Release Date: December 10, 2008
The acclaimed author of Emily, Alone and Henry, Himself brings all his narrative gifts to bear on this gripping account of tragedy and heroism—the great Hartford circus fire of 1944.
It was a midsummer afternoon, halfway through a Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus performance, when...