P.T. Barnum: A Captivating Guide to the American Showman Who Founded What Became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

By: Captivating History

Narrated by: Duke Holm

Explore the Captivating Life of P. T. Barnum

He wasn’t always the Great Showman. In fact, Phineas Taylor Barnum grew up in relative poverty with only his wits to help him along. When his father died, the 15-year-old boy entered the working world as a shopkeeper’s assistant. In leaps and bounds, he worked his way from assistant to shop owner, lottery office owner, and, eventually, entertainment promoter. The bulk of his career was focused on his beloved American Museum, where thousands of ticket holders flocked every day to look at the human oddities, stuffed animals, live whale, and American memorabilia. In the Barnum and Bailey Circus, we see the culmination of the renowned man’s life’s work.

Some of the topics covered in this audiobook include:

• The Inn-Keeper’s Son
• Lottery Mania
• The Herald of Freedom
• Leasing Joice Heth
• Barnum’s American Museum
• General Tom Thumb Goes to England
• The Swedish Nightingale
• "The Drunkard" at the Moral Lecture Room
• Bankruptcy and Criticism
• The Family Man
• Publicist, Showman, Author
• The Nancy Fish Era
• The Greatest Show on Earth
• More Politicking
• The Blackface Minstrels
• The Last Show
• And much more!

Get the audiobook now to learn more about P. T. Barnum!

©2018 Captivating History (P)2018 Captivating History

t may not be what you expect.

This is a decent book, but not quite what I was imagining. The title suggests a emphasis on fraud, but the balance is more on the development of laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud. A better summary of the book is this from the dust wrapper:

An Important History.

This is the most fun I've had reading history in years. The stories are told with gusto. The book's design is delightful. Better yet, the history IS important. I discovered that PT Barnum is more than a circus guy. His innovations in the art of marketing, advertising, celebrity are still with us today. An amazing book, all the way around.

Very good read.

Very interesting autobiography. I only wish the introduction was a little more detailed so I could put the writing into better perspective.

A wonderful book...

The bulk of this author’s career was absorbed on his cherished American Museum, where thousands of ticket-holders gathered every day to look at the human oddities, stuffed animals, live whale, and American memorabilia. In the Barnum and Bailey Circus, we see the culmination of the renowned man’s life’s work.

This book is a great...

I think he was not always the great man. Actually, Barnum raised up in relative deficiency with only his wits to help him along. When his father died, the 15 years old kid move in the working world as a shopkeeper’s associate. In leaps and bounds, he worked his way from assistant to shop owner, lottery office owner, and eventually, entertainment promoter.

greatest. show

and showman still,bittersweet goodbye to the circus,great story about a god man,lot of unknown facts

You've come to the right place!

Barnum appeared to be a go-getter from day one. He was a young entrepreneur with extraordinary math skills and by the time he reached the age of seven he was earning so much money, his father asserted he purchase his own clothing. He was quietly duped into believing he would one day be wealthy because he owned Ivy Island, in reality a mucky swamp.

Inspiring so for, for me.

A pithy biography of the showman that includes warts, flaws, and foibles and paints him as often callous and uncaring, but thoroughly human.