P. T. Barnum
(1810-1891)
Barnum,
Phineas Taylor. The Life of P. T. Barnum, Written by Himself.
New York: Redfield, 1855; rev. ed. New York: G. W. Dillingham,
1888. Irving Wallace (cited below) says that between 1855 and
1888 there were published at least nine new or revised editions
of the autobiography. The most comprehensive and least expurgated
is that of 1871, Struggles and Triumphs. The editions of
1927, one edited by George S. Bryan (Knopf) and one by Waldo R.
Brown (Viking), are available and have additional information.
But an edition edited by Carl Bode, who provided an excellent
introduction to an abridgement of the 1869 version for the Penguin
American Library (198 1), is now the most easily obtainable. Bode
says that there are essentially three versions of Barnum's autobiography:
The Life of P. T. Barnum Written by Himself (1855), which
includes more material about his early life in Connecticut than
the others; Struggles and Triumphs or Forty Years' Recollections
of P. T. Barnum (1869); and Struggles and Triumphs or Sixty
Years' Recollections of P. T. Barnum Including His Golden Rules
for Making Money, Brought up to 1889 (1889). Bode likes the
1869 version best, and refers to the 1889 version as "condensed
and sanitized." He also says that Neil Harris (below) has
written the best biography, (p. 35)
Benton,
Joel. P. T. Barnum, Showman and Humorist. New York: Century
Co., 1902. Largely a rehashing of the autobiography in third person,
with some observations by the author.
Bryan,
J., III. The World's Greatest Showman. New York: Random
House, 1956. For juvenile readers.
Harris,
Neil. Humbug: The Art of P. T. Barnum. Boston: Little,
Brown, 1973. "I am most concerned with Barnum's public role,
his translation of popular taste into private profit, and his
insight into his own accomplishments." Only one chapter
on politics, but a good study. Notes and index.
Root,
Harvey Woods. The Unknown Barnum New York: Harper, 1927.
A popular appreciation. No apparatus. Strong on Barnum's publishing
and political careers.
Wallace,
Irving. The Fabulous Showman; the Life and Times of P. T. Barnum.
New York: Knopf, 1959. Soundly based on manuscript sources and
other materials of the Barnum Institute in Bridgeport. Strong
on personal life. A popular adult book by a well-known biographer.
No citations. Illustrations; bibliography; bibliographical essay;
index.
Werner,
Morris Robert. Barnum. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1923.
Barnum is an important historical figure because he was "a
most typical American without ever becoming an average American."
(p. vii) No citations. Bibliography and index.
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