the life of pt barnum written by himself

Barnum appeared regularly, allowing Barnum to keep up with demand and prune the narrative of details that might offend posterity. While running his numerous shows and exhibitions, Barnum managed to publish newspaper articles, exposés of fraud (not his own), self-help tracts, and a series of best-selling autobiographies, each promising to give 'the true history of my many adventures.' Over the course of a life that spanned the nineteenth century (1810-91), he inflicted himself upon a surprisingly willing public in a variety of guises, from newspaper editor (or libeler) to traveling showman (or charlatan) and distinguished public benefactor (or shameless hypocrite).īarnum deliberately cultivated his ambiguous public image through a lifelong advertising campaign, shrewdly exploiting the cultural and technological capabilities of the new publishing industry. Barnum embodied all that was grand and fraudulent in American mass culture.

Following the documents there is a chronology, questions for consideration, and a selected bibliography to encourage further analysis and research.For more than fifty years, Phineas T.

These documents include reviews of the autobiography in the popular press selections from Barnum's other writings and a handful of other items selected to illuminate parts of his life not captured by the autobiography itself. In addition to Barnum’s life story, this edition reprints fourteen additional documents to bring Barnum’s entire career to life. Unlike subsequent versions, where Barnum banished some of the more disquieting stories and events of his life, the original edition offers the most unvarnished account of Barnum's career up until that time. The particular version of his memoirs used in this volume is drawn from the original 1855 edition. Stephen Mihm’s new book situates Barnum’s contributions within the larger issues of his lifetime, including the vexed issue of race, slavery, and abolition. In fact, the professions of advertising, public relations, marketing, and all the other means and methods used to persuade twenty-first century consumers what to buy, where to eat, what to watch, and how to live arguably trace their origins to Barnum. He understood, far better than his contemporaries, how to attract an audience, and no less important, how to keep it. The modern entertainment industry - never mind the culture of celebrity with which it is intertwined - owes a profound debt to Barnum’s innovations a century and a half ago.

The life of pt barnum written by himself