The fabulous showman
This book is a fast-paced, carefully documented, and rich biography of Barnum, the greatest showman of all time, the American from Bethel, Connecticut, whose eccentricities and oblique, cynical approach to humanity transformed entertainment into a big, incredibly profitable business. As bachelor, husband (twice), father, and grandfather, Barnum comes to life in Mr. Wallace's crowded pages, an exceedingly interesting and human man. Here, too, are New York City in all its nineteenth-century color, the London of Queen Victoria, and the Paris of Napoleon III. - Jacket flap.
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2recommend
4mentions
2people
2008–2010years
100% recommend
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What Hacker News says
- The Fabulous Showman: The Life and Times of P.T. Barnum by Irving Wallace http://www.amazon.com/Fabulous-Showman-Life-Times-Barnum/dp/...
Barnum was masterful at using the media of his day to promote his various business enterprises:
"I am indebted to the press of the United States for almost every dollar which I possess and for every success as an amusement manager which I have ever achieved. The very great popularity which I have attained both at home and abroad I ascribe almost entirely to the liberal and persistent use of the public journals of this country."
A great read for startup people, even though it's a biography of a 19th-century personality. Chock full of timeless advice and quotes, to whit:
"Without promotion something terrible happens... Nothing!"
"Every crowd has a silver lining."
"Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant."
"Those who really desire to attain an independence, have only set their minds upon it, and adopt the proper means, as they do in regard to any other object which they wish to accomplish, and the thing is easily done."
"If I shoot at the sun I may hit a star."
- "The Fabulous Showman" bio of P.T. Barnum. Essential business reading.
- I recently picked up "The Fabulous Showman" in a used book store, a good read for entrepreneurs.
- I'm just finishing reading The Fabulous Showman: The Life and Times of P. T. Barnum by Wallace, Irving. Recommended.
