About this item
Millions have sat under the "big top," watching as trapeze artists glide and clowns entertain, but few know the captivating stories behind the men whose creativity, ingenuity, and determination created one of our country's most beloved pastimes.In Battle for the Big Top, New York Times-bestselling author Les Standiford brings to life a remarkable era when three circus kings - James Bailey, P.T. Barnum, and John Ringling - all vied for control of the vastly profitable and influential American Circus. Ultimately, the rivalry of these three men resulted in the creation of an institution that would surpass all intentions and, for 147 years, hold a nation spellbound. Filled with details of their ever-evolving showmanship, business acumen, and personal magnetism, this Ragtime-like narrative will delight and enchant circus-lovers and anyone fascinated by the American experience.
About the Author
I was born in the Appalachian outpost of Cambridge, Ohio, then a mining and manufacturing town where no one that I ever met claimed to have written a book of to know anyone who had. I was the first in a sprawling family to go to college (I began at the Air Force Academy, but finding myself ill-prepared for taking orders, finished up at Muskingum) , tried law school (Columbia) as well as a number of other things, then stumbled into a creative writing program at the University of Utah where life finally began to make sense. That process was aided by a stint as a Screenwriting Fellow at the American Film institute, where I learned what a story was. That eventually lead to the publication of SPILL, my first novel, followed by nine more, then a leap out of mystery and into history with LAST TRAIN TO PARADISE, now nearing its 40th printing. I've been writing historical narratives ever since, ten of them, trying to imbue those books with the same vividness that I hoped to bring to the novels, and--you be the judge--trying to make history as interesting as real life.
