Barnum's Own Story Audiobook By P. T. Barnum cover art

Barnum's Own Story

The Autobiography of P. T. Barnum

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Barnum's Own Story

By: P. T. Barnum
Narrated by: David Colacci
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P. T. Barnum's career of showmanship and charlatanry was marked by a surprising undercurrent of honesty and forthrightness. His exuberant autobiography forms a happy combination of all those traits, revealing the whole story of his world-famous hoaxes and publicity stunts. Here is a pageant of 19th-century America's gullibility and thirst for marvels, as told by the master of revels himself.

A born storyteller, Barnum recalls his association with Tom Thumb, his audience with Queen Victoria, and his trouble keeping Jenny Lind's angelic image intact during a trying tour. He tells of Jumbo, the most famous elephant in history, from the creature's heroic arrival in America to its tragic death in a railroad accident; of his attempts to transfer Shakespeare's house and Madame Tussaud's Waxworks from England to New York; and of his triumphant reentry into public life after financial failure and five disastrous fires had all but wiped him out. The true-life tale of a man of boundless imagination and indomitable energy, Barnum's autobiography embodies the spirit of America's most exciting boom years.

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P.T. Barnum chronicles his chief business exploits over this autobiography and it is revealed how his talents for showmanship, exhibition and advertising are peerless. Some of the exhibits would be excoriated today but he had a distinctive ability to discern public interest and to capitalize on it. I only wish he detailed more about his beliefs, politics, personal habits, sources of energy that propelled this man to be better known the President Grant in his day; which is touched on some of these areas it is primarily an accounting of his business venture.

Larger than life

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We loved the greatest showman movie and the reason PT Barnum was interesting to me. The nook way long but a great listen while I worked read.
So different than the movie, the book of even half true outlines an accomplished and interesting life.
Good read for fun but also for business minds. Enjoyed.

Enjoyed very much although different than the recent movie

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Barnum’s life and influence are an undeniable force on American culture. This book was incredibly interesting especially considering the historic backdrop. A large portion of his life ocurring during the civil war era.

Fantastic bio with incredible historic context

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What a fantastic story! Great for kids and adults alike. An incredibly determined and inventive person.

Inspiring!

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Had to give this a listen after watching The Greatest Showman…
I knew from watching that, they ruined what was probably a very amazing story.
After listening to this it’s astonishing that really Nothing in that movie was accurate. More so, how great it could be this story accurately portrayed by Hollywood.
His life was an amazing spectacle.
God bless Barnum…. So much joy he brought to the World… a truly Honest Man…

The Greatest Showman

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I'm trying to grasp that a lot of these things happened before, during and after the Civil War. How they traveled and communicated was so limited, yet you can't tell from the story. Also, I lived in Fairfield County twice, so I recognized all the towns mentioned. Loved it!

Great Story

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Loved hearing about who PT Barnum really was … His whole mission in life was to provide entertainment to the people of the world.

The real story

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Great out biogeography though it does get a bit boring at small points where it’s just listing facts. The majority of the book is more story still and they is fantastic.

Love what Barnum stood for

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