01518cam a2200265 i 4500 296083236 TxAuBib 20141223120000.0 141120s2014||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 9781780233581 1780233582 eng rda TxAuBib rda Simon, Linda, 1946- The greatest shows on earth [BOOK] : a history of the circus / Linda Simon. London : Reaktion Books, 2014. 296 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 23 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Step right up! and buy a ticket to the Greatest Show on Earth - the Big Top, containing death-defying stunts, dancing bears, roaring tigers, and trumpeting elephants. The circus has always been home to the dazzling and the exotic, the improbable and the impossible -a place of myth and romance, of reinvention, rebirth, second acts, and new identities. Asking why we long to soar on flying trapezes, ride bareback on spangled horses, and parade through the streets in costumes of glitter and gold, this captivating book illuminates the history of the circus and the claim it has on the imaginations of artists, writers, and people around the world. Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-286) and index. 20141223. Circus History. Clowns History.