Under the Big Top : A Season with the Circus

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: A wonderful book. The review a few down about the author being "bitter" and mocking of circus people is just bizarre, to say the least. He is incredibly warm in how he depicts these people and its clear that he has tremendous respect for them. The idea that he's a bitter wanna be is so far off the mark as to hardly merit a response. He's made me exciting to see this circus this Summer, which I've never done before. Bravo, Bruce. Great book.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: A wonderful book. The review a few down about the author being "bitter" and mocking of circus people is just bizarre, to say the least. He is incredibly warm in how he depicts these people and its clear that he has tremendous respect for them. The idea that he's a bitter wanna be is so far off the mark as to hardly merit a response. He's made me exciting to see this circus this Summer, which I've never done before. Bravo, Bruce. Great book.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: A wonderful book. The review a few down about the author being "bitter" and mocking of circus people is just bizarre, to say the least. He is incredibly warm in how he depicts these people and its clear that he has tremendous respect for them. The idea that he's a bitter wanna be is so far off the mark as to hardly merit a response. He's made me exciting to see this circus this Summer, which I've never done before. Bravo, Bruce. Great book.

Rating:
Summary: Feiler accurately captures the feel of circus life.
Review: I just finished Feiler's "Under the Big Top" and my first thought was "I wish I could contact this guy and compare notes." I joined Ringling Brothers on a lark in '82, and his descriptions of travelling with the circus brought back feelings and memories I hadn't had in a long time. From the descriptions of the social fabric (yes, there is a very real class structure) to the smell of the lot where the animals are kept (not unpleasant) to the dangers, and the thrills of watching the performers every night, he has DONE it. If you want to know what it's really like to join the circus, but aren't feeling quite that romantic, read this book.

Rating:
Summary: What an amazing life!
Review: I really loved this book. If the circus life has always fascinated you, you can live in it for a while through this book. It was short and easy to read and really satisfied my yearning to run away with the big top. Here is a man who certainly followed an unlikely dream. His style is conversational and likeable. Unexpected books that take you into other peoples lives like this are why I love to read so much.

Rating:
Summary: What an amazing life!
Review: I really loved this book. If the circus life has always fascinated you, you can live in it for a while through this book. It was short and easy to read and really satisfied my yearning to run away with the big top. Here is a man who certainly followed an unlikely dream. His style is conversational and likeable. Unexpected books that take you into other peoples lives like this are why I love to read so much.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Suspect Stories from a Bitter Wanna-Be Clown
Review: I've read Under the Big Top : A Season With the Circus and after joining the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus I found out that most of the people interviewed by Mr. Feiler were making up stories and pulling his leg, laughing at him behind his back. They were having contests to see who could tell the tallest tale that he'd actually believe enough to put in his book.

As a result, I'd suspect that any stories, other than first hand accounts, in this book were probably fictious.

And his portrait of poor Buck Nolan is unflattering and unfair, to say the least. I think he just has it in for circus clowns.

I met Mr. Feiler at Ringling's Winter Quarters in December of '98. He had an extremely narrow sighted, cynical view of clowns and clowning and I was shocked that he could have spent an entire year on the road "performing" as a circus clown without it having touched him at all. He had nothing positive to say about the craft or its practitioners. He may have worked a "A Season With the Circus" but I can't imagine he was very good at it.

As a result of Mr. Feiler's book most circuses are now extremely reluctant to allow any outsiders the kind of access he enjoyed while writing this book, which is kind of a shame. I'd like to read one by a better author.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: Very Interesting. I really enjoyed his account. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the circus.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: Very Interesting. I really enjoyed his account. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the circus.

Rating:
Summary: An Exciting, Well-Written, and Often Dramatic Read
Review: Whatever your opinions are of American circuses, whether or not you wince at the spectacle or get angry at the use of animals for entertainment, chances are you have a treasured childhood memory of being there in the stands. Whether it was a kind and jovial clown, a dazzling trapeze act or the courage of a lion tamer, you were probably amazed by the magic and mystery of the big top.

Bruce Feiler, acclaimed author of ABRAHAM and WALKING THE BIBLE, was also fascinated. And, like the old saying goes, "he ran away with the circus." For one season Feiler traveled with the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus, recording both his experience as a writer and performing as a clown. The result is UNDER THE BIG TOP, an informative and very readable look at circus life, culture and history.

Feiler's status in the circus was unique. All the circus employees knew he was writing a book about them, but he was also allowed to travel as a performer. Thus the perspective of this book is unique, both insider and outsider. As an outsider (which on most levels, he always remains), Feiler explains the historical development of the circus and its acts, divulges the reality behind the seemingly miraculous feats of daring and discusses the circus as a business --- its marketing strategies and day-to- day operations. Here the narrative is interesting and enlightening: who knew how many phrases in American English such as "hold your horses" and "get this show on the road" originated with the circus? This view of the circus reveals the lives and talents of hard-working professionals, generations of performers and those misfits and adventurers who join the circus for various reasons, all working together to put on a grueling and dangerous show several times a day, day after day, for months on end.

As an insider, a performing clown called "Ruff Draft," Feiler came to understand the hierarchy of the circus, its code of conduct and the nature of its tiring work and demanding schedule. He also learned what happens after the show, when the big top is dark and gained insight into the personal lives of those people who make the circus possible. Those Feiler met and came to know during his season traveling with them are real people behind the spangles and stereotypes. Feiler contends the circus is a microcosm of America, a diverse group of 200 people representing several ethnicities, religions and nationalities. This, he suggests, is helpful to keep in mind when trying to understand how a group often seen as marginal to the American mainstream is so important to American culture. The circus workers and performers are not so marginal after all because, despite all the glitter and spectacle, they reflect the diversity of American culture --- they understand the audience much better than the audience understands them. Furthermore, the circus itself is often a defining childhood moment and those who create it, despite their career and mobile lifestyle, share much with Americans who work traditional jobs and don't live in trailers and fifth wheels.

At all times, Feiler is respectful of his subject and is careful to present their normality in the midst of the fantastic work they do. Feiler doesn't neglect to mention the issue of animal rights, but he refrains from taking sides on the issue. Instead, he presents the treatment of animals in the circus he traveled with as well as the opposition they faced in several towns and cities, leaving readers free to draw their own conclusions.

The big top, as experienced by Feiler seems to be a wonderful and dramatic place of old world values and close-knit ranks. In turn, UNDER THE BIG TOP is an exciting, often dramatic, read. It is a special glimpse into a subculture few understand but many derive pleasure from. This book is a well-written and very honest portrayal of the circus and those who compose and orchestrate it, yet it is still a fun read. The author's season with the circus was a whirlwind of excitement and devastation. With UNDER THE BIG TOP, Feiler brings the reader one step closer to life under the tent, in the spotlight and behind the scenes.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman