Review: The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P.T. Barnum by Candace Fleming

Fleming, Candace. (2009). The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P.T. Barnum. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books. 151 pages. ISBN 9780375945977

Awards/Selection Lists:
-ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2010
-ALSC Notable Book 2010
-Booklist Top Ten Biographies for Youth 2010
-Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book 2009
-New York Public Library 100 Books For Reading and Sharing Title
-Publishers Weekly Best Book 2009
-VOYA "Perfect Ten"
-YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults 2010 (nominee)

Author's Website: http://www.candacefleming.com/index.html

Brief Summary: P.T. Barnum was arguably the world's greatest showman. No small life could contain him. Amongst his better known accomplishments are the Barnum & Bailey Circus and the P.T. Barnum American Museum, which burned down, not once, but twice, in New York City. But did you know he was also a politician, a humanitarian, a businessman, a church goer, a recovered alcoholic, a husband, an advocate for animal rights, an independent consult for biologists and budding zookeepers, and a father of 4 daughters, full of life and humor until the very end of his 81 years?

Personal Reaction: I LOVED this book, flat out loved it. I relished every page, meticulously examined every photograph, every etching, reread the account of this enigmatic man's life, time and again. It was the perfect length, an upbeat, easing flowing tone, and the illustrations really gave a feeling for life during the subject's time. I believe it to be excellently written!

 

I have a passion for history. I've always had this passion and traditional American forms of entertainment, particularly those appealing and available to the young and old, the poor and the wealthy, have always fascinated me because of their attachment to history and their ability to bring people, from all walks of life, together. You can practically feel decades of smiling faces, curiosity and tradition, palpable in the air at these events. You can imagine yourself in a bygone era, enjoying the simple pleasures, marveling and learning new things, and building memories with loved ones. The one event that immediately might come to mind is good, old-fashioned, American baseball, which is of course, one of my very favorites. The second that comes to mind? The American circus, and no one did the American circus better than the larger than life figure that was P.T. Barnum.

 

Content: Before I read this book, I had heard some things about P.T. Barnum, some good, but many vilifying, without any real documentation to back it up. This always bothered me, as I'm a staunch believer in making my own mind up about people, for where some see little worth, I may see a glittering jewel. I get the feeling that Candace Fleming may have felt the same when she set out to write this book. While she consulted many of Barnum's own documents on his life and business dealings, she also consulted biographies and first hand accounts, stories, legends, and even writings on the ideology of people and conditions of living during his time. I believe this to have created a full, spherical account of his life from all directions, avoiding creating what I term as a "cabochon" effect, that is, the appearing fullness on the top, with a flat and deceptive back. Most people hear of atrocities and animal abuse at circuses, of Barnum as a deceiver and only interested in money. The truth, as Fleming sees it, is much more interesting.

 

On the charge of animal abuses and atrocities, Fleming points out that many of the animals Barnum acquired were exotic, never before cared for in the Western world, and most people in his day simply did not consider collecting them for exhibition to be wrong. In his defense, as his collection expanded and his years went on, he became an invaluable asset to Natural History, Biology and newly established Zoology. He was known as an animal expert, because he had decades of experience feeding, caring for and observing these animals and their behaviors. As he grew older, he began to show empathy for them, building them larger habitats and sobbing over their fates after the last devastating museum fire. When they died, regardless of the cause, he often donated their bodies, skeletons or their taxidermied epididymis' to universities for study, such as Harvard. He kept log books and had specialized railroad cars developed for them, and spoke out in defense of them in public venues and during his tenure as mayor and councilman. When a self-proclaimed animal advocate spoke out against his treatment of his animals, or the tricks they performed, Barnum was completely transparent in his dealings and showed the advocate, publicly, how the animals were in no harm, so much so that, while they butted heads over many years, he grew to have a healthy respect for the advocate's work.

 

On being a deceiver and only interested in money, Fleming shows this simply was not true. Barnum's opinion was that everyone liked a good "humbug", that is, a practical joke, as long as they know they are in on it. People like to be entertained, to hear a good story, to make up their own minds as to what is truth and what is not. He did write letters to newspapers claiming to be other people, to help potentiate the stories of his attraction, but this was in an era where fantastic fiction was more readily reported as fact than actual researched and documented facts. Facts didn't sell newspapers and journalists were not held accountable. When one of these humbugs were discovered, much of the public was delighted at the joke, as they were never malicious. Was it strictly for monetary purposes? Was he trying to make people look a fool to increase his profits? Not exactly.

 

Barnum believed people wanted and needed to be entertained. They wanted to believe in the impossible, in the grand, to escape the mundane qualities of everyday life and dare to dream, just like he did. Did he have an interest in profit making, being a businessman? Absolutely! But no one seems to mention that there is no record of a malicious attempt at making these profits, that he compensated his performers EXTREMELY well, paying for food and board, medical expenses, costuming and generous wages at a time when those who were "different" could be shunned and left to die in the street. Barnum believed that these people were not freaks but wonders, people to be marveled at, respected and exalted. He got them together with the public, and got them talking, lecturing, occupying the same space and he helped them earn a tidy living. He wasn't just about miniature people, giants, dog boys and Siamese twins. He also highlighted and promoted inventions and entertainers of all types to great success, most notably, the singer, Jenny Lind. He had a talent for promotion, for entertaining, for making people happy.

 

Was he perfect? Absolutely not. But he showed a strength of character in the way he dealt with people, helped his community, was passionate about making people happy and owning up to, and correcting his mistakes that was admirable and above all, he was a fighter and a dreamer. Life would knock him down, from the time he was a young boy, and he would get back up and fight harder, make a way for himself and try to make people happy. In doing so, he made himself happy. He had strong relationships and tender feelings, big mistakes, but bigger comebacks, remarkable talents, education and gumption, and a huge concern for his fellow man, but never before have I seen it all laid out, accessible and entertaining as Candace Fleming puts forth in this book.

 

Content Evaluation: It is very obvious that the author exhaustively researched this book. There are so many, what I consider to be, "little known" facts about P.T. Barnum (did you know his name was actually Phineas Taylor, and that he was named after a prank loving uncle, or that he helped establish a library and never did say that famously attributed line of "There is a sucker born every minute"?) that make it plainly obvious that Fleming was determined to tell as much about this man's life as possible. It's very easy to read, with explanations of circus terms, ideologies of the time, and a fantastic Source Note section, laid out by chapter, in addition to an annotated bibliography. I don't recall the author at any time making conjectures about what happened or how someone felt. She is very sure to mention supporting evidence to back up her claims. While sometimes I thought that it might have been an overly positive evaluation of P.T. Barnum, by the end of the book I realized that the negatives were also brought to light, such as his drinking early in his career, being an absentee father, his less than kind verbal attentions to his wife (while he was drinking), his recovery, his bad business dealings, his bankruptcy and more, making the story much more balanced, and again, a much rounder, fuller account.

Review: Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman

 

Fleischman, John. (2002). Phineas Gage: A gruesome but true story about brain science. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 86 pages. ISBN 9780618494781

Awards/Selection Lists: Non-fiction titles from ALSC Notable Books lists 2002-2013, Richie's Picks

Author's Website: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/john-Fleischman

Brief Summary: Phineas Gage was a railroad foreman in the year 1848, when an accident with blasting caused a 13.5 foot iron rod to enter his check and exit cleanly through his skull. Amazingly he made a full recovery, but at what cost?

Personal Reaction: I have always found the story of Phineas Gage to be unsettling, mostly because of the graphic nature of the injury. However, the effects of the accident on the brain are fascinating, and something I have studied for some time with my psychology classes. Fleischman does a good job of laying down the general story of Phineas Gage, with interesting personal details and no elaborated personal opinion, however, I think he could have gone farther with his analysis, perhaps even looking into whether mental illness was a factor in his family tree, or if there was the possibility of genetic illnesses  that could have led to Gage's deterioration (though he does state no family history of seizure...but from where does this information come from?), instead of guessing that the jostling of his brain in his skull, while driving a stage coach, may have lead to eventual seizure disorder and death.

Also the medical information is extremely distracting. It's interjected in the middle of the story and, while I'm sure it is meant to be informative and keep the reader interested, by its placement, it tends to disconnect the engaged mind, with a lot of advanced medical jargon that I do not see many children keeping up with, not for lack of trying. The illustrations and photographs, however, really helped move the information along.

Regardless, the book is written in a good tone, the story interesting, and even I learned a new fact or two, but there are holes in the research and I believe it almost feels at the end as if the author had given up, and chose to simply guess at the cause of death.

Content: With limited scientific knowledge, in an era where knowledge of the effects of bacteria on the human body, and the development of antibiotics, cellular biology, microscopes and proper surgical sanitization techniques was in its infancy, Phineas Gage, a hard working, well respected railroad man, of 26 years, is involved in an accident which sends a metal tamping rod through his skull, damaging his brain. Miraculously, after the incident he can still walk and talk, relaying his experiences to those who would listen, and eventually, even with rudimentary and antiquated medical practices, makes a full recovery. Or did he?

Not only were small pieces of Phineas' brain removed with the exiting of the tamping rod, but there was tissue damage in the brain, specifically the left frontal cortex. This damage, changed Phineas' demeanor and his ability to process emotion and function socially. The hardworking man that everyone respected and liked became vulgar, explosive, unpredictable and difficult to interact with. However, the doctors of the day, particularly those at Harvard, could only speculate on the reason for his survival, until subsequent decades of inquiry, after his death 11 years later, from a physical affliction that caused severe and increasingly frequent seizures (the author speculates it may have been hypothermia) would reveal that the areas damaged by the tamping rod were most likely those localized for social interaction. He still liked working with animals and horses, and drove a stage coach, though he couldn't find proper ways to interact with adults.

This case is studied by neuroscientists and psychology students across the globe, for insight into the connection between behavior and physiology, and its importance in neuroplasticity.

Content Evaluation: The largest conjecture I see the author make, during the course of this book, is that the probably cause of death for Phineas Gage, was hypothermia, due to his body being unable to regulate its own temperature. While it does make sense that someone who cannot control their body temperature may experience severe enough seizures, and subsequent tissue damage from lifestyle and the previous traumatic experience, that death may be imminent, he does not provide sources to back this information up. This point sticks out to me greatly, given that there is no proof that the part of the brain regulating temperature was damaged, and we will never know with any absolute certainty, due to the decomposition of Gage's body, prior to specimen collection, and his remains having been moved.

Overall, there is a phenomenal amount of information presented, which is staggering. However, as important as knowing how the brain works is to the story, it can, at times, become overwhelming and disorienting for the reader, who constantly has to shift between anecdotal story telling and facts present in textbook format. There are ways to present information on neurons and neurotransmitters with less information and technical terms that might confuse the intended audience. As an adult, who has study psychology and brain function, even I found my mind wandering, wishing the author would get back to the story.

Regardless, his information is well presented, and facts well documented, with many first hand accounts from the treating physician, family and town residents. However, I have to admit a shocking lack of bibliographic materials, listed only in a small "resource" section and no bibliography. Otherwise, the details, though slightly disjointed with medical jargon, were well told, and kept the reader interested.

Review: Leonardo da Vinci by Kathleen Krull

Krull, Kathleen. (2005). Leonardo da Vinci. [Giants of Science Series].  New York: Viking Kids. 128 pages. ISBN 9780670059201.

Awards/Selection Lists: ALSC Notable Books lists 2002-2013

Author's Website:
http://www.kathleenkrull.com/science.html

Brief Summary: A brief but thorough biography of one of the most enigmatic figures of history, focusing on  the circumstances of his life but also of his true passion, and the subject which he contributed most to over the course of his life, Science.

Personal Reaction: I really enjoyed this book. As a matter of fact, I read it in one sitting. Part of this could be due to the fact that Leonardo da Vinci is one of my favorite characters from history. With his talent in art,  inquisitive mind, many idiosyncrasies, distaste for politics, constant observation, private, unobtrusive and playful nature and obsessive genius, there is so much to learn about this man who is so often known for his artwork, but who desperately wanted to be known for his science. It could also be that I find myself identifying with him, with our similar obsession with flight and wings, difficulty focusing and completing one task at a time, observing everything and everyone, finding beauty in infinitesimal details, curiosity about water, nature and how the world works. It could also simply be that Krull relays Leonardo's story with an anecdotal overtone on top of excellent research, poignant details and possible conjectures where information may be missing, that reels in the reader, not only forming an emotional connection, but forcing the reader to ask the same questions that went through Leonardo's mind, "What if?"

Often non-fiction gets a bad wrap, as being dry and stuffy, full of facts and figures that hold little interest. This is definitely not true of this book, or this series. It is engaging, interesting, informative and kept me saying "just a couple more pages" until I found myself at the end of the book wish there was more, though I do wish there were more of the beautiful illustrations. It also tackles the difficult topic of legitimacy, homosexuality and its persecution, which affected Leonardo's life from start to finish. While more conservative readers may find this shocking, I find it to be perfectly appropriate for middle school children and I would be perfectly willing to discuss the topic with readers as young as 8, given the appropriate context.

There are also phenomenal amounts of internet resources indexed in the back of the book, including the following url's, intended to provide the reader with digital copies of Leonardo's codex pages for review.
http://www/anh.org/exhibitions/codex/
http://www.bl.uk/collections/treasures/digitisation.html#leo
Unfortunately, both of these addresses are no longer valid and as of the date of this blog post, new addresses have not been discovered. However, there are many .pdf and .jpg copies of codex pages available using simple internet browser image searches.

Contents: Life in the Middle Ages; being born in Vinci, Italy; parents; being illegitimate; social stigmas; apprenticeship; art; friends; works; budding interest in science; young adulthood; change in political regime and climate; patronage; goals; scientific method; observation; persecution; court trials; living conditions; vegetarianism; codices; influences; later life; death; division of his works.

Content Evaluation: While the content is presented fluidly and in an engaging manner, the author makes many conjectures on the mental and emotion state of her character. While it may be easy to make these inferences, and they may even be accurate, the vernacular used is more geared toward the audience, for entertainment purposes, than information purposes. Also, no citations or sources are listed, though a bibliography is listed at the back of the book. Also, many of the links/resources that she provides for further research are out of date or unavailable. I notice this trend in many children's non-fiction books and believe that perhaps if an opinion is to be stated as fact, a footnote either with the distinction or the source should be included, so as not to come into question the accuracy of the information or the motivation of the author.