Seeing Is Believing: America's Sideshows

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Step right up and be the first to see the amazing
two-headed frog, the headless woman, the bearded lady, the frog baby,
the gorilla girl, the elephant-nose boy, and the alligator man. Then
step over here to see a Chinese opium den, the corpses of John Dillinger
and Jesse James (in wax), the bullet-riddled car of Bonnie and Clyde,
Hitler’s personal Mercedes, and a one-tenth-scale actual working model
of the Bismark. And animal lovers, watch our death-defying monkey
hot-rod race or try a few rounds with our boxing kangaroo; and it is
absolutely Free! ... And, if you believe that, then you are what is
known in the sideshow trade as a first-class “mark.”

For more than a century, people have been fascinated by circus
sideshows. This book, by former sideshow entrepreneur A.W. Stencell, is
one of the best on the subject. Stencell worked in the business from the
early 1960s to the mid-1990s. His first book on the subject was Girl
Show: Into the Canvas World of Bump and Grind, published in 2000.

Despite his often-lurid subject and a lifetime as a ballyhoo boomer,
Stencell pens well-crafted and informative prose that should make most
professional journalists jealous. True to the great carny code, all
chapter titles are all in bold capital letters: “LOOKIE HERE!,” “A
RICH MIDWAY STEW,” “WHERE DO YOU BUY A POLY-MOO-ZUKER?,”
“HOOCHIE-COOCHIE DANCING BEARS,” “WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FOR A
DIME,” “HEAR THEM MOAN! SEE THEM SUFFER!,” “THRILLS, CHILLS AND
DOCTOR’S BILLS,” “WORKING FOR BANANAS,” “MORE THAN AN
ILLUSION,” “THE UNBORN,” “WALK IN, NO TICKETS,” “SOUL ON
SAWDUST,” “A SMALL SMALL WORLD,” “DOES CRIME PAY?,” and
“GEEK 101 FOR DUMMIES.”

Fortunately, unlike many sideshow attractions, Stencell delivers on
what he promises. Each chapter is well researched, and more than 200
black-and-white photos support the text. This book is a great read for
anyone who likes slightly offbeat history.