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Ringlingville USA: The Stupendous Story of Seven Siblings and Their Stunning Circus Success » (1)

Book cover image of Ringlingville USA: The Stupendous Story of Seven Siblings and Their Stunning Circus Success by Jerry Apps

Authors: Jerry Apps, Jerold W. Apps, Fred Dahlinger
ISBN-13: 9780870203558, ISBN-10: 087020355X
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Wisconsin Historical Society
Date Published: September 2004
Edition: 1

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Author Biography: Jerry Apps

Jerry Apps is the author of more than thirty-five books on Wisconsin and U.S. history. His writing has appeared in such publications as The Journal of American History, Wisconsin Trails, and the Wisconsin Magazine of History, and he is a regular columnist for Wisconsin Guide. He is especially known for his histories of rural and country life.  Apps has won numerous awards for his writing from the Wisconsin Library Association, the  Council for Wisconsin Writers, the Robert F. Gard Foundation, the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association, and the Wisconsin Historical Society. In 2001 he received the Barnes and Noble Pride of Wisconsin Award for Excellence in the Field of Regional Literature. He divides his time between his home in Madison and his farm, Roshara, near Wild Rose, Wisconsin.

Book Synopsis

Ringlingville USA is the story of seven brothers who started with next to nothing and became the most famous circus family ever known. This is an extensively illustrated history with many never before published photos. This first history of the Ringling Circus in over fifty years recounts the hard work, business savvy, and entrepreneurship of the Ringling Brothers as they created the largest, most famous circus in the world. Author Jerry Apps presents a comprehensive history of the family business while at the same time recreating the sights and sounds of the circus at the turn of the century.

Distributed for the Wisconsin Historical Society Press

Table of Contents

Foreword
1The idea for a circus : 1848-18811
2Hall shows and an overland circus : 1882-188411
3Establishing a reputation : 1885-188925
4Taking to the rails and growing : 1890-189444
5A giant emerges : 1895-189967
6Facing a new century : 1900-190188
7Making money and pleasing people : 1902-1903101
8Keeping the lead : 1904-1905114
9Becoming even larger : 1906-1907126
10Managing two big shows : 1908-1909146
11Doing the impossible : 1910-1911161
12Tax woes : 1912-1914173
13The effects of war : 1915-1918190
Epilogue : after Ringlingville207
App. I1903 Ringling Brothers' official program217
App. IIThe Ringling family221
App. IIIRingling homes in Baraboo and vicinity225

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