Authors: Bruce Feiler
ISBN-13: 9780060527020, ISBN-10: 0060527021
Format: Paperback
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Date Published: March 2003
Edition: Reprint
Both funny and intellectually rigorous, Bruce Feiler has applied his investigative spirit to religion, Japan, the circus, country music and assorted other topics. His personal accounts of various cultural forays are always illuminating, if you can keep up.
Both a great American adventure and a rare entry into asheltered world, Under the Big Top describes one man's pursuit of every child's fantasy: running away to join the circus. Bruce Feiler's unforgettable year as a clown will forever change your view of one of the world's oldest art forms and remind you of how dreams can go horribly wrong and then miraculously come true.
After several years of work and travel abroad, Feiler (Learning to Bow) decided that joining the circus would be a good way to study America, as well as live a long-deferred childhood dream. He was accepted as a clown and spent the eight-month 1993 season with the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus, which plays the South and Northeast. With performers from more than a dozen countries, this troupe was truly a melting pot, though most had picked up some of the racism they encountered here. Far from conforming to the image of degenerates, the circus people the author met led rather conventional lives within their restricted world. Feiler admits the humor of clowns is ``silly,'' and few readers are likely to share his admiration for acts like that of a young woman who juggles while hanging by her hair. Generally, however, this warm and affectionate memoir is pleasantly entertaining. Author tour. (June)
Winter Quarters | ||
1 | A Toe in the Ring | 13 |
First Half | ||
The Circus on Parade | 29 | |
2 | Under a Canvas Sky | 34 |
A Rare Breed of Tiger | 43 | |
3 | First of May | 53 |
Facing the Fire | 66 | |
4 | Outsiders Always Make Mistakes | 81 |
Swings of Fate | 99 | |
5 | This Is When They Become Real | 109 |
Give the Bear a Dog | 125 | |
6 | Death of a Naif | 137 |
The Amazing Art of Hair Suspension | 152 | |
7 | Please Don't Pet the Elephants | 164 |
Nights with White Stallions | 172 | |
8 | A Streak of Blood | 180 |
Intermission | ||
The Color of Popcorn | 193 | |
Second Half | ||
9 | The Star of the Show | 205 |
Triple Whammy | 218 | |
10 | Without Saying Goodbye | 225 |
Where Are the Clowns? | 232 | |
11 | Reborn | 241 |
Love on the Wire | 254 | |
12 | At Heaven's Door | 262 |
An American Dream | 273 | |
Home | ||
Behind the Painted Smiles | 285 | |
Read All About It | 287 |