This is the first biography of P. T. Barnum in a decade and I decided to read it as I have not read one about him. The author does a good job of covering his life and the various events that most people are aware of which include the Mermaid (which helped launch his career as a showman), General Tom Thumb, singer Jenny Lind, the numerous fires that destroyed his museum and the rebuilding and finally the establishent of the Barnum and Bailey circus. The book is well reserached and written making it an enjoyable read. I learned a great deal about Barnum outside of the more famous aspects of his life.

I recommend this book for those looking for an engaging read on the life of P.T. Barnum.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook  page.

I love anything and everything related to circus life. So this one was amazing!! I love getting to read all of the things about Barnum. Thank you for this book.

I love reading about Barnum and felt this was a great biography. The original famous huckster was amazing to learn about. It was an easy read and I would recommend to anyone interested in history.

Gotta give Barnum credit- his name is still known, people are still intrigued by what he accomplished, and they will still read books about him! I'd say he succeeded! This was a fun read about the master showman! P.T. Barnum really was the greatest master of promotion of all time, in my opinion. Fun read for summer!

Barnum is the interesting history of a man that changed entertainment. It explores the life of one of the greatest showman's of all time and how he amazed the public with displays never seen before (or since). It's an interesting look at a bigger than life personality.

A well researched and informative biography of p.t. Barnum. The pace keeps you interested and the subject makes the book hard to put down

Unlike the movie the Greatest Showman (which although fictional, was still great) this tells the story of PT Barnum, who lead a thoroughly interesting life. He is widely known for his publicity stunts, and falsely attached to the saying, "there is a sucker born every minute." However, he was not a devious person and his abolitionist and temperance ways showed a completely different side of him. He believed in doing things big, from building houses to showmanship. I enjoyed this book, but sometimes it was a little repetitive and I found myself skimming until the next subject came up.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, Netgalley.com and Simon & Schuster. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review.

P.T. Barnum is an American icon. Mr. Wilson's book is an in depth look at the man and his life. His victories and losses. A man driven to make something more of himself. Well researched and excellently written, this book dispels much of the mythology to reveal who Barnum really was.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this book — the most recent and perhaps most comprehensive biography of Barnum. Barnum never fails to fascinate — anticipating by a century trends manifesting themselves today— in the corporate and political arenas— hucksterism without shame and the ability to fool most of the people most of the time. This book is important for understanding in part how we got to where we are in America and is , independently, a fascinating portrait of and iconic American personality.

I found the book fascinating. With the huge hit The Greatest Showman two years ago, I'm sure there has been a demand for more information about P.T. Barnum. This book defiantly fits that bill. While the movie is 99% fiction, this book tells the true story of the greatest showman who was, lets be honest, a major shyster in many ways. This books is honest about this part of Barnum but it also highlights his good qualities as well such as ensuring his shows were fit for everyone.

If you want to know the true story of Barnum. I highly recommend this book. It moved along nicely and Wilson does a great job of giving the facts with out bogging the reader down with information.

How could a book about the late, great P.T. Barnum go wrong? Wilson's book takes a wonderfully in-depth look into what made Barnum tick and why we still love him today. I highly recommend this book for all Barnum lovers.

I LOVE books about circuses, and have read all the novels—The Night Circus, Miraculum, Water for Elephants, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, etc.—and this new biography will be added to my favorites list alongside those flights of fancy. P.T. Barnum's story is just as enthralling as these stories populated by fictional characters—but he's real. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

I really enjoyed this book about P.T. Barnum and the circus industry. I have always loved the circus and I loved learning more about Barnum's story and life.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and the author, Robert Wilson, I was able to read this from a request on NetGalley.
I really wanted to read this book and learn all about P.T .Barnum, especially after watching the Greatest Showman recently. It was a very interesting read, and was a very honest and vivid detail of the life and times of P.T. Barnum.

It's fascinating to me that so many years after his death, he is still a very talked about man, and when a circus is mentioned, his name is the first name that would come to mind. Knowing that he struggled to much in his early years, with Bankruptcy, fires, etc., he is the trust definition of 'perseverance'. Not only was he full of perseverance, but the book shows how easy it was for him to wow a crowd, and how he kept the crown entertained, night after night.

This Author really put into perspective the life and times of P.T. Barnum and showed us all what a true entrepreneur and business man he became, and why we still remember him to vividly today.

Barnum has made a return as Greatest Showman proved. For those wanting the grittier, true tale, this biography fits the bill. The author greatly admires Barnum so sometimes the excuses made are a bit of stretch, but overall it is readable & illuminating. Humans are flawed & while we get to know Barnum a bit, the flaws help bring the man to life.

P. T. Barnum was the greatest showman the world has ever seen: the cocreator of the Barnum & Bailey Circus and the man who made worldwide sensations of Jumbo the Elephant, General Tom Thumb, and the “Swedish Nightingale,” Jenny Lind. He was the champion of wonder, joy, trickery, and “humbug.” He was, as Barnum argues, one of the most important Americans of the nineteenth century.

Nearly 125 years after his death, the name P. T. Barnum still inspires wonder. From birth to death, Phineas Taylor Barnum repeatedly reinvented himself. He learned as a young man how to wow crowds, and built a fortune that placed him among the first millionaires in the United States. He also suffered tragedy, bankruptcy, and fires that destroyed his life’s work, yet willed himself to rebuild and succeed again.

I love reading anything about circus's, especially Barnum and Bailey's Circus. I loved reading about P. T. Barnum and how he got started with "The Greatest Show on Earth". This was a great biography of Mr. Barnum. He was truly an extraordinary person and a brilliant entertainer.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of Barnum by Robert Wilson
Pub Date: 06 Aug 2019