Struggles and Triumphs

P. T. Barnum tells his own story with the same flair he brought to the circus ring. From a modest Connecticut boyhood he rose to become America’s most famous showman, and here he recounts the hoaxes, museums, and grand exhibitions that made his name, along with the bankruptcies and comebacks that nearly unmade it. The book is candid about his methods, including the humbug he was proud to peddle, and it doubles as a shrewd manual on publicity and self-promotion. First published in 1869 and revised through many later editions, it captures the restless commercial energy of nineteenth-century America. Barnum wrote it partly as entertainment and partly as advice. Free to read as a PDF and EPUB edition.