Ringlingville USA, by Jerry Apps, chronicles the brothers' journey from immigrant poverty to enduring glory as the kings of the circus world The Ringling Brothers began their business under the most modest of circumstances and through hard work, business savvy, and some luck created the largest, most famous circus in the world. The Ringlings and their circus were last studied in depth over four decades ago. Jerry Apps weaves together the Ringlings' personal correspondence and records along with newspaper accounts, oral histories, colorful anecdotes, and stunning circus ephemera and photos, many never before been published, to illuminate the importance of the Ringlings’ accomplishments. He describes how the Ringling Brothers confronted the challenges of taxation, war, economic pressure, changing technology, and personal sorrows to find their place in history. The brothers emerge as complex characters whose ambition, imagination, and pure hucksterism fueled the phenomenon that was the Ringling Brothers’ Circus. From the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. 272 pages, illustrated.
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