I've had a fascination with old circus "freaks" since seing the Tod Browning film "Freaks" when I was about 13 years old . . . This book really brings those old characters back to life with a great amount of respect. The author, previously a sword-swallower himself, relates many tales back from his side-show days allowing you a rare insight and allowing you to feel almost as if you know these people personally.

To me, these are real heros - the majority were dealt a terrible hand at birth, and yet many of them have been able to make a decent life for themselves and enjoy more happiness, it seems, than many people today. Not all stories in this book have happy endings, as there certainly have been many unhappy tales, but both are here, side by side on equal measure. Far from exploitative, this book is really worth the read for anyone with an interest in other lives in other times. ( )