This book is a fast-paced, carefully documented, and rich biography of Barnum, the greatest showman of all time, the American from Bethel, Connecticut, whose eccentricities and oblique, cynical approach to humanity transformed entertainment into a big, incredibly profitable business. As bachelor, husband (twice), father, and grandfather, Barnum comes to life in Mr. Wallace's crowded pages, an exceedingly interesting and human man. Here, too, are New York City in all its nineteenth-century color, the London of Queen Victoria, and the Paris of Napoleon III. - Jacket flap.