The Humbugs of the World
An Account of Humbugs, Delusions, Impositions, Quackeries, Deceits, and Deceivers Generally, in All Ages

An unexpected delight. I delved into Humbugs as research for an upcoming project featuring 19th-century fakirism (is that a word? I guess it is). I was happy to discover that the consummate old-time American showman was not only well-spoken, but also a bit of an ethnologist and historian (taking into......more

I really enjoyed the first and last few chapters of this book, but most of the middle is repetitive and boring. It's ironic, of course, that a person who blatantly tricked people as a way of business criticised others for blatantly tricking people as a way of business. Barnum addressed this at the st......more

a very interesting book. many of the descriptions of cons, swindles and quacks are as relevant today as in Barnum's time. the chapters on spiritualists and conjurers (and how they accomplished their fake feats) are especially fascinating. that said, the antiquated views on race (the book is from 186......more

If the venerable Mr. Barnum could be a bit of a humbug about humbuggers, then I suppose each of us harbor a hidden humbug, too. Parts of this book were quite a drag, but nowhere else have I encountered such an enormous collection of outrageous hoaxes, strange fads, and ridiculous trends. Everything......more

P.T. Barnum did many (profitable) things during his lifetime, including writing books. In this historically-interesting nonfiction work, the King of Showbusiness describes a series of "Humbugs" (which although anachronistic and Dickensian now, was apparently a common term in the mid 1800's) only one......more