P. T. Barnum
P. T. Barnum
In the captivating pages of "Struggles and Triumphs," P.T. Barnum, the legendary showman, unveils his extraordinary life story. From humble beginnings to unparalleled success, Barnum recounts his remarkable journey, filled with both triumphs and setbacks. Through his vivid prose, readers will witness the creation of the American Museum, the rise of Jenny Lind, and the behind-the-scenes secrets of his extraordinary career. Prepare to be enthralled by the wit, wisdom, and indomitable spirit of one of the most iconic figures in American history.
P. T. Barnum exposes some of the chief humbugs of the world with his usual entertaining style. He looks at medicine and quacks, ghosts, witchcraft, religious humbugs, money manias, adventurers, personal reminiscences, and much more.
Although Barnum considered himself primarily a showman and his main goal was to put money in his own pocket, this little book, subtitled Golden Rules for Making Money does have a good deal of common sense about how to make money, and perhaps more importantly, how to keep it once you've made it. Of course, having been written nearly a century and a half ago, some of the advice may be a little dated, but it remains a very readable self-help book.
Please note: This audiobook has been created using AI voice. Struggles and Triumphs is the autobiography of P. T. Barnum, the celebrated American showman. Though subtitled Forty Years' Recollections, it covers a period of over 60 years, from his birth in 1810, to the later years of his career in the 1870s. Barnum has an engaging style, and his autobiography is crammed with many amusing and interesting incidents as he tells how he learned to make money entertaining the public through circuses, "freak shows," theatrical presentations, concert tours and the like. On the way he builds up an impressive fortune, only to lose it all through a fraudulous speculation perpetrated on him. Then he starts again, pays off his debts and builds up another, greater fortune. Though often labelled as a "humbug" or "a mere charlatan" it's clear that the majority of his contemporary Americans held him in affectionate regard. However modern readers may be upset by Barnum's rather cavalier treatment of the animals under his care in the various menageries and aquariums he created, and be distressed by the details of how they were lost in the several fires which destroyed Barnum's Museums. Also of great interest are Barnum's philanthropic endeavours: lecturing on teetotalism; supporting negro equality; and funding civic developments.
Please note: This audiobook has been created using AI voice. "Humbug ... I won't believe it," is Scrooge's response when confronted by the ghost of his dead partner Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol, and just as surely as Dickens knows that ghosts are humbugs, so too does P. T. Barnum, writing a generation later. For Barnum, humbug begins in the Garden of Eden with the temptation of Eve, and permeates all of history, through every age and in every nation, right down to his own time, where the "Great Spirit Postmaster" publishes ghost letters from veterans recently perished in the Civil War. Barnum himself was often called the "Prince of Humbugs," but he was no cynic. In this book he sets out to make his fellow citizens a little wiser via a catalog of colorful characters and events, and mocking commentaries about how a sensible person should be more skeptical. He goes after all kinds of classic humbugs like ghosts, witches, and spiritualists, but he also calls humbug on shady investment schemes, hoaxes, swindlers, guerrilla marketers, and political dirty tricksters, before shining a light on the patent medicines of his day, impure foods, and adulterated drinks. As a raconteur, Barnum is conversational and avuncular, sharing the wisdom of his years and opening an intimate window into the New England of the mid19th century.
In the United States, where we have more land than people, it is not at all difficult for persons in good health to make money. In this comparatively new field there are so many avenues of success open, so many vocations which are not crowded, that any person of either sex who is willing, at least for the time being, to engage in any respectable occupation that offers, may find lucrative employment.
Décryptez les secrets du succès financier et les rouages des impostures avec The Art of Money Getting + The Humbugs of the World, deux classiques intemporels de P.T. Barnum.