Sideshow Alley

Cover Type: Softcover
Book Condition: Fine
Jacket Condition: None Issued
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Publisher Place: St. Leonards, Sydney
Publisher Year: 1998
Edition: First Edition

Description: 238 pages. Book appears to have hardly been read and is in Fine condition throughout. Not Everyone Agreed With Sideshow Alley. This Book Is The First History Of Sideshow Alley Ever Written. Illustrated With Amazing Photos That Span A Hundred Years.

Publishers Description: Special Mention, Group/Collective Category, Centre for Australian Cultural Studies National Awards 1998Everyone who went to the show saw Sideshow Alley. Not all approved, but all who saw the Alley were changed by it. Sideshow Alley helped shape the imaginations of young Australians. It gave them a sense of wonder, of excitement, and of danger.This book is the first history of Sideshow Alley ever written. It looks at the rise, the glories and the death of the Alley of Wonders, and explains the history of the travelling freak, the exotic, illusion and boxing tents. Sideshow Alley challenges the view that freak shows and boxing tents were places of exploitation. Based on extensive interviews with old Showies, it breaks new ground in the history of popular culture in Australia. It is richly illustrated with amazing photos that span a hundred years.Richard Broome is an Associate Professor in History at La Trobe University where he teaches Australian History. He is the author of four other books (including Aboriginal Australians, now in its second edition), several school texts and many journal articles. He watched Sideshow Alley from the outside in its fading years.Alick Jackomos boxed and then wrestled in the travelling boxing tents of Harry Johns, Jimmy Sharman, Harry Paulsen and Bill Leech from 1947 to 1970. He also wrestled at Festival Hall in Melbourne. Since the 1950s he has worked in Aboriginal affairs from which he earned an Order of Australia. This is the third book on which he has collaborated, the other two being on Victoian Aboriginal community history.

ISBN: 9781864487596