Hardcover. 1st U.S. edition hardcover with dustjacket 1978 Paddington Press. Edgewear to jacket; creases in glossy laminate. Very clean; no marks; pages bright; binding tight. 287 pages; Index; more than 200 black-and-white photos. Language: English. Jacket art by Ken Cox. Handsome history of a magical world. Discusses the development of the circus from ancient times to the 1970s and such aspects as animals, clowns, aerialists, side shows, and the circus way of life. Keywords: entertainment, carnival, sideshow, freaks, big top.