I devoured this book in an hour, poring over the endlessly fascinating tidbits like the fact that the ancient Romans used to stuff babies into vases to create deformed freaks for Coliseum shows, or that the Algonquin Round Table was founded by Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker to protect Robert Sherwood from midgets.
Mannix does not use the term "freak" in any derogatory sense. Rather, the book is compiled with memories and snapshots from his own days as a carny; he considers himself among them. And he celebrates their lives: their marriages, their children, their career successes. For Mannix, to be a sideshow freak is to exhibit the height of character and entrepreneurialism. Freaks take characteristics that society deems disabilities and turn them into extraordinarily valuable assets, earning millions for themselves and their peers.
What is it about freaks -- indeed, about this book -- that draws us in? Are we merely gawking at what some have deemed pornography? Not as Mannix presents his work. He and we, his readers, are merely satisfying our natural curiosity about other humans, trying to understand "normal" through its aberrations. You'll learn a lot about the various ways people can be born and you'll come out of this experience truly more informed and more understanding.
Honestly, I closed the back cover and immediately wanted to hug a midget, or a giant, or a hairy woman! They are just so cool and so courageous and set an example for the rest of us that what makes you different really does make you beautiful.
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