The Circus at the Edge of the Earth: Travels with the Great Wallenda Circus

Very well written, and fascinating. The author gives the reader an 'insider' view of the circus world; this includes an objective and respectful portrayal of the brave and talented people. I appreciated the honest perspectives, i.e., hearing 'the other side of the story' in terms of animal rights. It is a beautiful, touching, absolutely fantastic story.

I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this book, from the subject matter to the personality of the author to the quality of the writing, which is excellent. At times, it reads as luridly and poetically as a novel. If you are enamored of the circus, as I am, and would like to run away with one for a while--even if only in your imagination--this is the book for you.

For a month in spring 1997, Wilkins traveled with the Great Wallenda Circus, a gritty group of seasoned circus vets, on a trip through a remote stretch of Canada. Facing such obstacles as unyielding immigration regulations (for both animals and performers), unprecedented flooding with unseasonable temperatures, and fierce competition from another circus, the Wallenda performers (led by Karl's grandson, Ricky Wallenda) show their merit as troupers in the truest sense of the word. Interspersed with descriptions of the circus's performances in the often-chilly and poorly lit hockey venues of Manitoba are the stories of the circus's performers and crew, each of which reveals a different facet of the daily dangers of circus life: unpredictable (and sometimes in-bred) tigers, vendetta-holding elephants, unstable rigging for aerial acts, and the omnipresent fatigue that can make a performer misstep minutely, but fatally. Beyond these dangers, however, is another threat to the circus's performers, which Wilkins chronicles beautifully and movingly: the decline and fall of the circus in America. It's a casualty with complex causation, including the senescence of Shriners (who sponsor a large number of American circus performances), the rise of the animal rights movement, and the effect of television, with its showy tromp l'oeil special effects, on our expectations for entertainment. Is watching a 370-pound man put an elderly, blind elephant through a series of slow-moving tricks enough of a thrill for audiences raised on car chases and gunfire? Wilkins thinks so, and after reading this wonderful book, so do I.