 "Freaks:
We Who Are Not As Others"
by Daniel P. Mannix
Originally published: Pocket
Books, 1976
Reprint: Re/Search Publications,
1990
Re/Search always did
a great job of finding great, forgotten books and giving them new life.
This is a book written about freaks, for freaks, and by a freak (an ex-swordswallower
and fire eater to be exact). As the author, Daniel P. Mannix, says to any
so-called freaks reading, "It may even be that you're normal and the people
who profess to find freaks revolting are the distorted ones." "Freaks"
is part historical text and part memoir of the bygone era of the carnival
sideshow, told with love and understanding. Mannix worked and lived with
these people and was able to see them for the people they were. "Freaks"
is a fascinating journey in the psyche of those who were considered different
to the world around them. For most, the only happiness these kindred spirits
found was on the sideshow circuit. In this setting, these people were able
to celebrate their differences, and enjoy the irony of having the so-called
normal world pay for the privilege of glimpsing them--the same people that,
in a non-carny setting, would be shunned. The book is peppered with modern
day interviews with retired stars of the midway, each tinged with a bit
of loss and longing for the past.
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