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52%
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16%
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21%
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Patrick J. Southam
5.0 out of 5 stars Consumer Reports for a Previous Generation
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2012
Verified Purchase
I was expecting something entertaining. What I found was a serious expose' of what today would be called "consumer fraud'. Showman P.T. Barnum looks at adulterated products, con-men, fake mediums and psychics. This was written before Sinclair Lewis' groundbreaking work "The Jungle".

If you are interested in history or business I think you will like this book.
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resanji
4.0 out of 5 stars it was annoying even back then
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2015
Verified Purchase
Barnum should be read by anyone who wishes to advertise. His writing addresses not only a variety of scams and cons, but also the uses of early viral marketing. Yes, it was annoying even back then.
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john I.
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2014
Verified Purchase
SO-SO READ.
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guc109
2.0 out of 5 stars ironic
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2019
The thing is barnum himseslf was a fraudster/conman/scammer. Look up barnum tallest man on earth. Very interesting huh. Sound interesting though.
Its a decent book.
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Lanthanium
5.0 out of 5 stars Aller Humbug dieser Welt
Reviewed in Germany on July 1, 2015
Verified Purchase
In seinem eBook 'The Humbugs of the World' aus dem Jahr 1866 beschreibt der erfolgreiche amerikanische Zirkusdirektor, Showman, Werbe-Fachmann und Geschäftsmann Phineas Taylor Barnum, auf den der Ausspruch zurück geht, dass jede Minute ein Dummer geboren wird, alle möglichen Betrügereien und ... Humbugs.

Barnum präsentiert Scharlatane, Marktschreier, dreiste Werbespezialisten, Schwindler (wie z.B. die geisterbeschwörenden Spiritisten), Panscher, Quacksalber und Fälscher. Etwa ein Fünftel des Buches beschäftigt sich mit den üblen Methoden des Spiritisten-Duos Davenport (Barnum ist damit ein Vorläufer von Harry Houdini, der ebenfalls gegen die betrügerischen Spiritisten zu Felde zog).
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