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Naturalists have 'em and train buffs have 'em. There are shelves full for artists, and finally jugglers have a handsome coffee table book of their own. Without even turning the first page, the 9"-by-12" cover of the hardback book, Juggling: The Art and Its Artists bespeaks quality. A sparse interpretive drawing of Francis Brunn by Paul Degan set on a shiny silver background captures in a few pen strokes the power and beauty of the art.

Inside, about 350 photographs and poster reproductions chronicle juggling from long past to present. But the aim of the book is not history. Ziethen has assembled some of the best pictures in his vast collection to give a pictorial overview of juggling as art. [editor summary]

Chinese acrobatics with a rich national style has become known all over the world. Audiences abroad praise it "Chinese acrobatics brim with poetic beauty". As a matter of fact, Chinese acrobatics today owes its achievement to its deep-rooted national and folk traditions. lf we want to understand its origin and development, it is necessary to trace back more than 2 000 years ago to ancient Chinese society. This book provides for the reader background information based on academic research and images of ancient Chinese acrobatics through the pictures of many stone sculptures, brick reliefs, rnurals, paintings and other precious cultural relics. [editor summary]

This is a monumental history of that universally trancing, international phenomenon-the circus. It is the most complete chronicle of circuses and circus lore ever written in the english language. No reader can fail to be impressed by the scope of its coverage and the vividness of its descriptions. No lover of circus wonders can remain unmoved while reading of the people and performances that illuminated circus life.

The author reveals the origins of circus acts among Greek and Roman acrobats and medieval minstrels, tracing their development through eighteenth-century
fairs where they were combined with displays of horse riding in a circular ring to form a new style of presentation. He then follows the evolution of circuses during the nineteenth century, showing how novel acts and exhibitions of animal training were introduced to produce the circus we know today.

Mr. Speaight demonstrates the special way in which the circus grew in the United States, where three-ring circuses were transported over vast distances by railroad; and he describes the Golden Age of the circus in Europe, when circus riders ranked with ballet stars in popular esteem. Finally, he provides an up-to-the-minute account of circuses in the world today.

The author's account is based on many years of research in unpublished manuscripts and museum collections, and he reverses some long.held errors of previous writers on the subject. His book contains exhaustive notes and an appendix, listing circus buildings in London, New york and paris, which brings together information never before printed, giving the book great value as a permanent work of reference. [editor summary]