Melvin Burkhart the Anatomical Wonder; Zip the Pinhead; Chang and Eng,
the original Siamese twins; Johnny Eck, the King of the Freaks; Koo Koo
the Birdgirl; and 45 more fascinating sideshow freaks both famous and
obscure are immortalized in Drew Friedman's delightful portraits. Before
the politically correct impulses of the 1970s squelched the grand
American tradition of the sideshow -- people born with abnormalities and
others, like Jolly Jere the Fat Man, who created their oddity --
exhibited themselves to the shock and thrill of millions in sideshows
nationwide. As a youth in the late 60s and early 70s, Drew Friedman
often visited Coney Island with his family, and he and his brothers
always insisted on seeing the Freak Show. Drew Friedman's Sideshow
Freaks presents 50 of his favorite historic human oddities -- famous
and obscure -- in mesmerizing full-color portraits. As in Warts and
All, Old Jewish Comedians, and More Old Jewish Comedians, Drew
Friedman once again meticulously, brilliantly, and affectionately brings
to life people in the show business, this time focusing on America's
oddest performers.