Slippery Jim DiGriz. The galaxy's greatest thief and con artist: the Stainless Steel Rat. For novel upon novel, Jim DiGriz has outfoxed the forces of conventionality, cutting a stylish swathe through dozens of star systems. Now, Slippery Jim and his beautiful wife Angelina find themselves becalmed on a painfully boring backwater planet, with nothing to do but practice their skills at computer crime. Then they meet a billionaire who claims to be 40,000 years old--who offers them millions of credits to investigate a string of unsolved interstellar bank robberies. Robberies which, it turns out, always happen when the circus is nearby. . . . In a sense, The Stainless Steel Rat has always been a high-wire performer. Now, as he infiltrates the world of the galactic big top, he's taking the role to extremes . . . and drawing the attention of more dangerous ringmasters and strongmen than he ever expected. Will this be his final show? Has Slippery Jim finally leapt for his last trapeze? Naaah. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The nineteenth century saw the American circus move from a reviled and rejected form of entertainment to the “Greatest Show on Earth.” Circus Life by Micah D. Childress looks at this transition from the perspective of the people who owned and worked in circuses and how they responded to the new incentives that rapid industrialization made possible. The circus has long been a subject of fascination for many, as evidenced by the millions of Americans that have attended circus performances over many decades since 1870, when the circus established itself as a truly unique entertainment enterprise. Yet the few analyses of the circus that do exist have only examined the circus as its own closed microcosm—the “circus family.” Circus Life, on the other hand, places circus employees in the larger context of the history of US workers and corporate America. Focusing on the circus as a business-entertainment venture, Childress pushes the scholarship on circuses to new depths, examining the performers, managers, and laborers’ lives and how the circus evolved as it grew in popularity over time. Beginning with circuses in the antebellum era, Childress examines changes in circuses as gender balances shifted, industrialization influenced the nature of shows, and customers and crowds became increasingly more middle-class. As a study in sport and social history, Childress’s account demonstrates how the itinerant nature of the circus drew specific types of workers and performers, and how the circus was internally in constant upheaval due to the changing profile of its patrons and a changing economy. MICAH D. CHILDRESS received his PhD in history from Purdue University and currently works as a Realtor® in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His articles have appeared in Popular Entertainment Studies and American Studies.

From the 1870s to the 1960s, circuses crisscrossed the nation providing entertainment. A unique workforce of human and animal laborers from around the world put on the show. They also formed the backbone of a tented entertainment industry that raised new questions about what constituted work and who counted as a worker. Andrea Ringer examines the industry-wide circus world--the collection of shows that traveled by rail, wagon, steamboat, and car--and the traditional and nontraditional laborers who created it. Performers and their onstage labor played an integral part in the popularity of the circus. But behind the scenes, other laborers performed the endless menial tasks that kept the show on the road. Circus operators regulated employee behavior both inside and outside the tent even as the employees themselves blurred the line between leisure and labor until, in all parts of the show, the workers could not escape their work. Illuminating and vivid, Circus World delves into the gender, class, and even species concerns within an extinct way of life.

Live It Up! is the perfect book for anyone who wants to get the most out of life. Filled with 50 things you always wanted to do (but never had the nerve to try), this book gives you step-by-step methods for how to accomplish your goals. Everything from starting your own business to joining the Peace Corps to pitching your own TV show is made easy with this informative and interesting guide.

Once upon a time, kids used to dream of running away to join the circus and travel the world, but now that’s out of date. Young Todd Cooper has a new dream: Run away and join the Doodah Brothers’ Astral Traveling Entertainment and Fun Brigade, traveling from planet to planet with its incredible cast of Greebles, Flurps, Bearded Plankton, and Klone-Klowns—and avoiding the deadly Sky-Pirates! The hilarious sci-fi misadventure from multiple Eisner winners Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier, with colors by Tom Luth, and award-winning lettering by Stan Sakai! Collects Space Circus comics #1–#4.

It's time for serious family fun! Get ready to take playtime to the next level with Dad's Book of Awesome Projects! Inside, you;ll find step-by-step instructions and photographs detailing projects so imaginative and fun, no one will complain about turning off the TV. From wooden "swords" to slay the most vicious of dragons to circus stilts that will send you soaring to new heights, these projects are sure to spark everyone's creative spirit. And the fun doesn't stop there! This book shows you and your kids how to build: Comic book shoes Rope swings Homemade goo slime Eggshell cupcakes Ol'-fashioned fruit crate scooter Best of all, each of these activities can be tossed together with items around the house or with inexpensive supplies from the hardware store. With 25 DIY projects and crafts, Dad's Book of Awesome Projects will reveal just how awesome it is to be a dad!

'The Women's Circus' is a community-based theatrical group structured around feminist principles. One hundred women are actively engaged in training workshops throughout the year, learning music, circus skills and ways of regaining control over their bodies. They are jugglers, aerialists, acrobats, technicians, musicians, designers, trainers and administrators who come together for the major annual performance each November. Whether you want to join the circus or be simply an armchair acrobat, the women in this book can tell you how it's done from women involved in every area, photographs, recipes, poetry, diagrams and much more.