Topsy

The story of the sadly electrocuted elephant Topsy is actually two stories: one of circuses and one of the fight over electricity standards. Mark Peckham narrates the exploits of the two men who figure most in those stories with dramatic emphasis. He brings to life the boasting and trickery of P.T. Barnum and the strident statements of Thomas Edison with equal skill. Peckham creates mental pictures skillfully, re-creating a past era and the lives of two of its legends. Oddly, Topsy herself is the least interesting element, even considering the circus wars over elephants. Still, the book is a fascinating listen. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

Starred review from April 15, 2013
In this bizarre and remarkable dual history, journalist Daly (The Book of Mychal) weaves together the stories of two turn-of-the-century rivalries. Circus entrepreneurs P.T. Barnum and Adam Forepaugh wrangle over who will be the biggest in the big-top business by flaunting their best pachyderms, while Thomas Edison, a proponent of direct-current (DC) electricity, fights to convince New York state to conduct its electrocutions via alternating current (AC) in an attempt to smear his rival, AC advocate George Westinghouse. Set against the backdrop of a New York City busily building itself up to meet the demands of a new, electrified era—an evolution that included the construction of the famous Luna Park in Brooklyn and the renovation of Madison Square Garden—these two rivalries finally intersect in a horrifying and gruesome public execution on Coney Island in 1903. Having claimed three men’s lives over the course of her career, Forepaugh’s prized elephant, Topsy, was executed by poisoning, hanging, and electrocution (via AC current)—all at the same time. Edison proudly filmed it—“the first actual snuff film”—and used it as propaganda against Westinghouse. Daly’s fascinating, nuanced portraits of the seedy sides of the circus’s heyday and the dawn of the electric age makes for incredibly entertaining reading. Agent: Philippa Brophy, Sterling Lord Literistic.

September 15, 2013

The 1903 public electrocution of a circus elephant named Topsy forms the centerpiece of this sprawling audiobook, but Daly (The Book of Mychal) frequently digresses from Topsy's story to include chapters on the history of elephants in America and the travails of circus barons in the Gilded Age. Daly's captivating final chapters describe the "current wars" between electricity rivals George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison. Topsy was a victim of the rivalry, publicly executed to illustrate the supposed dangers of AC current. The book is full of fascinating anecdotes but somewhat unfocused. Narrator Mark Peckham's no-frills delivery presents the text and no more. VERDICT Recommended to fans of Gilded Age Americana or circus collections. ["Although this is a tale with a sad ending, popular history buffs will enjoy. Fans of Paul Chambers's Jumbo, about a Barnum elephant, or Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants will be drawn to this as well," read the review of the Atlantic Monthly hc, LJ 4/15/13.--Ed.]--Mark Swails, Johnson Cty. Community Coll., Overland Park, KS

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.