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Book synopsis

Well before Evel Knievel or Hollywood stuntmen, reality television or the X Games, North America had a long tradition of stunt performance, of men (and some women) who sought media attention and popular fame with public feats of daring. Many of these feats - jumping off bridges, climbing steeples and buildings, swimming incredible distances, or doing tricks with wild animals - had their basis in the manual trades or in older entertainments like the circus. In "The Thrill Makers", Jacob Smith shows how turn-of-the-century bridge jumpers, human flies, lion tamers, and stunt pilots first drew crowds to their spectacular displays of death-defying action before becoming a crucial, yet often invisible, component of Hollywood film stardom. Smith explains how these working-class stunt performers helped shape definitions of American manhood, and pioneered a form of modern media celebrity that now occupies an increasingly prominent place in our contemporary popular culture.

Book details

Book category Books in English Humanities History History: specific events & topics

• Full title: Thrill Makers
• Author: Jacob Smith
• Language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 282
• EAN: 9780520270893
• ISBN: 0520270894
• ID: 04459431
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Weight: 396 g
• Dimensions: 226 × 153 × 17 mm
• Date of publishing: 01. May 2012

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