Carnie King: The Story of Patty Conklin and Conklin Shows

Writer/editor Thurston, who was once a carnival worker, offers readers a delightful treat: an even-handed, non-nostalgic, fact-filled foray into the history of the carnival industry in 20th-century North America. Using legendary performer Patty Conklin, founder of the largest carnival in Canada, as the personification of the industry, this story follows his life, career, and legacy in dense, detailed prose that rests on neither adulation nor condemnation. Instead, it opens readers’ eyes to the risks, challenges, opportunities, and consequences that defined the rise of outdoor entertainment. Along the way, this book candidly portrays the tawdriness and false mythology of Conklin without sacrificing his more human side. The emergence of his larger-than-life persona serves as a façade for the growth of the traveling carnival as outdoor entertainment for the masses. That graft, bribery, and other forms of corruption upheld this façade is both acknowledged and explained.