Elephant Story: Jumbo and P. T. Barnum under the Big Top Book

I'm not normally a fan of biographies. That being said, I had never heard of Florence, and when I was watching a documentary series on film making, her name came up as something of a 'lost and forgotten chapter'. This piqued my interest enough to hunt down the book.

For me, the work was rote and dry. Except, it's a biography, so it sort of has to be. I gave the book a high rating not so much on its readability, but based on the fact that the author has done so much painstaking research, and then managed to tie the whole mess together into a cohesive and linear tale. It's the sort of work I admire because I have the utmost respect for individuals who do such meticulous work in their writing. Something I could - nor would - ever have the drive to do.

Even if you're not a biography fan, there is enough of a sensible structure in the work to be able to gloss over some paragraphs and still 'get the story'. I'd rather see that, than have this author's work ignored. He's done a hell of a job. And Florence's life is, sadly, another one of fame gone right and horribly wrong, ending in her suicide.