The Ordinary Acrobat: A Journey Into the Wondrous World of Circus, Past and Present

A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year

When Duncan Wall visited his first nouveau cirque as a college student in Paris, everything about itthe monochromatic costumes, the acrobats singing Simon and Garfunkel, the juggler reciting Prousthooked him. Soon he was attending circuses two or three nights a week, and soon after that, he entered the intensively competitive training program at Frances cole Nationale des Arts du Cirque. The Ordinary Acrobat is a magical, funny, sometimes scary story of what happens when one average American joins a host of giftedand flexibleinternational students in a rigorous regimen of tumbling, trapeze, juggling, and clowning. Brimming with surprises, outsized personalities, and plenty of charm, this personal history of how the circus evolved into the thrilling experience it is today delivers all the excitement and pleasure of the circus ring itself.