We explore contemporary transformations of the circus, from the whimsical Circus Oz in Australia to New York City’s Big Apple Circus. Barnum, James Bailey and the enterprising Ringling Brothers, who created the golden age of American circuses. Now available in paperback, The Greatest Shows on Earth takes us from eighteenth-century hippodromes in Britain to intimate one-ring circuses in nineteenth-century Paris, where Toulouse-Lautrec and Picasso became enchanted by aerialists and clowns. Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth.A history of the circus that is as enchanting as a night at the big-top itself. The result is an immediate, insightful and compelling narrative that paints a unique portrait of an extraordinary few weeks when football hit peaks it has seldom reached since. Using brand new interviews alongside painstaking archival research, Andrew Downie charts each stage of the tournament, from the preparations to the final, telling a host of remarkable stories in the players’ own words. But at the heart of the tournament were Brazil captained by Carlos Alberto and featuring legends like Pelé, Gérson, Jairzinho, Rivellino and Tostão, the 1970 Seleção are often cited as the greatest-ever World Cup team. But more than just the proliferation of goals was the quality of the overall football, as some of the finest teams ever to represent the likes of West Germany, Peru, Italy and England came together for a tilt at the world title.

The 1970 World Cup is widely regarded as the greatest ever staged, with more goals per game than any World Cup since. One of the Financial Times Top 5 Best Sports Books of the Year Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Football Book of the Year 2022 The 1970 World Cup is widely regarded as the greatest ever staged, with more goals per game than any World Cup since. Using brand new interviews alongside painstaking archival research, Andrew Downie charts each stage of the tournament, from the preparations to the final, telling a host of remarkable stories in the players’ own words.

The greatest show on earth book