Shocked and Amazed!

Shocked and Amazed! was a specialist publishing project created by James Taylor and devoted to the history of sideshows, carnival and circus attractions, novelty acts, and other forms of unusual popular entertainment. It appeared both as a nine-volume magazine series and as book editions, with publication running from 1995 to 2007. The project was issued through Taylor's Dolphin Moon Press, which also published book versions of the magazine issues. The publication's central subject was the world of traveling and exhibition-based entertainment. Its coverage concentrated on American sideshows, carnival attractions, circus performers, dime museums, and variety exhibitions, while also examining adjacent traditions such as vaudeville, burlesque, wax museums, world's fairs, roadside attractions, and other forms of novelty display. Rather than treating these subjects solely as curiosities, the series documented their performers, entrepreneurs, venues, production practices, and cultural history. A notable feature of Shocked and Amazed! was its use of interviews and first-person material. The journal included conversations with performers associated with the so-called golden age of sideshows as well as with later practitioners and modern talent. This approach connected historical entertainment traditions with contemporary performance and helped preserve recollections that might otherwise have remained scattered across personal archives, specialist communities, and ephemeral show business records. The project also attracted contributions from writers and artists outside the immediate sideshow field. Contributors mentioned in reference material include magician Teller, author John Strausbaugh, and sportswriter and author Frank DeFord. Their involvement reflected the publication's broad interest in spectacle, popular culture, performance, and the social history of entertainment. In addition to its specialist readership, Shocked and Amazed! received wider media recognition. It was acknowledged or featured by outlets and channels including The Learning Channel, The History Channel, E!, Channel 4 in London, and National Geographic. A selected collection, Best Of Shocked and Amazed!, was published in 2002 by Lyons/Globe Pequot and credited James Taylor and Kathleen Kotcher. The series is therefore best understood as a niche cultural-history publishing brand rather than a conventional consumer product or mass-market periodical.

Shocked and Amazed! began in 1995 as a publishing project by James Taylor examining the history of sideshows and related forms of novelty entertainment. Its title was also used for the associated book series, commonly identified as Shocked and Amazed! On & Off the Midway. The project developed into a nine-volume magazine and book program, with publication continuing through 2007. The publication focused primarily on the United States and on entertainment traditions that developed around circuses, carnivals, dime museums, traveling exhibitions, and other venues where unusual performers or attractions were presented to the public. Its subject matter extended beyond sideshows to include variety acts, vaudeville, burlesque, wax museums, world's fairs, roadside attractions, and other forms of mobile or exhibition-based popular culture. This broad scope placed the publication at the intersection of entertainment history, social history, collecting, performance studies, and popular spectacle. Taylor's Dolphin Moon Press published the nine main volumes and book editions associated with the magazine. The project emphasized documentation as well as interpretation, including interviews with performers from the earlier golden age of sideshows and with more recent practitioners. Through these interviews and historical features, the publication preserved information about performers, acts, business practices, show environments, and the communities surrounding traveling entertainment. The journal also published original contributions from figures such as magician Teller, writer John Strausbaugh, and author Frank DeFord. These contributions broadened the publication's editorial character beyond a narrowly archival treatment of sideshows and connected the subject to wider questions about spectacle, popular taste, performance, and American entertainment culture. Shocked and Amazed! received recognition from several television and media organizations, including The Learning Channel, The History Channel, E!, Channel 4 in London, and National Geographic. This exposure gave a highly specialized publication visibility beyond its core readership of sideshow enthusiasts, carnival historians, collectors, performers, and students of popular culture. In 2002, Lyons/Globe Pequot published Best Of Shocked and Amazed!, a selected compilation credited to James Taylor and Kathleen Kotcher. The collection provided a more accessible entry point to the material than the complete run. The main series ultimately comprised nine volumes and is recorded as having been released between 1995 and 2007. The available reference material does not establish whether the title remains in active publication, so its current operating status is uncertain.

• 2007

  Nine-volume run completed

  [1]Shocked and Amazed!en.wikipedia.org

  The documented publication period for the nine-volume magazine and book series concluded in 2007.

• 2002

  Best Of Shocked and Amazed! published

  [1]Shocked and Amazed!en.wikipedia.org

  Lyons/Globe Pequot issued a selected collection credited to James Taylor and Kathleen Kotcher.

• 1995

  Publication begins

  [1]Shocked and Amazed!en.wikipedia.org

  James Taylor launched Shocked and Amazed! as a specialist magazine and book project concerning sideshows, novelty acts, and related entertainment history.

A specialist archival and cultural-history publication focused on sideshows, carnival and circus attractions, novelty acts, and related traditions of popular entertainment.

• Specialist history periodical · 1995

  Shocked and Amazed! magazine

  The core periodical explored the history of sideshows, circus and carnival attractions, dime museums, novelty acts, and related forms of traveling or exhibition-based entertainment. It combined historical writing, interviews, and original contributions, linking performers from earlier entertainment eras with modern practitioners and audiences interested in show history.

• Book series · 1995

  Shocked and Amazed! Volumes 1–9

  The nine book volumes published by Dolphin Moon Press collected and presented the magazine's research and editorial material. Together they documented sideshows and novelty entertainment while also covering vaudeville, burlesque, wax museums, world's fairs, roadside attractions, and other related traditions.

• Collected edition · 2002

  Best Of Shocked and Amazed!

  This selected compilation was published by Lyons/Globe Pequot in 2002 and credited James Taylor and Kathleen Kotcher. It offered a curated introduction to material from the broader Shocked and Amazed! project.

1. 1Shocked and Amazed!en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Shocked and Amazed - On & Off the Midwayshowhistory.com
3. 3Sideshow Artsideshow-art.com
4. 4Sideshow Worldsideshowworld.com