Download Juggling From Antiquity to the Middle Ages the forgotten history of throwing and catching eBook Thom Wall
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As with dance, so with juggling—the moment that the performer finishes the routine, their act ceases to exist beyond the memory of the audience. There is no permanent record of what transpired, so studying the ancient roots of juggling is fraught with difficulty. Using the records that do exist, juggling appears to have emerged around the world in cultures independent of one another in the ancient past. Paintings in Egypt from 2000 BCE show jugglers engaged in performance. Stories from the island nation of Tonga place juggling’s creation with their goddess of the underworld—a figure who has guarded a cave since time immemorial. Juggling games and rituals are pervasive in isolated Inuit cultures in northern Canada and Greenland. Though the earliest representation of juggling is 4,000 years old, the practice is surely much older—in the same way that humans were doubtlessly singing and dancing long before the first bone flute was created. This book is an attempt to catalogue this tangible history of juggling in human culture. It is the story of juggling, represented in art and writing from around the world, across time. Although much has been written about modern jugglers–specific performers, their props, and their routines–little has been said about those who first developed the craft. As juggling enters a golden age in the internet era, Juggling From Antiquity to the Middle Ages offers a look into the past—to the origins of our art form.
Download Juggling From Antiquity to the Middle Ages the forgotten history of throwing and catching eBook Thom Wall
"A truly wonderful book that breaks down the history of juggling by region. Wall does a phenomenal job of not only covering the historical roots of juggling in various areas of the world, but also expertly citing his sources. In the process of studying the various origins, he also uncovered a fair deal of juggling history that has not been widely known previously, which he documents here. Between the historical relevance and the highly entertaining footnotes, this is an absolutely amazing read. Highly recommended."
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Juggling From Antiquity to the Middle Ages the forgotten history of throwing and catching eBook Thom Wall Reviews :
Juggling From Antiquity to the Middle Ages the forgotten history of throwing and catching eBook Thom Wall Reviews
- Thom Wall is a rare scholar-practitioner in the field of juggling. The world needs more people like Wall who can bridge what is often a wide gap between the thoughtful study of the history of an art and the performance of the art itself. In this work, Wall does an excellent job of interacting with primary sources as well as covering the global breadth of juggling history. Like the skilled juggler he is in real life, Wall found a varied collection of texts from history about juggling and tossed them up into a beautiful pattern that displays the wonder of this mesmerizing art form.
- I enjoyed all of the juggling history tidbits. The only thing I could say is that I had to read it in chunks rather than long sessions just because organizing by geography of ancient civilization could be a little jarring and trying to read more than 2-3 sections at a time was hard to process. That being said, I can't really say that organizing the information in a different way would be better.
- Thom Wall's history of juggling is a fun, authoritatvie, and informative read! This is history writing at its best. The author is scrupulous in researching the history of juggling in countries and cultures the world over. And he also has a delightfully humurous take on some of the claims of juggling and jugglers that I love because he himself is a juggler and entertainer! My favorite picture in the book, which is generous in photographs, is of a lady on an ancient Greek amphora. She is juggling while her goose watches! I have a kinship with her, because my cat watches me as I juggle at home! That is a huge takeaway from this book, how people everywhere and in all times have found joy in tossing things in the air!
Thank you, Thom Wall, for this joyous book! - Thom Wall’s summary of the origins and developments of juggling in multiple cultures through the Middle Ages is the first of its kind for our community of skillful throwers and catchers—a well cited, scholarly survey of what we know about the origins of our craft. This is an important book for anyone invested in juggling and a fun, insightful read for anyone interested in circus, juggling, history, or performance.
- This book is just a delight. If you like history or juggling (and especially if you love the history of juggling!) this book is for you. Wall has meticulously researched the evolution of juggling around the world across the ages, but at no point does the text become inaccessible. The joy Wall feels for this field is clear on every page--it's contagious.
- Thom has put together the definitive history book on juggling. Through his dedicated research and delightful story-telling, Thom will help you learn how juggling evolved around the world. These stories are certainly of great interest to any juggler or fan of circus arts, but even non-jugglers will enjoy and appreciate this history. Go back in time and enjoy learning about jugglers in ancient cultures, see photos from around the world depicting early “malabaristas†and “jongleurs,†and let Thom bring you into the very old and exciting world of throwing and catching.
- A truly wonderful book that breaks down the history of juggling by region. Wall does a phenomenal job of not only covering the historical roots of juggling in various areas of the world, but also expertly citing his sources. In the process of studying the various origins, he also uncovered a fair deal of juggling history that has not been widely known previously, which he documents here. Between the historical relevance and the highly entertaining footnotes, this is an absolutely amazing read. Highly recommended.
- Recent years have seen a publication of many books on juggling history — but all of them cover the modern performing period from about the mid 1800s to the present. Thom Wall's book is the first to cover the forgotten history of juggling, around the world, from Egyptian tomb paintings to the travelling jugglers of Malabar. As an academic myself, one of my pet peeves about other juggling histories is that they often state facts without citing sources, rendering them useless for serious scholarship. I was delighted to find that Thom has conscientiously and comprehensively identified the original sources for all of his claims. But better than that, he's written an engaging and inspiring book that should delight jugglers and non-jugglers alike.
