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Have you been to the circus? What is it like? Powerful, thrilling, mesmerizing? Frightening, overwhelming, a bit sad? Our own feelings about the circus play into our reading of Gruen's book.

If we're mesmerized, Gruen's take on the circus might call to mind the Wizard of Oz, when the Wizard says, right before the gig is up: "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."

Gruen flatly ignores the wizard, showing us that even though we might dream of running away to the circus, it's not all fun & games & cotton candy.

 What is the effect of seeing behind the curtain in Gruen's book? Is it empowering? Illuminating? A lot like your own working life?