Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women is a book written by stage magician, actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 and writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

 Ricky Jay

Ricky Jay

Richard Jay Potash , better known by the stage name Ricky Jay, is an American stage magician, actor, and writer. He is a sleight-of-hand expert and is notable for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter.-Life and career:...

. Divided into numerous themed chapters, the book provides the bizarre histories of some of the world’s most eccentric entertainers, ranging from mind readers and daredevils to animal handlers and stone eaters. Jay presents all of his subjects within their historical contexts and provides numerous illustrations and posters alongside his text.

Some examples of the entertainers included in Jay’s book:

• The learned pig
  Learned pig
  The learned pig was a pig taught to respond to commands in such a way that it appeared to be able to answer questions by picking up cards in its mouth. By choosing cards it answered arithmetical problems and spelled out words. The "learned pig" caused a sensation in London during the 1780s...
  
   of the title, a pig that could spell, calculate and read minds.
• Joseph Pujol, also known as Le Petomane
  Le Pétomane
  Le Pétomane was the stage name of the French flatulist and entertainer Joseph Pujol . He was famous for his remarkable control of the abdominal muscles, which enabled him to seem to fart at will. His stage name combines the French verb péter, "to fart" with the -mane, "-maniac" suffix, which...
  
  , the master flatulist.
• Max Malini
  Max Malini
  Max Malini was a Jewish illusionist who at his peak performed for several US Presidents, had command performances at Buckingham Palace, and received gifts from monarchs across Europe and Asia. Magicians are said to revere him for his skill and bold accomplishments.Malini's performance style was...
  
  , the illusionist famous for his audacity and his tricks involving unsuspecting celebrities.
• Leon Rauch, also known as LaRoche, the Sisyphus
  Sisyphus
  In Greek mythology Sisyphus was a king punished by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this throughout eternity...
  
   of the circus world.
• Ivan Ivanitz Chabert, the "Human Salamander
  Salamander (legendary creature)
  The salamander is an amphibian of the order Urodela. As with many real creatures, pre-modern authors often ascribed fantastic qualities to it , and in recent times some have come to identify a legendary salamander as a distinct concept from the real organism. This idea is most highly developed in...
  
  " and "Really Incombustible Phenomenon".

First published in 1986 by Villard Books, the book is currently out of print.

Adaptations

A television special of the same name was created based on Jay's book in 1989. The show featured a variety of magic tricks, stunts and performances, such as a musical performance on wine glasses and an antique acrobatic clockwork doll.

Reception

The title of the book was considered irresistibly tempting by Richard Goodman who cited it as an example in his work on creative writing

Creative writing

Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...

.

John Gross

John Gross

John Gross FRSL was an eminent English author, anthologist, literary and theatrical critic. The Spectator magazine called Gross “the best-read man in Britain”, as did The Guardian...

 reviewed it for the New York Times. He found it to be excellent, being well researched, having a good range of exotic examples and being well-written with good humour.