The Circus Fire

Rating:
Summary: Story telling at it's finest
Review: I had never heard of the Hartford Circus fire until I saw a documentary on the History Channel last month. I couldn't wait to learn more. This book is one of the best I've ever read. The method O'Nan uses to tell this story - following several survivors from beginning to end - is pure genius. I read this book in less than 24 hours. I simply hated to put it down.

I started asking around about the fire. The majority of people I asked had never heard of it. Now I'm telling anyone that will listen to read this book. This is an American tragedy that deserves to be told.

Rating:
Summary: Hell at the Big Top
Review: Novelist Stewarn O'Nan turns journalist in The Circus Fire, giving us a frightening blow-by-blow account of the dreadful fire that broke out at a circus on a hot summer afternoon in 1944.

Of the hundreds who went to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum&Bailey circus on July 6, 1944 in Hartford, Conn., 167 would die as the fire of unknown origin shot through the big top, burning, suffocating or otherwise killing those who failed to figure out a quick route of escape. That many of the victims were children lent an extra touch of poignancy, but there is no shortage of sad stories, with heroes, victims and villains throughout.

In addition to setting the scene of local politics and the atmosphere of wartime Hartford, O'Nan gives us page after page of horrific accounts of what happened under the Big Top, who saw the fire when it first broke out, what they did, and, above all, the gruesome stories of those who survived the panicked rush to escape, and those who did not. What O'Nan has managed to do, above all, is record history before its participants fade away.

That the cause of the fire has never been determined adds an extra sense of sadness to the whole event. What is known is that the tent, like many circus tents at the time, was covered with a mix of paraffin and gasoline to keep the raindrops out. When the flames broke out, the people were trapped as if they were in a huge candle, doomed if they couldn't flee fast enough. Some survived through sheer luck, having arrived late, or having a penknife in their pockets to cut a hole in the tent. That the crowd's exit was blocked by the placement of cages for the animals' act, and that the tent's sides were pinned down firmly so that kids couldn't sneak into the show for free guaranteed the deaths of many. You may think you're used to horror scenes because of the violence and gore of movies, but here's one paragraph that may tell you a little about what it was like to be trapped in this tent: "Several survivors said the one thing they'll never forget about the circus fire as long as they live is the sound of the animals as they burned alive. But there were no animals."

But here's the most important lesson I got from this book: never hesitate. Those that survived often did so because they reacted quickly-as soon as they saw the fire, they started heading for the exit. Those who hesitated for more than a few moments, who thought the flames were part of the act, that someone else would take care of it, or were simply shocked at what might happen, for the most part died in the crush. Don't wait.

Rating:
Summary: A tale of heroism and heartbreak
Review: The author of "Snow Angels", one of my favorite novels, has written a non-fiction account of the Hartford circus fire of 1944. This is a gruesome story in many instances, describing in great detail what happened when the fire began under the big top, and the ensuing panic and death. There are stories of parents sacrificing themselves to save their children, and of the heroic efforts of the circus people and average citizens to rescue the victims. The book has a plethora of photos, which makes the story that more compelling, because of the images they convey. The prose is taut, but several times the author uses the word "ahold", which grated on my sensibilities. The attempts, throughout the years, to ascertain the identity of Little Miss 1565 was extremely poignant. This episode is one of the little-known events of our history, and is well worth reading about, for these people deserve to have their story told to a new generation.

Rating:
Summary: A heart renching and touching book.
Review: I had this book read in two days, I simply couldn't put it down. It made me cry and made me laugh. When I started reading about the fire itself I started shivering and couldn't stop. I felt like I was really seeing and living what was happening. Very well written, it makes you truly feel for all the people involved. It also dispells many rumors and wild tales that have surrounded the fire from the beginning. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: The story of crisis and it's aftermath
Review: People reveal themselves in crisis. That's what facisnates me about this book. The first part tells of the heroism and cowardice of people caught in the circus conflagration in Hartfort, Connecticut in 1944. By chronicalling people's immediate response to the outbreak of the fire, this book reveals a reality about people that is hidden except to the most astute observer of people in everyday life. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it best: usually, people can skate through life in the grey, but times come when people must choose between good and evil. The greys become black and white, and people reveal their true selves by their choices in such times. He was speaking about the crucible that was Germany in WWII, but his observation applies equally well in miniature to people confronted with life threatening emergencies, such as the disaster that O'Nan describes in this book. But after the fire, the deaths, and the immediate tragedies, mysteries remain, and O'Nan's book talks about the aftermath of the fire, following the volunteers, doctors, nurses, survivors, investigators and others up to the millenium. It is a fascinating read. I agree with the critics who say that narrative perspective sometimes changes rapidly in this book, and it is difficult sometime to keep track of the characters. However, I don't think that was avoidable, and it didn't detract from my positive regard for this book.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully sad book
Review: This book was sooooo hard to put down... I read it until 2 am every night until I was done. The story itself is haunting, sad, and memorable, especially since it's a true story. And the author, while trying to stay objective, succeeds in making it even more realistic with his detailed descriptions and his obvious passion for the subject. There are so many stories in this book that will stay in your mind for days afterwards. If you like history, or the circus, or just a good story of tragedy and human bravery, I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinatingly detailed
Review: The description of the fire as it travels from the sidewall across the big top is thorough, but not dull or boring. The author manages to tell a variety of stories that were all happening simultaneously. Occassionally I had to remind myself how compressed the time frame really was. While there is lots of information, and at times I lost track of who was who, this is a very compelling read and I had trouble putting the book down. The author balances the details of what happened; the who, where, when; with the stories of the people affected, telling a story that is intellectually and emotionally satisfying.

Besides effectively covering the actual fire, the author does a great job of setting the scene and covering the chaos afterwards. I particularly appreciated the follow up ten and twenty years later with the continuing impact it had on some lives.

Rating:
Summary: A tired recount of what we already knew.
Review: Where is the story here? Where is the hero? The book is just a rambling bunch of facts about the circus fire, and debatable facts at that. Where is Rick Davey's research? It seems to try to dispute Rick Davey, but there's no back up to that. All O'Nan tells us is what led everyone to believe for years that 1565 was NOT Eleanor Emily Cook, the old news. What information does Rick Davey have that counters this? It must be something substantial if the State of Connecticut exhumed the body and buried her with the Cook family. Perhaps part of the reason O'Nan's book is so poor because he does not know this information. On the first page O'Nan says he didn't even want to write the book. Why did he bother? Abysmal writing, pitiful structure. Matter of Degree by Rick Davey and Don Massey is going to knock this right over on its boring side.

Rating:
Summary: Lot's of Facts, Lot's of Details, but Where's The Story??
Review: I went to school in Hartford, and have heard many tales about this terrible fire. My parents used to talk about it when we went to the circus in Massachusetts. It was with great excitement that I bought this book, thinking that all would be tied together.

Well, almost.

How I hate being the nay-sayer, but this is a book without a story, although occassionally it gets close. The layout of a day a chapter, then all that happend on that day didn't lead to anything. Imagine June 6, 19XX. Fact A, Fact B, then Fact C, D, E. Next paragraph! Fact F, G, H, I, etc. But where's the story?? I never had a change to get attached to anyone, anything, except Little Miss 1565, and that from previous reading. I did read the whole book to get to the final facts about Miss 1565, but it was a long hard journey. There is also a distracting habit of using slang terms without explaination. I spent lots of time wondering what he was talking about. Then there are city names, presented without State names. Fitchburg, Glastonbury for example. If one is not familiar with the region, one wouldn't know that Fitchburg is in Massachusetts and Glastonbury in Connecticut.

By no means do I say that Mr. O'Nan is not a good writer, he relates all that one could want in his writing, but the story didn't get a hold of me. His graphic details about burns and bruises, medical treatments, etc. are pretty "to-the-point", but where did it all go. Kudos to his research, which must have been endless and massive in scope. I just missed the story telling.

I cannot think of anything more terrible then what these people went through, as Mr. O'Nan let's the reader know, some times a bit strongly and what I think is just for sensationalism. What a period of sadness for all those involved. For them I feel badly. Mr. O'Nan did get that point across. He has certainly added to my life's experiences by filling in missing pieces to stories I heard growing up. I thank him for that.

To close, I got the feeling that this book was put together quickly despite all the research, so as to get to market before Don Massey's "A Matter of Degree", which I plan on reading as a comparison version. Please read this book, as there are many other good reviews of it here. You may get more from it then I did.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Saddest Things I Ever Read
Review: My feelings about this book are admittedly mixed. On the one hand, I thought it was a tautly written and naturally compelling story-- one whose facts were so gripping that O'Nan had a lot of his work done for him already. On the other hand, I can't remember the last time I cried so much when reading a book. The thought of adults trampling over women and children and leaving them huddled on the floor to burn to death is horrific. The ordeal experienced by both victors and survivors is so painstakingly recounted that those who are faint of heart will hardly be able to bear the pain. And, as if that's not enough, there are some truly grisly descriptions of what the bodies recovered from inside the tent looked like. At this point in the book, I wondered if O'Nan was really as "humane" as other reviewers have made him out to be, although I confess that I kept reading.

There are some details in this book that redeem its exploitativeness somewhat. The stories of the heroes-- both those who lost their lives in the fire and the police officers and detectives who kept case files open for years afterwards-- lend depth and hope to "The Circus Fire." But to imagine all of those children who lost their parents, or parents who lost their children, left me sleepless for nights after reading this book. I don't know if something so disturbing warrants a full 5 stars, so I'm going to give this four stars and one warning bell (for the reader whose sensibilities are as delicate as mine).