Rating: 
Summary: AUTHORS REFLECTIONS ARE WONDERFUL
Review: On December 1, 1958, a tragic fire swept through a Chicago Catholic School, killing ninety-five people, mostly young students. Although the fire received international attention at first, it was soon forgotten by most and dissapeared from the national conciousness.
'To Sleep With The Angels' tells the complete story of this fire. The first portion describes the fire and the immediate aftermath. Middle chapters examine the search for the cause (arson). The last third or so looks at how the survivors adjusted to life after the disaster and what became of them.
In many ways I feel the last section, dealing with reflections, to be the best. The authors tell how the survivors were told to 'forget the event' and not talk about it. The mental suppression had its harmful effects, as always. The Chicago neighborhood broke up and became another victim of the fire. Only recently have many felt free to discuss their experiences. I hope the authors will devote their efforts to writing about other famous disasters in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Minute-by-minute review of fire through students' eyes, etc.
Review: A very moving and emotional book for me to read since I was searching for answers on what was really happening in the fire-swept rooms at my school and with the hope to know what happened to some of my friends who perished in the fire. As a student at Our Lady of the Angels we were never to discuss what had happened on December 1, 1958, and I wanted to know and hopefully find the support I had been searching for, and never received as a child (38 years after the fire). I cried throughout the book and the knowledge I came away with after reading the book had finally answered some of the questions I had always had as a child and an adult.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece of storytelling!
Review: As a student of a Catholic elementary school in norhtern Illinois, I was shocked and scared to death by the rumors that came from my relatives in Chicago about this tragic event. I too went to an old two story frame school with stairs, high window sills and a six foot wrought iron fence around the perimeter of the school building waiting to spear anyone who would jump from above! This is a gripping and emotionally charged piece of literature, as well as an excellent piece of investigative reporting. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop. My uncle, a commander in the Chicago Fire Department on that day, refuses to talk to this day other than to say ruefully is "That was a BAD fire." Through all the heartache and pain I read in each chapter, I could not separate myself from those children. As I watch my youngest go to high school now, I am grateful for the changes that came as a result of the OLA fire, yet an saddened and somewhat ashamed of the cost. As a legal practitioner, I bear a sense of guilt at the handling and prosecution of the person I believe (and the book believes) responsible for the deaths of 92 students and 3 nuns. As a former Catholic, I can recall all too well the absolute authority of the church, which ultimately failed its parishoners. I have passed the book along to a friend who is working on his Master's Degree is School Administration as a testament of the duties and responsibilities a community shares towards its schools. Although the subject of the book is a disaster about the most precious things on earth, our children, it serves well as an indictment for all to recognize the value of those too young to protect themselves. I wish there had been more development of the successes enjoyed by the survivors and possibly a summation ascribing the culmulative effects and benefits that resulted from the sweeeping changes regarding fire safety in our schools nationwide. Nevertheless, this book is an excellent read and an extraordinary piece of work. My hat is off to the authors.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece of storytelling!
Review: As a student of a Catholic elementary school in norhtern Illinois, I was shocked and scared to death by the rumors that came from my relatives in Chicago about this tragic event. I too went to an old two story frame school with stairs, high window sills and a six foot wrought iron fence around the perimeter of the school building waiting to spear anyone who would jump from above! This is a gripping and emotionally charged piece of literature, as well as an excellent piece of investigative reporting. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop. My uncle, a commander in the Chicago Fire Department on that day, refuses to talk to this day other than to say ruefully is "That was a BAD fire." Through all the heartache and pain I read in each chapter, I could not separate myself from those children. As I watch my youngest go to high school now, I am grateful for the changes that came as a result of the OLA fire, yet an saddened and somewhat ashamed of the cost. As a legal practitioner, I bear a sense of guilt at the handling and prosecution of the person I believe (and the book believes) responsible for the deaths of 92 students and 3 nuns. As a former Catholic, I can recall all too well the absolute authority of the church, which ultimately failed its parishoners. I have passed the book along to a friend who is working on his Master's Degree is School Administration as a testament of the duties and responsibilities a community shares towards its schools. Although the subject of the book is a disaster about the most precious things on earth, our children, it serves well as an indictment for all to recognize the value of those too young to protect themselves. I wish there had been more development of the successes enjoyed by the survivors and possibly a summation ascribing the culmulative effects and benefits that resulted from the sweeeping changes regarding fire safety in our schools nationwide. Nevertheless, this book is an excellent read and an extraordinary piece of work. My hat is off to the authors.
Rating:
Summary: A Fire Chief Comments................
Review: For some unknown reason I keep being drawn back to this book and a related book that is out of print. The out of print book is " The Fire That Will Not Die" by Michelle Mc Bride. Ms. Mc Bride was a fire victim suffereing severe burns. Her account of that horror is as prolific as the accounts of this book. I read the book many years ago and then found it again while a student at the National Fire Academy. Again I could not put it down nor could I for this book. I was a student in a Catholic grade school just several hours north in Wisconsin in 1958 and yet vividly remember praying for those students when the news was made known in school the following Monday. No wire services or CNN back then. I also "survived" two school fires in my own parish school just a few years after the 1958 Our Lady of Angels Fire. We were out of our building, similar in construction, for several weeks each time. I don't understand the connection but after secondary school years and college I was drawn back to my interest in the fire service and became a volunteer firefighter, then career firefighter, and then Fire Chief in Wisconsin. I now serve as Fire Chief in the WI bordering community of Menominee, MI. I had the chance to get near the Chicago tradgedy site this past winter during a hockey tournament but could not find the site nor the cemetary mentioned and shown in this book. MAybe sometime in the future.......... As a fire chief people need to be aware that there are still many school buildings in many small communities that could yet suffer the fate of the "Our Lady of Angels" fire. Many school buildings do not require sprinklers systems. These fire protection devices certainly would've made a difference in Chicago. The fire sprinkler technology was readily available with a successful history of "saves" over the past 100 years! Enjoy the book! Pray for the children, their parents and the scarred survivors. Their lives were changed forever by the euphemism of hell , FIRE. If anyone has a copy of the Michelle McBride book please advise if you want to part with it. Ted J. Pagels, Fire Chief Menominee, MI firepros@aol.com
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, edge of your seat writing
Review: I just finished reading this book yesterday. It only took me two days to read it because once I started I could not put it down. As far as books like this go (history written by investigative journalists) it has to be the best I have ever read. I was captivated from the very first page until the last. The authors do a very good job of explaining the fire and its aftermath. The interviews with survivors were heartbreaking and it would be impossible not to have a deep caring for all the people in this book. I was moved to tears by a few parts of this book especially the parts that described the parents going to the morgue to identify their children and the parts that described the painful rehabilitation that many of the fire victims had to go through (some for the rest of their lives) after the fire. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read at all not just history buffs or teachers or firemen.
Rating:
Summary: absorbing and riveting
Review: This account of the Dec. 1, 1958, fire at Our Lady of the Angels school proved to be an extremely moving and emotional read for me, even though I have only a limited connection to the fire. One of the BVM sisters who was at the school at the time and who suffered burns and scars therefrom subsequently taught some of my kids. But the account, the heart-breaking account, of the events leading up to and surrounding the awesome event I found a wrenching and saddening read. This book is well-done; I was pleased to see two pages whereon all the dead are listed by name and age. I would have welcomed a listing of the injured and of the ones who were there but were saved. One cannot but be thankful that apparently there were about a thousand children who escaped physical harm, though the book fails to mention the number--which I would have appreciated it doing. As tragedy books go, this one is one I am glad I found and read.
Rating:
Summary: Tragic Reading
Review: This book moved and disturbed me at the same time. It is a tragedy that should never had happened. The emotional and physical scars will last for years. Vary good accounting of the fire and aftermath. All in all a very good book.
Rating:
Summary: Every emotion comes out with this book
Review: This is perhaps the most heartbreaking book I have ever read. It takes very little time in getting to the fire. A variety of factors (an old school building, ignorance of the blaze, very disciplined students, teachers not realizing the danger, absurd school fire policies, and incorrect information given to the Chicago Fire Department) led to this tragedy. The book gives perspectives from surviving students, teachers, priests, parents, firemen, policemen, and journalists. There are many disturbing passages and a few pictures that just took my breath away (among those a firemen carrying a deceased boy). It is hard to believe that this fire back in 1958 is still "unsolved". The end of the book tells of two suspects and how the Catholic Church stonewalled the investigation. The book also does a great job of telling about the many consequences of the fire- some felt years later.Although most of the book can be gut-wrenching there are moments of triumph as well. Many firemen and citizens are heralded for their bravery and quick thinking. The book also tells the tragic tale of the school janitor who saved many lives yet was later considered a suspect and his life virtually destroyed. This book really came to life when I saw a PBS documentary about the fire. Most of the people in the book are featured.
Rating:
Summary: Every emotion comes out with this book
Review: This is perhaps the most heartbreaking book I have ever read. It takes very little time in getting to the fire. A variety of factors (an old school building, ignorance of the blaze, very disciplined students, teachers not realizing the danger, absurd school fire policies, and incorrect information given to the Chicago Fire Department) led to this tragedy. The book gives perspectives from surviving students, teachers, priests, parents, firemen, policemen, and journalists. There are many disturbing passages and a few pictures that just took my breath away (among those a firemen carrying a deceased boy). It is hard to believe that this fire back in 1958 is still "unsolved". The end of the book tells of two suspects and how the Catholic Church stonewalled the investigation. The book also does a great job of telling about the many consequences of the fire- some felt years later. Although most of the book can be gut-wrenching there are moments of triumph as well. Many firemen and citizens are heralded for their bravery and quick thinking. The book also tells the tragic tale of the school janitor who saved many lives yet was later considered a suspect and his life virtually destroyed. This book really came to life when I saw a PBS documentary about the fire. Most of the people in the book are featured.
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