“An extraordinary book. O’Nan is amazing in his handling of the abundance of facts, rumors and legends that have built up around this fire.” —USA Today
It was a midsummer afternoon, halfway through a Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus performance, when the big top caught fire. The tent had been waterproofed with a mixture of paraffin and gasoline; in seconds it was burning out of control. More than 8,000 people were trapped inside, and the ensuing disaster would eventually take 167 lives.
Stewart O’Nan brings all his narrative gifts to bear on this gripping account of the great Hartford circus fire of 1944. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of survivors, O’Nan skillfully re-creates the horrific events and illuminates the psychological oddities of human behavior under stress: the mad scramble for the exits; the perilous effort to maneuver animals out of danger; the hero who tossed dozens of children to safety before being trampled to death. Brilliantly constructed and exceptionally moving, The Circus Fire is history at its most compelling.
“A profound remembering of the fire, its victims, its survivors, and its legacy.” —The Boston Globe
“[O’Nan’s nonfiction] is as accomplished as his fiction...as gripping as any thriller.” —The Seattle Times
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Several survivors said the one thing they will 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.
O'Nan interviewed dozens of witnesses and examined police reports, newspaper accounts, and court documents while researching the fire. The result is an engrossing--though agonizingly painful--account of the great fire and its aftermath. He probes the tragedy's enduring mysteries--How did the fire start? Who are the unidentified victims? Who is Little Miss 1565?--and offers up conclusions of his own. He also provides remarkable vignettes of panic, heroism, and grief: Merle Evans and the band playing "The Stars and Stripes Forever," the circus disaster march, over and over; Bill Curlee, standing atop the wild animal chute throwing trapped children to safety; the Cote sisters, who made it home safely then broke down when asked why they were back so early. O'Nan tells their stories with compassion--albeit with a slight tendency toward the macabre.
Moving, saddening, gruesome--yet car-crash compelling--The Circus Fire is a gripping read. Highly recommended. --Sunny Delaney
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Book Description Audio Cassette Plastic Box. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Unabridged Audio Book on Tape. This unabridged audio book on tape has 7 cassette tapes in near fine condition with a sticker on each tape. The plastic case is in very good condition with a little edge wear, stickers on the front cover, and a sticker and a clear plastic pocket on the rear cover. This nonfiction book is read by Dick Hill and lasts about 11 hours. Audio Cassette Ex-Library. Seller Inventory # 002773