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jessicafarmer80's review against another edition
2.0
I don’t like leaving less than stellar reviews - but gosh I struggled with this one. The beginning seemed a bit all over the place…but the hardest part for me was the number of people/names mentioned and flipping back and forth between them. I couldn’t remember who was who for the life of me. I’m sure the author knew them intimately with the amount of research that went into this book, but to the average reader I don’t know who could keep up (& I never have a problem with that). I learned a lot about this sad and horrible event, as I had never heard of it. It’s awful there are a lot of things left unanswered and there was no closure regarding who set the fire or how it started and the several unidentified bodies.
siobhanward's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
fast-paced
4.0
If you know anything about me, it's that I like my nonfiction to be light and fluffy. Oh, wait, never mind.
This was a solid read, although very heavy. O'Nan does a great job of telling a complex and under-told story. It's hard to believe that there weren't many comprehensive accounts of this tragedy before O'Nan's book. Having never read much more than a wikipedia article about this event, I was honestly shocked by how horrific it actually was - O'Nan doesn't shy away from the horrors of the event and I definitely found myself having to take breaks throughout.
If you're into obscure American tragedies, or fire accounts, this is a great read. Kind of a niche audience, but a solid read nonetheless.
This was a solid read, although very heavy. O'Nan does a great job of telling a complex and under-told story. It's hard to believe that there weren't many comprehensive accounts of this tragedy before O'Nan's book. Having never read much more than a wikipedia article about this event, I was honestly shocked by how horrific it actually was - O'Nan doesn't shy away from the horrors of the event and I definitely found myself having to take breaks throughout.
If you're into obscure American tragedies, or fire accounts, this is a great read. Kind of a niche audience, but a solid read nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
taylorcali's review against another edition
2.0
Not engaging, too many named “characters,” editorial errors drove me insane. However, I had never heard of this event before. I am glad I know the story now, even though there appears to be little if any answers.
ireitlitam's review against another edition
3.0
It was a very interesting book, well written and difficult to read at some points. The scope of the tragedy extended beyond the victims and it was interesting to examine the progression of the investigation after the fire. My only complaint is that very little time was spent on the acutal fire with few instances of heroics detailed. After reading the captions beneath various circus personnel I expected to hear of their actions but those were never mentioned. However the book was still very gripping, taking care not to sensationalize the tragedy and remained very respectful. I would reccomend it.
papagenothehedgehog's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of the most horrifying books I have ever read. I sometimes still have nightmares about it. Still, I am glad I read it, so that the victims (particularly Little Miss 1565) are never forgotten.
xxstefaniereadsxx's review against another edition
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.0
This book is about the Hartford Circus fire, that occurred in Hartford, Connecticut on July 06, 1944. The circus was produced by Ringling Brothers- Barnum And Bailey. Somewhere between 6-8,000 people were in attendance, but there is not a definite number. Some estimates give around 10,000 people. There were a lot of factors that contributed to the loss of 167 people and the injury of hundreds more. One of those is that circus shows were still being held under tents. The tents were made of canvas, treated with a waterproofing method that included the melting of wax cut with gasoline and brushed on the canvas. Fireproofing was not done. Another factor was the decreased amount of circus workers. A lot of the workers were gone because World War II was still going on, which made the few that remained responsible for double the work. The tents were erected over dry, freshly mowed grass, with wood shavings put down for flooring. A lot of the exits were blocked by equipment and the chutes for the big cat performances that were done at the beginning of the show. (At the time of the fire, the big cat show had just ended, and the cats were still inside the tent.)
The descriptions of injuries in this book were quite grim, so if that isn't something you can deal with, probably do not read it. Many of those that died were not killed by smoke inhalation, as is common in a lot of fires. They actually burned to death. I have always personally been terrified of a drowning death, but death via fire is so ghastly that it has moved to the top of my fear list. Many of them were actually burned by the waterproofing substance that melted and ran down on them. Those that survived still had serious burns to contend with, not to mention the absolute trauma of the event, seeing the things they must have saw... horrible. Some bodies were never identified.
I would like to mention that at the beginning of the book, a few other circus fires were mentioned. One of those was a train that was smashed into by another train, whose driver was asleep and missed all the signals to stop. Many of those are buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois. They are marked as unknowns, as they could not be identified, and are buried under an elephant tombstone. It's called Showman's Rest, and is a popular destination for obscura tourists and others.
This was a really good book. I had never heard of this fire before I read this book. I also really liked that it included a lot of pictures of what the circus looked like before and after the fire, and included a diagram of the seating. I've only been to one circus and it was held in an arena, not a tent. I was about eight, so I was very unfamiliar with circus tent performances. I always get amazed at the lack of fire safety when I read books like this, and I am unsure if it is because fire safety has changed so much in the years after these types of events, or if it is because I grew up in a firefighter household. Either way, it is nice to see that there have been steps taken to try to prevent similar experiences from happening. I thought this book was very well researched, and the story was written in a way that was gripping and factual.
The descriptions of injuries in this book were quite grim, so if that isn't something you can deal with, probably do not read it. Many of those that died were not killed by smoke inhalation, as is common in a lot of fires. They actually burned to death. I have always personally been terrified of a drowning death, but death via fire is so ghastly that it has moved to the top of my fear list. Many of them were actually burned by the waterproofing substance that melted and ran down on them. Those that survived still had serious burns to contend with, not to mention the absolute trauma of the event, seeing the things they must have saw... horrible. Some bodies were never identified.
I would like to mention that at the beginning of the book, a few other circus fires were mentioned. One of those was a train that was smashed into by another train, whose driver was asleep and missed all the signals to stop. Many of those are buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois. They are marked as unknowns, as they could not be identified, and are buried under an elephant tombstone. It's called Showman's Rest, and is a popular destination for obscura tourists and others.
This was a really good book. I had never heard of this fire before I read this book. I also really liked that it included a lot of pictures of what the circus looked like before and after the fire, and included a diagram of the seating. I've only been to one circus and it was held in an arena, not a tent. I was about eight, so I was very unfamiliar with circus tent performances. I always get amazed at the lack of fire safety when I read books like this, and I am unsure if it is because fire safety has changed so much in the years after these types of events, or if it is because I grew up in a firefighter household. Either way, it is nice to see that there have been steps taken to try to prevent similar experiences from happening. I thought this book was very well researched, and the story was written in a way that was gripping and factual.
__karen__'s review against another edition
5.0
Review posted December 13, 2013:
This is the true story of how hundreds were injured or killed during the July 6, 1944, performance of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, CT. The author provides an immense amount of detail, painting a vivid picture of events before, during, and after the fire. This is one of the most heartbreaking books I've ever read. Certainly, the fire was an important historic event in New England (not unlike The Station fire in Rhode Island in 2003), and perhaps even more tragic because so many of the victims were children.
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From the Hartford Courant, April 5, 2019:
"Medical examiner seeks to exhume two victims of the Hartford Circus Fire in hopes of identifying them after 75 years
...Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill is seeking to have at least two of the bodies exhumed in hopes of answering a question that has haunted a family for years — whatever happened to Grace Fifield, a 47-year-old woman from Newport, Vt. who went to the July 6, 1944, afternoon performance of the Ringling Brothers Circus and was never seen again."
The Medical Examiner will attempt to match two of the Circus Fire victims to a descendant's DNA. If that's not successful, they will use online genealogy databases to attempt a match (not unlike the research process used to identify the Golden State Killer).
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-circus-fire-exhumation-20190405-aozz27askrc6rfrsmisb5pd5di-story.html
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From The Hartford Courant, 6/27/2019:
(75 years later) "The living survivors of the Hartford circus fire still carry the scars from the tragic day. Hear their stories in this interactive oral history."
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-living-survivors-of-the-hartford-circus-fire-20190627-vrr7uu2qibdljky5da3qo66yr4-story.html
-------------------------------------
From The Hartford Courant, Sept. 11, 2019:
With hopes of unraveling a 75-year-old mystery, medical examiner’s bid to exhume two unidentified victims of the Hartford Circus Fire gets OK from judge
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-circus-fire-exhume-granted-20190911-3u2no7oiwbe2hpdrjd3hswptei-story.html
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From The Hartford Courant, October 7, 2019:
State medical examiner says (10/7) exhumation of two circus fire victims was successful, DNA testing is next step.
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-hartford-circus-fire-exhumation-20191007-om45f6haznfizp3ktgnmnpr7nu-story.html#nws=true
---------------------------------------
From The Hartford Courant, July 7, 2020:
(Connecticut) Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill said Tuesday that experts were unable to extract viable DNA from the exhumed bones of Hartford Circus Fire victims, leaving the identities of five souls buried in a Hartford cemetery a mystery.
They had been buried under one memorial that said “Their Identity Known but to God.”
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-circus-fire-no-identity-20200707-dsmdwnrzjvcrzeiixzjd3t3ooi-story.html
This is the true story of how hundreds were injured or killed during the July 6, 1944, performance of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, CT. The author provides an immense amount of detail, painting a vivid picture of events before, during, and after the fire. This is one of the most heartbreaking books I've ever read. Certainly, the fire was an important historic event in New England (not unlike The Station fire in Rhode Island in 2003), and perhaps even more tragic because so many of the victims were children.
-----------------------------------------------------
From the Hartford Courant, April 5, 2019:
"Medical examiner seeks to exhume two victims of the Hartford Circus Fire in hopes of identifying them after 75 years
...Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill is seeking to have at least two of the bodies exhumed in hopes of answering a question that has haunted a family for years — whatever happened to Grace Fifield, a 47-year-old woman from Newport, Vt. who went to the July 6, 1944, afternoon performance of the Ringling Brothers Circus and was never seen again."
The Medical Examiner will attempt to match two of the Circus Fire victims to a descendant's DNA. If that's not successful, they will use online genealogy databases to attempt a match (not unlike the research process used to identify the Golden State Killer).
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-circus-fire-exhumation-20190405-aozz27askrc6rfrsmisb5pd5di-story.html
-------------------------------------
From The Hartford Courant, 6/27/2019:
(75 years later) "The living survivors of the Hartford circus fire still carry the scars from the tragic day. Hear their stories in this interactive oral history."
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-living-survivors-of-the-hartford-circus-fire-20190627-vrr7uu2qibdljky5da3qo66yr4-story.html
-------------------------------------
From The Hartford Courant, Sept. 11, 2019:
With hopes of unraveling a 75-year-old mystery, medical examiner’s bid to exhume two unidentified victims of the Hartford Circus Fire gets OK from judge
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-circus-fire-exhume-granted-20190911-3u2no7oiwbe2hpdrjd3hswptei-story.html
--------------------------------------
From The Hartford Courant, October 7, 2019:
State medical examiner says (10/7) exhumation of two circus fire victims was successful, DNA testing is next step.
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-hartford-circus-fire-exhumation-20191007-om45f6haznfizp3ktgnmnpr7nu-story.html#nws=true
---------------------------------------
From The Hartford Courant, July 7, 2020:
(Connecticut) Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill said Tuesday that experts were unable to extract viable DNA from the exhumed bones of Hartford Circus Fire victims, leaving the identities of five souls buried in a Hartford cemetery a mystery.
They had been buried under one memorial that said “Their Identity Known but to God.”
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-circus-fire-no-identity-20200707-dsmdwnrzjvcrzeiixzjd3t3ooi-story.html
laurab2125's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed learning about something that I knew nothing about ... the details was overwhelming, though. And almost too many people to follow to keep them all straight. Still - the pictures really brought to life the text, and were almost disturbing at times.