The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American Tragedy

This book was way too long. It started out interesting, but the author extracted every tiny morsel to prolong the story. I quit reading it when I was 78% through the book.

Stewart O'Nan offers a very comprehensive look at the greatest tragedy to every hit an American circus, the Hartford Circus Fire of July 6, 1944. His research is incredibly deep and he does a great job of presenting the facts like the best attorney in a courtroom offering closing arguments.O'Nan does not hold back much from this accounting. Some of the depictions of the bodies is extremely gruesome, but that's the way the event was. For those that were there that day almost 75 years ago, those were the images etched in their minds.He does a great job covering the various theories for casualty identification and cause investigation and how theories have changed over the years. This book is extremely comprehensive in that regard. In fact, without examining the causes and the identification of the deceased, he could have cut the volume size in half to just tell the story of July 6, 1944. But the story is much larger than what happened on that one day, and for this he should be thanked.The one thing, however, that is a detraction, is that the cast of characters gets confusing. I don't know if the story could have been told any other way, but the way O'Nan presented itself made this to be a slower read than it might have been otherwise. Don't get me wrong, the characters are vitally important to the narrative. But the names of people thrown at you in rapid succession made it difficult to understand their importance later in the narrative. For me to fully grasp the importance of these people and its impact on their lives, I will have to take some time to re-read it with a better sense of understanding.It is because of that perspective that I would recommend this as a second or third book regarding the Hartford Circus Fire. Reading a different book first would set the context and give the reader an understanding of the basic facts of the events before going in-depth with a narrative as challenging as this one.

A highly detailed and informative book about a very tragic event. It could have really used an index though.

I broke down in tears more than once reading Mr. O'Nan's excellent detailing of the Hartford Circus fire. Having bought this book solely out of curiosity (I had never heard of the fire before), I was drawn in to the lives of those affected by O'Nan's intricate weavings of the tales of survivors, circus members, police and fire officials, and historians.Some have accused O'Nan of writing a book that is confusing because so many people's stories are discussed. Certainly there are many people discussed here, but the book benefits from offering so many view points. Additionally, O'Nan lists (by family in some cases) the main "characters" at the beginning of the book. I went back and referenced this list when I would come across someone I had a difficult time placing.Others fault O'Nan for offering too many gory details. The circus fire, however; was a gory event. Failure to portray the details would be failure to portray the intense human suffering and horror that occurred. Those who want a happier tale should read a different book.This book is written by time line. The first several chapters cover just one day a piece (ie the day of the fire, the day after); later chapters span decades as fewer developments and revelations take place. The author does a fine job of "not making the reader wonder" what happened to any given survivor, providing glimpses in their lives up until the book itself was published.Though the fire took place many years ago, many mysteries remain and, unlike other writers, O'Nan makes so effort to solve those mysteries simply to say they were solved. While Little Miss 1565 is mentioned, and the ultimate claiming of her body as Eleanor Cook, O'Nan points out that this identification has many holes in it. So too does O'Nan question the general public sentiment conviction of John Segee as the arsonist.A great read, and the many photographs showed up hauntingly well on my Kindle. Recommended for history and circus buffs.

In the foreword to this book, Stewart O'Nan opens with "I did not want to write this book." He started researching the fire shortly after moving to Hartford. He ended up collecting notebooks full of information and photocopied documents. It bothered him that there was no book with a definitive history of the fire. "I couldn't believe no one had commemorated the event, set it in words for later generations."O'Nan tackled the daunting task and the result is a beautifully written, though sometimes brutal, piece of history. The hours and hours he must of spent reconstructing the events is mind boggling, but to lay it out in such detail, sometimes gruesome, often heart-wrenching, but always honest...that is true talent.The fire is a story in itself, but the mystery of "Little Miss 1565" and the dedication and compassion of Thomas Barber turn this into so much more than the recounting of a tragic event. It's also a sweeping saga, fifty years in the making, of the aftermath of the tragedy.Later in his foreword, O'Nan says "By choosing to write the book...I would become - in a way I did not feel comfortable with - the custodian of the circus fire..." I can't imagine the job could have been done any better.Note: I listened to the audio version and Dick Hill did a passionate and brilliant reading.

Having read Paul Benzaquin's Holocaust about the Boston nightclub fire, I was looking forward to this true story of the fire that swept through an outdoor circus tent filled with families and performers. It was truly a tragedy and whilst the book was fascinating and detailed in its account, the narrative did not flow well. There were lots of names and technical detail so at times, it became difficult to follow what was happening to whom. What Paul did in his book was focus on fewer people, but Stewart tries to tell the story from several angles....the circus people, the crowd and the rescue services. I would recommend this book from a historical point of view but it was a difficult read.

This subject peaked my interest lately and I look forward to reading it.

This book is a fascinating read as it paints a vivid picture of this tragic event and lives the fire touched. Hard to put down.

Nice book, excellent historic reconstruction.