This book is a somber, taking the reader through the events before, during and after the fire in excruciating detail. The tale of the fire itself details events that were both horrifying and heroic, either way; I didn't want to stop listening.
Amazon.com’s review had this to say:
http://www.amazon.com/Circus-Fire-Story-American-Tragedy/dp/0385496850/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-4763019-9591330?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178641410&sr=1-1O'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.
3 comments:
I read O'Nan's "Prayer for the Dying" about a sheriff in the late 1800s dealing with an epidemic decimating his small town.
O'Nan is such an evocative writer; I can't wait to try the circus book. Thanks for the tip!
I read O'Nan's "Prayer for the Dying" about a sheriff in the late 1800s dealing with an epidemic decimating his small town.
O'Nan is such an evocative writer; I can't wait to try the circus book. Thanks for the tip!
"Prayer for the Dying" is on my reading list. I can't wait to get to it.
Post a Comment