Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Subject
Review: "The Circus Fire" documents the events surrounding the burning of the Ringling Brothers big top in Hartford, Connecticut, during World War Two that killed 167 people and seriously injured many more. It is an event that took on new life in the public eye in the 1990s with the supposed identification of a little girl's body who was body never claimed. This is an exhaustive account, which is one of the book's weaknesses. Author Stewart O'Nan tells the story from the viewpoints of many different survivors, often shifting perspective from paragraph to paragraph. And while this style allows many voices to be heard, it is often confusing to the reader. A myriad of names appear in the narritive and it is easy to lose track of which story you are following. As a result, the victims tend to blur into a mass of humanity instead of maintaining their own identity. Additionally, while the accounts of the fire itself is quite riveting, the later chapter focussing on the aftermath are far less so.Overall, this is a good book for disaster buffs, but casual readers are likely to find it less enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: Accurate, straightforward and clear
Review: "The Circus Fire" is perfect non-fiction. Mr. O'Nan has researched his story well and told it in a manner that does justice to the story and the victims, and serves less as a testament to his skillful writing than the eloquence of a great disaster. One common error in a book of this sort is a lack of illustrations, photos, maps, etc. Mr. O'Nan has recognized this and included wonderful maps, diagrams and plenty of photos; not just clustered in the middle, but interspersed throughout the narrative where they are needed and most appropriate. Though never a circus fan, and having been born a full five years after the disaster, I am very glad I now know about an event that was so memorable and traumatic a part of the lives of people I grew up around.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting and Haunting
Review: A very thorough account of the Circus Fire in Hartford in 1944. I was transported back to a time and place I never knew and felt as if I were there. I had heard of the unidentified little blonde girl, but thought I had read that she was indentified. After reading this, one is left wondering once again. I read this in one sitting and I would imagine you will also.
Rating:
Summary: moving history
Review: After seeing the author on "Book TV'" discussing this work, I had to purchase it.
I was suprised, this book is an even more moving experience. In fact, at times, it's so moving that it is almost overwhelming. Stewart O'Nan does a masterful job of involking an event that happened over 50 years ago in a fresh voice. In the hands of another writer it might seem mouldy and distant, yet O'Nan makes the reader feel like they've experienced the events yesterday.
This book is a tragedy, a history, a horror story, a true crime novel, a community story, and a legal thriller all in one. It's hard to say that you've loved a book about an event this tragic, but this is one of the most compelling and moving books that I've read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not very compelling
Review: As a historical text, Stewart O'Nan's "The Circus Fire" is OK, but to me it definitely was not "brilliantly constructed" as promised in the summary on the back of the book. The story itself is definitely a fascinating one and one and I for one am curious about the lack of a comprehensive history before O'Nan's. That aside, this book is so bogged down in a massive jumble of facts that it is difficult to follow in parts and I lost interest well before the end. If the author had concentrated on five or ten principal characters instead of 34+, this would have been a more compelling read. I realize that everyone involved has a story to tell, but it is hard to keep each person straight due to the sheer amount of people that O'Nan attempts to include.
Rating:
Summary: But There Were No Animals
Review: Back before guidelines were set up for fire prevention and crowd control, the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus had set up their tent on July 6, 1944 in the city of Hartford, Connecticut. This tent was different, though, in a deadly way unknowing to the throngs of people jamming in to the see performance. It had been "waterproofed" with a 6,000 gallons of white gasoline and 18,000 pounds of paraffin. There were no laws about the use of gasoline and paraffin, and this was common practice of circuses at this time. An accident occurred, a flame sparked, and within only a few minutes the entire tent was engulfed in flames trapping the hundreds of people there to see the circus. At the end when the tent had completely burned to the ground, 167 people had either been burned horribly to death or trampled in the melee that ensued. The clowns indeed cried that day. Stewart O'Nan brings this story vividly to life in his book The Circus Fire. The main sentence that stands out in his narrative are the survivors saying they would never forget the sounds of the animals screaming in death. But there were no animals, those were human screams. This is one book I could not put down. He writes in excruciating detail the pain and anguish the circus, town and people suffered after the devastation. The book is hard to read at times but O'Nan just writes as it was, which was painful. This book is an overwhelming piece of nonfiction, and I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: The Show Did Not Go On
Review: Compelling story about the devistating effects of fire on women and children. Shows the lack of preparedness, back then, of the entire emergency system from fire department to hospital. Shows how an excellent fire investigator can 'peel back the onion' and finds information through good synthesis and analysis of the facts. Brings to bear the life safety issues of large public events.
Rating:
Summary: The Show Did Not Go On
Review: Compelling story about the devistating effects of fire on women and children. Shows the lack of preparedness, back then, of the entire emergency system from fire department to hospital. Shows how an excellent fire investigator can 'peel back the onion' and finds information through good synthesis and analysis of the facts. Brings to bear the life safety issues of large public events.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Compelling Books I Have Ever Read
Review: Even though this event took place in our capital city of Hartford, Connecticut 15 years before I was born, I had heard and read about the fire throughout my life. No newspaper accounts, though, quite prepared me for the story presented here. Mr. O'Nan obviously did exhaustive research and interviews for this book. He actually makes the reader feel as though they are right inside the tent as the fire is raging. And the humanity felt afterward during the identification of the bodies and the investigation into how the fire started and who was responsible is very deeply felt. No detail is left out. At times, even, I felt I was told a little more than I needed to know. All in all, a fascinating read and a very well-written book.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing in depth story
Review: From the opening dedication to the last page of this book you are drawn into this story as if you were there yourself. You feel the excitement of the people as they are embarking on a festive day at the circus during the depressing strains of World War II. You can hear the circus music in your head,the smell of the popcorn,the sound of the children laughing excitedly. And you can feel the panic as thousands of people start screaming and running for their lives as the fire spreads. Very seldom have I come across a book that is so well written that I cannot put it down until I am done with it and then continue to read it a second time. The photo of Little Miss 1565 has haunted my thoughts for days as I am unable to get her out of my mind. Read this book. You will never look at the circus the same way again.
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