Rating: 
Summary: An all-encompassing recreation
Review: My father, then eight, and his mother survived the fire, without injury. My father wouldn't read the book after I recommended it to him, my grandmother read the part about the actual fire and said that it captured the event perfectly. She was astonished at how accurate it was. Although they had almost no trouble getting out of the tent (they climbed down under their bleacher section, lifted up the canvas wall, and were out very quickly, so quickly in fact, that my grandmother said that she was horrified to hear screaming when the tent collapsed because she had assumed that everyone could get out as easily as they did), my father, to this day will not enter a tent of any kind. Read the book. It's VERY well-researched, and VERY exciting. A good read.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Saddest Things I Ever Read
Review: My feelings about this book are admittedly mixed. On the one hand, I thought it was a tautly written and naturally compelling story-- one whose facts were so gripping that O'Nan had a lot of his work done for him already. On the other hand, I can't remember the last time I cried so much when reading a book. The thought of adults trampling over women and children and leaving them huddled on the floor to burn to death is horrific. The ordeal experienced by both victors and survivors is so painstakingly recounted that those who are faint of heart will hardly be able to bear the pain. And, as if that's not enough, there are some truly grisly descriptions of what the bodies recovered from inside the tent looked like. At this point in the book, I wondered if O'Nan was really as "humane" as other reviewers have made him out to be, although I confess that I kept reading.There are some details in this book that redeem its exploitativeness somewhat. The stories of the heroes-- both those who lost their lives in the fire and the police officers and detectives who kept case files open for years afterwards-- lend depth and hope to "The Circus Fire." But to imagine all of those children who lost their parents, or parents who lost their children, left me sleepless for nights after reading this book. I don't know if something so disturbing warrants a full 5 stars, so I'm going to give this four stars and one warning bell (for the reader whose sensibilities are as delicate as mine).
Rating:
Summary: A Heartwrenching, Haunting Book
Review: Novelist O'Nan has written a piercing non-fiction account of the legendary Ringling Brothers Circus fire in Hartford, Conn. on July 6, 1944. 167 people died, the majority women and children. Because of the sheer horror of the event combined with the fact of violent deaths of families and dozens of small children, the story of the fire has taken on a mythic, almost Gothic quality. O'Nan sorts through all the legends surrounding the fire while still acknowlegding that mystery are at the heart of the event. Who started the fire? Was it the psychotic teenager who confessed years later? And what about the legend of the demented woman who pretended to be a doctor at a hospital where the victims were: she supposedly set the limbs of some of them so badly they had to be amputated--truth or fiction? There are accounts of human savagery as people clawed at each other to escape the burning big top. There are also stories of heroism and self-sacrifice. And very gruesome details of what fire does to the human body. Of course there is the story of Little Miss 1565, a small girl killed in the fire who had a mostly preserved face, and yet was never identified. O'Nan is drawn to extreme human situations in his fiction, but he has really done a fine thing with this true story. It will haunt you for days.
Rating:
Summary: Hell at the Big Top
Review: Novelist Stewarn O'Nan turns journalist in The Circus Fire, giving us a frightening blow-by-blow account of the dreadful fire that broke out at a circus on a hot summer afternoon in 1944. Of the hundreds who went to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum&Bailey circus on July 6, 1944 in Hartford, Conn., 167 would die as the fire of unknown origin shot through the big top, burning, suffocating or otherwise killing those who failed to figure out a quick route of escape. That many of the victims were children lent an extra touch of poignancy, but there is no shortage of sad stories, with heroes, victims and villains throughout. In addition to setting the scene of local politics and the atmosphere of wartime Hartford, O'Nan gives us page after page of horrific accounts of what happened under the Big Top, who saw the fire when it first broke out, what they did, and, above all, the gruesome stories of those who survived the panicked rush to escape, and those who did not. What O'Nan has managed to do, above all, is record history before its participants fade away. That the cause of the fire has never been determined adds an extra sense of sadness to the whole event. What is known is that the tent, like many circus tents at the time, was covered with a mix of paraffin and gasoline to keep the raindrops out. When the flames broke out, the people were trapped as if they were in a huge candle, doomed if they couldn't flee fast enough. Some survived through sheer luck, having arrived late, or having a penknife in their pockets to cut a hole in the tent. That the crowd's exit was blocked by the placement of cages for the animals' act, and that the tent's sides were pinned down firmly so that kids couldn't sneak into the show for free guaranteed the deaths of many. You may think you're used to horror scenes because of the violence and gore of movies, but here's one paragraph that may tell you a little about what it was like to be trapped in this tent: "Several survivors said the one thing they'll 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." But here's the most important lesson I got from this book: never hesitate. Those that survived often did so because they reacted quickly-as soon as they saw the fire, they started heading for the exit. Those who hesitated for more than a few moments, who thought the flames were part of the act, that someone else would take care of it, or were simply shocked at what might happen, for the most part died in the crush. Don't wait.
Rating:
Summary: History at it's Best
Review: O'Nan has done a great job in presenting this tragic episode in American history. Easy to read but extremely compelling (I read it in one evening). The author does a wonderful job in detailing minute by minute developments, heart wrenching but not too "gooey". In the league of other great disater histories such as McCullough's "The Jonestown Flood" and "The Perfect Storm". This story would make a wonderful movie.
Rating:
Summary: Morbid Attraction... or Truest Optimism?
Review: On the back cover of "Circus Fire," a blurb suggests that reading it will make you "feel like you're inside the big top as it starts to burn." One must wonder about one's own attraction to such a promise, as well as the author's intent. And then again, O'Nan has dwelled on tragic circumstances in his previous novels. So is this a book that appeals to those who like to fixate on the bizarre and unfortunate suffering of others, while enveloped in secure comfort? HARDLY! O'Nan enters very delicate territory here, and he succeeds splendidly in giving this tragedy the humane reconstruction and moral underpinnings that it not only deserves, but absolutely requires. "Circus Fire" works on several levels. It is a recounting of human ignorance and cataclysmic consequences. It is a mystery. It is a microscopic examination of human nature being put to the test, and succeeding and failing in numerous ways. Most of all, I think, it is about optimism. O'Nan goes deep into the collective psyche of Hartford, the survivors of the fire, those responsible, and those who lost loved ones -- and finds in all this a profound meaning for the rest of us. Yes, people suffered physically, emotionally and spiritually. But we, the readers, are ALIVE, and we can FEEL COMPASSION. In these profound realizations, we can appreciate the precious nature of every waking moment of our existence. While O'Nan recreates the fire and its aftermath in exacting detail, giving life to those who experienced and remembered and endured, it is the precarious yet powerful nature of our own love for others that he is really addressing. In this way, "Circus Fire" becomes a true miracle -- the scathed survivors and those who lost others, as well as the souls of those who perished, speak to us, teach us, touch us, and encourage us: remember, reach out, love... I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The reviews below speak well to its value and its importance. I thank Mr. O'Nan, and I thank the 167 who left this life that day in 1944, for sharing these important lessons with me.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping and absorbing; I read it in two days
Review: One of the best disaster books I've ever read, if not in fact the best. Writer O'Nan focuses tightly in on the two days before the fire and the weeks afterward, with an almost minute-by-minute accounting of July 6, 1944. But it never once bogs down. I agree with the reviewer who said that the pictures could be better placed in a section of their own on better paper; however, there's no beating actual pictures of a fire in progress alongside the text describing it. I had always been gratified to see a happy ending to the mystery of Little Miss 1565; however, I did not know several facts surrounding her identification, namely, that the dental charts of Eleanor Emily Cook did not match the teeth of the girl in the morgue photo. I suppose we can take it as consolation that Mildred Cook died believing her daughter had been found and buried properly. Another tragedy is the missing little boy, Raymond Erickson, who vanished in the flames of the big top. His body was never recovered, and all his relatives have of him are his brown shoes and socks--a hearbreaking scene. His story was not widely reported as was that of Little Miss 1565, and a relative bemoans, "No newspaper stories wonder where Raymond is." Somewhat confusing are the interwoven recollections near the end; you tend to forget who is who and have to refer to the front of the book again. But that is one small flaw, easily forgiven. Brought vivdly to life is how, in an instant, tragedy can occur and how people can react. There seemed to be as many people who helped children get out of the big top as there were those who stepped on top of them to save their own lives. Each of us should wonder: What would we do in this situation? I would highly recommend this book to fans of the circus in general, disaster buffs, or people interested in the human psychology of disasters. A truly remarkable book!
Rating:
Summary: The story of crisis and it's aftermath
Review: People reveal themselves in crisis. That's what facisnates me about this book. The first part tells of the heroism and cowardice of people caught in the circus conflagration in Hartfort, Connecticut in 1944. By chronicalling people's immediate response to the outbreak of the fire, this book reveals a reality about people that is hidden except to the most astute observer of people in everyday life. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it best: usually, people can skate through life in the grey, but times come when people must choose between good and evil. The greys become black and white, and people reveal their true selves by their choices in such times. He was speaking about the crucible that was Germany in WWII, but his observation applies equally well in miniature to people confronted with life threatening emergencies, such as the disaster that O'Nan describes in this book. But after the fire, the deaths, and the immediate tragedies, mysteries remain, and O'Nan's book talks about the aftermath of the fire, following the volunteers, doctors, nurses, survivors, investigators and others up to the millenium. It is a fascinating read. I agree with the critics who say that narrative perspective sometimes changes rapidly in this book, and it is difficult sometime to keep track of the characters. However, I don't think that was avoidable, and it didn't detract from my positive regard for this book.
Rating:
Summary: After 56 years a Masterpiece
Review: Stewart O'Nan has taken the research and the true-life stories of the survivors of the 1944 Hartford Circus Fire and created a true historical accounting of this tragedy, and a memorial to the 168 people who entered the tent that very hot day in July expecting a wonderful show,only to end that day in terrible injury or death. I was at the circus that July 6th, a five-year old who was saved by a then unknown benefactor, who scooped me up when my mother was pushed down and trampled upon as we were fleeing the fire. I am amazed that it took 56 years for someone to write this accounting of that terrible, hot, steamy July day. Stewart O'Nan.s book serves as both an historical document and a wonderful memorial to the 168 people who perished.Thank you Mr. O'Nan for a wonderful job
Rating:
Summary: A horrific, moving account of an American tragedy
Review: Stewart O'Nan's thoughtful, careful account of the Hartford circus fire is a powerful narrative, leading to a greater understanding of the tragedies that often result from poor judgement and reckless disregard. It is also an inspiring story of heroics in the face of hellish conditions and a testament to the importance of community and family support in times of need. For three main reasons, I recommend this book. 1. Undoubtedly, this book has historical importance. O'Nan offers an account that is rich in detail, a valuable historical record. From direct dialogue to seemingly minute details, O'Nan recreates a time and place that few would otherwise experience. One common theme expressed by the survivors of this tragedy was that it was seldom spoke of--that after the tragedy, addressing the fire was avoided in the community and in individual families. O'Nan reminds us, though, that this is a story that needs to be told. The circus, though less popular today, remains a part of America's pop culture, and it's easy to dismiss pop culture as unimportant. However, what better reason than the fact that everyone has experience with the circus to learn more about it. 2. O'Nan has an attention to detail seldom seen in nonfiction accounts. At times, the detail is painful and disturbing. However, O'Nan carefully avoids sensationalism. The details he offers are necessary for an understanding of this tragedy. He does not exaggerate or dramatize. With this story, the facts alone are enough to move the reader and appeal to pathos. 3. Finally, O'Nan's story is an important reminder of the demands and responsibilities placed on communities and industries to protect public safety. It is a theme that we can trace throughout history up to our present--that the influences of the dollar must never override the importance of our security and safety. Perhaps it takes a setting as innocent as a circus to remind us this powerfully. This is a narrative as gripping and moving as any bestselling fiction. Nearly impossible to put down, and just as difficult to forget, a reader will long remember the stories of these victims and survivors. It is a horror that, fortunately, few of us will have to face. But it is a story from which, fortunately, we can learn.
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