Rating: 
Summary: A wonderfully sad book
Review: This book was sooooo hard to put down... I read it until 2 am every night until I was done. The story itself is haunting, sad, and memorable, especially since it's a true story. And the author, while trying to stay objective, succeeds in making it even more realistic with his detailed descriptions and his obvious passion for the subject. There are so many stories in this book that will stay in your mind for days afterwards. If you like history, or the circus, or just a good story of tragedy and human bravery, I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Chilling narrative told graphically and honestly
Review: This could have been the next book of fiction in a line of novels written by master storyteller Stewart O'Nan, but the fact that "The Circus Fire" actually took place allows Mr. O'Nan to cross successfully into the world of non-fiction. He does so combining broad strokes with intimate detail. Like a circus juggler, Mr. O'Nan keeps several narratives going at once, centering much of the time on several groups of friends and families who met death and injury head-on when they attended the circus in Hartford, Connecticut on July 6, 1944."The Circus Fire" is a very scary book. Mr. O'Nan has spared nothing in chronicalling the events of that summer afternoon. The fates of hundreds of people who tried to flee the big top were decided in many cases by good or bad decisions and luck, often escaping by a matter of inches. He accompanies his stories with several "side shows"....how people react in panic situations, how the ongoing war effort and preparedness affected the response by local and state officials, how the circus hierarchy was run, and so on. I would suggest that readers keep a finger in page 24; the "principals" page. One will need to refer back to this particular list of attendees throughout the book. Although Mr. O'Nan sees their stories through to the end, I wish he had included that same list with their outcomes on a single page at the end of the book as his summaries tend to diffuse. I am impressed by Mr. O'Nan's attention to detail and his observation of dozens of ironic twists. The story could have ended with the investigation wrap-up, but the ongoing search for the cause of the fire, the man who may have set it, and the identity of "Little Miss 1565" carries the book to the present. Just like fire itself, "The Circus Fire" envelops you. I hope readers will take time to read it carefully. It is a profound book.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Terrible Show on Earth
Review: This is a dynamite book. The author is sensitive the horrors of the disaster, thorough in tracking down the causes and repercussions, and manages to be both matter-of-fact and evocative when describing the scenes. I particularly liked the way he debunked various myths of the fire, while tactfully explaining how they'd come about.
Rating:
Summary: Excellence!
Review: This is an excellent book for those who love to read about disasters or for those who love the circus and have a need to know what really goes on behind the hoop-la. When I first started reading this book, I expected to just read about 1 fire. To my great surprise, you just don't read about 1 fire, but many different types of disasters or accidents that have happened to the many different circuses, as well as some other events that the author thought the reader should know about. This book is excellent! I plan on re-reading this book over and over. The pictures are great! It gives you a real feel for how people felt -- and how everything also happened to the animals (the sad tale of them all). Bravo! to the author!
Rating:
Summary: Great, gripping read on a ghastly subject
Review: Unlike murder, the disaster narrative genre rarely attracts first-rate chroniclers. More often than not, such accounts are turned out by local antiquarians who bring more enthusiasm than literary skill to their subjects. So it is a double triumph that acclaimed novelist O'Nan has turned his talents to one of the most poignant epics of American suffering: the 1944 Hartford Circus fire. Better yet, he's also done a splendid job at ferreting out the best human resources for his horrible tale and weaving their words and shattered lives--and deaths--together in a spellbinding narrative. Simply the best disaster book I've read.
Rating:
Summary: fills in a missing page in U.S. history
Review: Until I read Stewart O'Nan's excellent, humane account, "The Circus Fire," I had never heard of the tragic event in Connecticut in l944. Since it took place in wartime, and during the bombing of civilians in European cities, it was overlooked by chroniclers of that period. O'Nan's style, which brings up personal stories of many people caught up in the fire, reminds me of Walter Lord's classic "A Night to Remember," about the Titanic sinking. Here are heroes and villains, and, very sadly, many children. O'Nan describes the admirable response of Hartford's policemen, firemen, medical personnel, and people of other agencies, who were ready for this devastating event due to their "emergency preparedness" wartime stance. Many readers will find that they will read this book in one sitting, unable to tear themselves away from this tragic tale, so well told.
Rating:
Summary: fills in a missing page in U.S. history
Review: Until I read Stewart O'Nan's excellent, humane account, "The Circus Fire," I had never heard of the tragic event in Connecticut in l944. Since it took place in wartime, and during the bombing of civilians in European cities, it was overlooked by chroniclers of that period. O'Nan's style, which brings up personal stories of many people caught up in the fire, reminds me of Walter Lord's classic "A Night to Remember," about the Titanic sinking. Here are heroes and villains, and, very sadly, many children. O'Nan describes the admirable response of Hartford's policemen, firemen, medical personnel, and people of other agencies, who were ready for this devastating event due to their "emergency preparedness" wartime stance. Many readers will find that they will read this book in one sitting, unable to tear themselves away from this tragic tale, so well told.
Rating:
Summary: Fasinating History
Review: Until I read this book, I had only the basic information about the fire. With this book, I feel like I have personally got to know the people involved. I Highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Almost a novel
Review: Well-written and impossible to put down. It is a true story and the book is a history; however, it reads like a novel. I especially liked the addition of what happened to the survivors years later.
Rating: 
Summary: A tired recount of what we already knew.
Review: Where is the story here? Where is the hero? The book is just a rambling bunch of facts about the circus fire, and debatable facts at that. Where is Rick Davey's research? It seems to try to dispute Rick Davey, but there's no back up to that. All O'Nan tells us is what led everyone to believe for years that 1565 was NOT Eleanor Emily Cook, the old news. What information does Rick Davey have that counters this? It must be something substantial if the State of Connecticut exhumed the body and buried her with the Cook family. Perhaps part of the reason O'Nan's book is so poor because he does not know this information. On the first page O'Nan says he didn't even want to write the book. Why did he bother? Abysmal writing, pitiful structure. Matter of Degree by Rick Davey and Don Massey is going to knock this right over on its boring side.
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