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    The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American Tragedy
    The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American Tragedy
    The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American Tragedy
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American Tragedy

    Written by Stewart O'Nan

    Narrated by Dick Hill

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    “An extraordinary book. O’Nan is amazing in his handling of the abundance of facts, rumors and legends that have built up around this fire.” —USA Today

    It was a midsummer afternoon, halfway through a Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus performance, when the big top caught fire. The tent had been waterproofed with a mixture of paraffin and gasoline; in seconds it was burning out of control. More than 8,000 people were trapped inside, and the ensuing disaster would eventually take 167 lives.

    Stewart O’Nan brings all his narrative gifts to bear on this gripping account of the great Hartford circus fire of 1944. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of survivors, O’Nan skillfully re-creates the horrific events and illuminates the psychological oddities of human behavior under stress: the mad scramble for the exits; the perilous effort to maneuver animals out of danger; the hero who tossed dozens of children to safety before being trampled to death. Brilliantly constructed and exceptionally moving, The Circus Fire is history at its most compelling.

    “A profound remembering of the fire, its victims, its survivors, and its legacy.” —The Boston Globe

    “[O’Nan’s nonfiction] is as accomplished as his fiction…as gripping as any thriller.” —The Seattle Times

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateMay 16, 2017
    ISBN9781543612875
    The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American Tragedy
    Author

    Stewart O'Nan

    Stewart O’Nan’s award-winning fiction includes Snow Angels, A Prayer for the Dying, Last Night at the Lobster, and Emily, Alone. His novel The Odds was hailed by The Boston Globe as “a gorgeous fable, a stunning meditation and a hope-filled Valentine.” Granta named him one of America’s Best Young Novelists. He was born and raised and lives in Pittsburgh. 

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    Reviews for The Circus Fire

    4/5

    167 ratings23 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This book tells the harrowing tale of the Hartford, Connecticut, circus fire in 1945. This isn't one of the more famously remembered fires, such as the Triangle Factory Fire of the Cocoanut Grove fires. However, 167 people did lose their lives; most women and children as this particular show was a matinee and men the ages of 18-45 were off at war. One thing is certain, there weren't any hard and fast conclusions as to how it started and even Miss 1565 is still unidentified as to this day. I remember hearing about some of the real personages involved in this fire: Emmett Kelly, Robert Ringling, The Flying Wallendas, etc. My only complaint were the one liners about a person or an employee and no more is known other than their name. To me, that was just words for words sake. 384 pages

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      It’s a well written historical event. The writer feels the pain of those affected personally and those working for years to solve the mystery of how the fire started. He leads you to feel it. He introduces you to people that you would never know otherwise.

      Many life changes are made through this experience to prevent it from ever happening again. Excellent history lesson.
    • 4/5
      This book tells the harrowing tale of the Hartford, Connecticut, circus fire in 1945. This isn't one of the more famously remembered fires, such as the Triangle Factory Fire of the Cocoanut Grove fires. However, 167 people did lose their lives; most women and children as this particular show was a matinee and men the ages of 18-45 were off at war. One thing is certain, there weren't any hard and fast conclusions as to how it started and even Miss 1565 is still unidentified as to this day. I remember hearing about some of the real personages involved in this fire: Emmett Kelly, Robert Ringling, The Flying Wallendas, etc. My only complaint were the one liners about a person or an employee and no more is known other than their name. To me, that was just words for words sake. 384 pages
    • 3/5
      Circus Fire: The True Story of an American Tragedy by Stewart O’Nan

      ★★★

      On July 6, 1944 in Hartford, Connecticut a fire would rage out of control at the circus taking place, killing over a hundred children and adults and injuring many, many more.

      The first thing that interested me about this book was the intro. Stewart O’Nan is not an historian. He is novelist. He admits fairly quickly that he had no urge to write this book due to lack of writing such subjects but took it on. This is mostly interesting because in the past, reading history books from those inexperienced in how to write them, have ended badly for me. Luckily, that was not the case for this book. My main complaint was reading it on the Kindle. The amount of typos and lack of punctuation took away from the story. I had whole paragraphs that just didn’t have periods, where it was obvious they were supposed to be. And that was just the beginning.

      I started this book in January and while good, it took a lot out of me at times. Reading about so much tragedy and death was exhausting and after my loss, reading this book became that much more difficult but with a mere 40 pages left, I figured it was time to finish the book. It’s an interesting part of history that has been forgotten over time (and as the remaining survivors dwindles) that still holds many mysteries (such as how was it started). This book definitely isn’t for everyone. It deals with tragedy and not everyone is into the history genre but it is fascinating and probably more so if you read a copy that doesn’t have so many spelling and punctuation errors ;-).
    • 5/5
      Really interesting, thorough look at Connecticut's worst tragedy. Would recommend.
    • 5/5
      My friend who owns my favorite bookshop kept telling me about this book. I wasn't all that interested. Then last Saturday, he put a copy in my hands and ordered me to read it so I did. On July 6, 1944, several thousand people attended the afternoon show of the Ringling Bros. And Barnum and Baily Circus under the big tent. Just as the show started, the tent caught on fire. The result was death and mayhem. This books chronicles the people involved. Those with the circus and those who were injured or had loved ones killed in the blaze or trampled. There are, of course, many who where there that day who are still alive to tell the story today. O'Nan does a great job of telling the story.
    • 5/5
      Ich weiß nicht, wie ich an diesen Ort gelangt bin.Alles, was ich weiß, ist dass ich rennen muss. Ich renne und renne. Immer weiter mitten auf der Straße. Links und rechts von mir Häuser. Sie alle brennen. Die Flammen greifen nach mir. Mit einem Schrei in der Kehle erwache ich.Dies ist einer der eindringlichsten Träume meiner Kindheit. Immer wieder traten die Träume in der einen oder anderen Form auf, aber viel wichtiger ist, was sie bedeuten: Nämlich die Offenbarung meiner Angst vor dem Feuer.Klar, das Buch heißt „Der Zirkusbrand“, offensichtlich wird hier also die Geschichte eines Feuers erzählt. Vielleicht sterben auch Menschen. Was mir nicht klar war: Hier wird gar kein Roman erzählt. Keine fiktive Geschichte also, mit fiktiven handelnden Personen. Keine Story á la 8 Blickwinkel. Ernüchternd muss ich nach den ersten paar Seiten feststellen, dass es sich um ein Sachbuch handelt.Doch die Ernüchterung hält nicht lange an – vielleicht die ersten paar Kapitel nur. Danach folgt Entsetzen, Ekel, Angst und gleichzeitig eine Faszination, wie sie nur ein Massenunglück hervorrufen kann.Wir schreiben den 6. Juli 1944.Der Zirkus steht schon einige Tage in Hartsford und auch an diesem Nachmittag sind viele Menschen gekommen, um sich die Vorstellung anzusehen. Der Zirkus ist für sie eine Ablenkung. Der Krieg ist hier nah und keiner will ständig darüber nachdenken müssen. So sind es vordringlich Mütter mit ihren Kindern, die an dem schicksalhaften Tag die Vorstellung besuchen. Das Zelt ist voll. Tausende von Menschen passen in das Hauptzelt hinein. Knapp 160 von ihnen sollen es nicht mehr lebend verlassen.Denn gerade beginnt die Hochseilattraktion als sich eine Flamme durch das Dach des Zirkuszeltes frisst. Innerhalb weniger Minuten brennt die Zirkuswand wie Zunder, denn um es wasserdicht zu machen, wurde es mit Parrafin – einem Benzingemisch – behandelt. Nach der ersten Starre begreifen die Ersten den Ernst der Lage. Je größer das Feuer, desto größer auch die Angst und somit die Rücksichtslosigkeit. Aber es gibt auch Helden, tragische als auch glückliche.Von Brand zu BrandBevor sich der Autor – der dieses Buch übrigens schrieb, weil es noch keine passende Abhandlung zu diesem Thema gab – voll und ganz auf diesen einen Tag im Juli konzentriert, berichtet er von anderen Bränden, die oft glimpflicher ausgingen als der große Brand in Hartsford.Doch lange werden wir als Leser vor den Grausamkeiten nicht verschont. Immer wieder wechselt er die Perspektiven. Er beschreibt Menschen wie sie: zum Zirkus fahren, warum sie es gerade an diesem Tag eben nicht taten, wen sie verabschiedeten, wen sie zum letzten Mal sahen, wie sie zum Zirkus kamen, was sie taten bevor die Vorstellung begann, wo sie saßen. Wir begleiten so viele Menschen an diesem Tag, der Wechsel erfolgt so schnell, dass wir eine Weile brauchen, uns einen Überblick über das Gewimmel zu schaffen.Der Fokus und damit auch der längste Teil des Buches liegen auf dem Tag des Ereignisses. Er berichtet, wie die Menschen sterben, wer es schafft und wer nicht. Wer es erst geschafft hat und dann den Kampf trotzdem verloren hat. Er beschreibt die Geschichte eines Jungen, dessen Vater ihn aus dem Zelt rettete, um dann wieder hineinging, um weitere Kinder zu retten. Der Junge sollte am Wagen warten. Später treffen wir diesen Jungen wieder. Am Wagen seines Vaters. Der Vater hat es nicht geschafft. Solche Momente sind es, die mich schlucken lassen, die es mir fast unmöglich machen, das Buch weiterzulesen. Denn nichts ist schlimmer, als die Realität.Doch O´Nan macht nicht an diesem Tag halt.Er berichtet von den nachfolgenden Tagen, von der Identifizierung der kenntlichen und unkenntlichen Leichen. Von dem Kampf der Verletzten, von Glück und Unglück. Von Polizisten, die ihre Arbeit machen, von Ermittlern, die Herz zeigen. Aber auch die Ereignisse der folgenden Jahre und Jahrzehnte zeigt er auf. So bildet sich ein umfassender Bericht über die damaligen Geschehnisse. Zuweilen ist es sehr emotional. O´Nan schont seinen Leser nicht, bleibt nicht nur an der sachlichen Oberschicht. Es ist die Brutalität des Feuers, die uns durch dieses Buch wieder klar wird. Ein Feuer ist unberechenbar, tödlich und verheerend.Zirkusse sind heute weniger beliebt, als noch in den 40er Jahre. Sei es, weil sie ihren Zauber verloren haben oder weil uns bewusst geworden ist, wie sehr Tiere durch so eine Haltung und Dressur gequält werden. Als Kind war ich ein oder zweimal im Zirkus. Es ist nie etwas passiert. Ich erinnere mich nur an den Gestank und die Wärme im Zelt. Und die Höhe der Bankreihen und das mir manchmal schwindlig wurde, wenn ich hinunter geschaut habe. An diesem Ort zu sterben, stellt man sich als Kind nicht vor. Doch die Bilder von früher waren auch beim Lesen präsent und holten das, was dort geschrieben steht, noch mehr in die eigene Realität.
    • 4/5
      A compelling read. In 1944 the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus set up its tents in Hartford CT. The big top was waterproofed with a combination of paraffin and gasoline (a common practice at the time). However the fire started the result was sudden and devastating. I had a visceral response to the horror of this tragedy and its aftermath for the citizens of the community.

      Note: I am guessing at the date read because I didn't enter this earlier. I know I read it at about the same time I read two other nonfiction books about devastating fires.
    • 4/5
      Yep. It's a hard book to read as any true story of tragic loss of life. Especially one that involves the loss of so many kids and families. As with any large-scale tragedy, both the best and worst of human behavior is on display.

      That said, I thought it was fascinating. It's a bit of American history that I'd not heard before and wouldn't have otherwise known anything about.

      It's gruesome, searing and painful for sure, but I think stories like this should be told and read. Uncomfortable and as awful as it may be, it is part of our history. Shame on display us if we choose not to tell it.
    • 4/5
      Yep. It's a hard book to read as any true story of tragic loss of life. Especially one that involves the loss of so many kids and families. As with any large-scale tragedy, both the best and worst of human behavior is on display.

      That said, I thought it was fascinating. It's a bit of American history that I'd not heard before and wouldn't have otherwise known anything about.

      It's gruesome, searing and painful for sure, but I think stories like this should be told and read. Uncomfortable and as awful as it may be, it is part of our history. Shame on display us if we choose not to tell it.
    • 4/5
      A very detailed description of the Hartford circus fire in 1944 that killed 167 people, many of them children. This is a very sad book to read , but hard to put down. It gives an updated history of many of the survivors. Well written.
    • 5/5
      An utterly absorbing read. I had never even heard of this fire and was fascinated. How the fire started seems so irrelevant in the end tragedy. So many people dead, horribly burned, or even just psychologically affected for the rest of their lives. A really good read.
    • 5/5
      This book was so well written...I couldn't put it down, although it was sad and sometimes horrifying.
    • 4/5
      Back in 2006 I read an excellent account of the 1918 Influenza pandemic by John Barry entitled The Great Influenza: The story of the deadliest pandemic in history. This was a well-written account not only of the pandemic but also the rise of the medical establishment and the aftermath of the event. My sister had recommended this and recently she recommended another very good disaster book: The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American Tragedy by Stewart O'Nan. It is an account of the great Hartford circus fire of 1944. This event was unknown to me but was nevertheless a great tragedy as 167 people died in the fire, including many children. O'Nan's account is very well-written as he brings the disaster alive with hour-by-hour retelling of the worst American circus disaster and its aftermath, seen with a restless, unflinching eye for the details—touching, ironic, and depraved. His narrative never lags despite the attention to detail. The psychological insight and focus on particular families makes this an exceptionally good read. “The fire was the size of a baseball, a football, a basketball, a dishpan, a briefcase, a small window, half a tablecloth. . . . One thing people agreed on was that it was small.” How the blaze started on July 6, 1944, in Hartford, Connecticut, remains unknown. At least 167 people died, and several thousand were injured. The resulting bad publicity (and nearly $5 million in civil judgments) not only pushed Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey’s into receivership, it eventually forced the Greatest Show on Earth to discard its sideshow and abandon the outdoor “big top” for the gloomy (but fireproof) confines of concrete sports arenas. Novelist O’Nan portrays the event is a small-town tragedy that grew quickly into a national scandal: the show business equivalent of the sinking of the Titanic, inspiring works of fact and fiction and setting off a nationwide hunt for a crazed arsonist, 25 years of courtroom battles, thousands of dollars in donated funds for survivors, and mountains of sensationalist journalism. He finds epic pathos in the heroics of common individuals and circus performers (clown Emmet Kelly and the Flying Wallendas among them), the bellowing of doomed animals, the panic of the mob, the shameless buck-passing of local officials, and the disgraceful efforts of circus staff to avoid responsibility. O’Nan alleviates his gripping, tragic story with brief pieces on circus history and its better-known personalities and performers, as well as interviews with numerous survivors whose lives the fire changed.
    • 4/5
      A thorough examination of the Hartford circus fire that makes you cherish every moment you have with your loved ones. O'Nan does an incredible job of mixing detailed facts into a literary timeline the puts you into the shoes of the survivors, investigators and heroes. It is a snapshot of a horrible fire that killed 167 people but O'Nan has made it a story that will continue to be read and remembered through future generations.
    • 4/5
      Although the circus industry had not been immune to fires — one in Cleveland had killed several animals — the largest of the shows, P. T. Barnum, could brag that no one had lost a life because of a fire. There had been several close calls, however. Another fire had burned the big top, the canvas catching fire from sparks of a fire down the road. The canvas was covered with a mixture of 6,000 gallons of white gasoline and 18,000 pounds of paraffin to make it waterproof. Unfortunately, that also made it burn like a candle.

      The effects at the fire in Hartford were to show the need for an alternative. It was a very hot July 6, 1944 at the end of the war. Workers at the circus were in short supply, but circuses were a popular source of entertainment. They had arrived late and were forced to cancel the first show, not a good sign for the superstitious. The crowd was near capacity, close to 9,000, although the exact number was never determined O'Nan meticulously takes us through the background and erection of the tents and characters . No one is quite sure what happened; arson was long suspected, but given the extremely flammable nature of the materials and the number of smokers, it could also have been an accident. Several people claim to have seen the origin, a small flame near the bottom of one side of the tent. It spread very quickly. The circus water trucks had been left parked at the edge of the lot, instead of close to the tent as was the usual practice. Whether it would have made a difference in the outcome is uncertain. Unlike most fires, where the victims usually die of smoke inhalation, this fire killed either as a result of people being smothered as they were trampled in the rush to the exits, or by horrible burns as pieces of the flammable tent fell on the people below, the paraffin sticking to them like napalm. Many of the dead had been burned beyond recognition, but considering the number of people at the event, the death toll, 167, was much lower than I would have expected.

      Ironically, many of the survivors said the most horrible memory of the fire was the screaming of the animals as they were burned alive, yet no animals were injured in the fire. It was humans they heard. Reminiscent of the Titanic, the band leader struck up Stars and Stripes, Forever, the circus emergency signal and played it over and over again until the last possible moment. Many children were saved by one of the clowns who tossed children over the gates and down the animal chutes away from the fire.

      The resulting civil suits forced Barnum & Bailey into receivership and to abandon tents. Several circus officials were indicted and imprisoned for manslaughter. Eventually, B&B moved into concrete sports arenas. The details tend to become overly gloomy, but it remains a wellresearched account of an American tragedy. To this day, one child's charred body has never been claimed and remains unidentified.
    • 3/5
      It was a very interesting book, well written and difficult to read at some points. The scope of the tragedy extended beyond the victims and it was interesting to examine the progression of the investigation after the fire. My only complaint is that very little time was spent on the acutal fire with few instances of heroics detailed. After reading the captions beneath various circus personnel I expected to hear of their actions but those were never mentioned. However the book was still very gripping, taking care not to sensationalize the tragedy and remained very respectful. I would reccomend it.
    • 4/5
      I was born and raised in Connecticut (and a big chunk of that happened to be in Hartford), but I didn't hear about the Hartford Circus Fire until about three years ago when I went to the Manchester Public Library for the first time and saw about 50 copies all around the library (In fact, there are 145 copies in that one branch alone). I was intrigued about what had happened, yet I didn't check out the book. Instead, I went to wikipedia (I know, I know...) to get a broad overview about what happened. That satisfied me at the time. Well, the Ringling Bros. circus showed up in Hartford a few months ago and that brought all my intrigue on the fire back, and now here we are. The Circus Fire is a heartbreaking book. It's heartbreaking that 167 people died and it's even more heartbreaking that a bit chunk of the deceased were children. Then, you have the fact that most of the people who died didn't die of smoke inhalation. Some of them were trampled to death, but most of them were burned to death. However, I think the most heartbreaking thing is that these deaths could have been prevented. This wasn't the first circus fire that the Ringling Bros. had experienced and other circuses were using some chemical to fireproof the big tops. Yet, the Ringling Bros. circus didn't do this citing that they couldn't get the materials because they didn't have military priority (which Stewart O'Nan just proves is crap). It's enough to make anyone angry. The most intriguing part of The Circus Fire were the mysteries that surrounded it. The cause of the circus fire, the true identity of Little Miss 1565, the identities of the other five victims who were never identified, these mysteries were never solved. O'Nan writes this story with chilling detail and painstaking honesty. It's hard to read about those people who pushed others out of the way so they could get to the exits first, but it is uplifting to hear about those who risked their lives to try to save the others who were still trapped inside. The Circus Fire is a heartbreaking book, but I commend Mr. O'Nan for knowing that it was a story that needed to be told without trying to exploit the survivors and their grief (the way another Circus Fire book did). This story is saddening, but not without hope. He brings the events that happened to life for those who weren't there to see or feel the effects of the fire. I urge everyone to pick up a copy of this great book.
    • 4/5
      ..someone said they heard the animals screaming inside the blazing circus tent...but there were no animals..
    • 4/5
      On the afternoon of July 6, 1944, a fire broke out during a performance of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus in Hartford, Connecticut. The circus tent had been waterproofed with gasoline and paraffin and the fire spread quickly with 167 people (mostly women and children) ultimately dying and many others horribly burned. "The Circus fire" details the events leading up to the fire (although the worst, this was not the first fire to hit the circus), the fire itself and the ensuing panic, and the aftermath of the fire, up until 1999. There are accounts from victims of the fire, the firefighters, circus performers, and neighbors that helped out, as well as many pictures that show the horrible results of the fire. The book follows several survivors through their recovery and how they are doing years after the fire. "The Circus Fire" is a well-written and well-researched book. Stewart O'Nan is a gifted writer and his description of the fire and the frantic attempts of the circusgoers to escape are written so that the reader can picture what is happening as they read the book. In fact, he described it so well that I had to put the book aside at times because I was having nightmares about the fire. His description of the confusion after the fire as parents searched frantically for their missing children and how neighbors and strangers pitched in to help is equally moving (and unsettling at times as some neighbors actually charged a fee for the victims to use their phones). He mentions Little Miss 1565 who died in the fire and was never identified despite the fact that her face was barely burnt (O'Nan successfully debunks the theory that Little Miss 1565 was Eleanor Cook). Her story will haunt the reader as will the story of Raymond Erickson who was taken to a hospital and whose clothes were found there but his body was never located. Also moving is the story of how the survivors dealt with the aftermath of the fire; many had nightmares years after the fire. The only problem I had with the book is that it switched from person to person and it was often hard to keep track of who was who, especially when there were long gaps between their story. I wish there had been a list of victims at the back of the book or at least a list of the fate of the people specifically mentioned in the book. "The Circus Fire" is a moving account of a real life tragedy.
    • 5/5
      first line: "They played by the lake, their tops guyed out on the lot by Municipal Stadium."Even though I'm not terribly far from Hartford, I'd never heard of the 1944 circus fire until I stumbled across this book. The fire took place during a matinee show under a big-top canvas waterproofed with paraffin and gasoline, and stitched together with material that was also highly-flammable.O'Nan's account of the tragedy is really riveting, though often graphic and sad. For its wealth of detailed information, I'd recommend The Circus Fire to any persons (fiction writers, perhaps?) researching circus or disaster-relief history, the effects of extreme heat and fire on people and objects, or even human mob/crisis behavior.
    • 3/5
      My family is from Sarasota, FL, where the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus had their winter quarters for many years. My great-grandmother on my mother's side used to watch some of the circus kids while their parents trained, and my mom had heard stories about this fire, and then when I was younger, I had heard the same stories. We had known Merle Evans, and he told us about that day.I had not known about this book until reading about it in a thread on LT, so I thought I would give it a try and learn a little bit more about that awful day. O'Nan presents what is clearly a well-researched, if not always well-written, history about that day, and the events that (may or may not have) led up to it, and the circumstances that followed. After O'Nan introduces each person, he continues to write about these people as if the reader is as familiar them as he is due to his researching them. If you can let go of trying to keep track of who is who (there is a huge number of people involved) and simply read the book and accept the facts as they are presented, you will have a better chance of getting something out of this book. I kept trying to keep straight in my head who was who, but after awhile I simply gave up on this and just read.Due to the nature of the tragedy, I don't know that it's possible for O'Nan to write this without some sense of sensationalizing the facts, but everything that he writes clearly gets across the horror of the day. The accompanying photographs help you visualize exactly what happened during the fire. The book itself suffers from some writing errors throughout, and these probably could have been fixed with a stronger editing, but they are not overly distracting. O'Nan clearly researched his facts, and while he tries to present some possible explanations to the cause of the fire and circumstances surrounding it, he doesn't try to present these as fact. He relies on the established facts that have been proven, and draws on these to present the story as best he can. This book won't be for everyone. It was a horrible day, and O'Nan doesn't try to sugar-coat the events or what happened to the victims of the fire. For those that are interested in learning more about the fire, however, this will prove to be an interesting read.
    • 3/5
      Interesting read, particularly that element of the tragedy about the unidentifed body of the young girl.