"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
