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The Circus Fire: A True Story. By Stewart O'Nan. (New York: Doubleday. 2000. Pp. xiii, 370. $24.95.)
Exactly one month after Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, the main tent of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus caught fire during a performance in Hartford, Connecticut. One hundred and sixty-seven people, all customers, perished. Some died from injuries sustained during the human stampede that ensued as flames spread across the roof of the tent; most, however, burned to death. Debate over the origin of the fire continued well beyond the catastrophe, often centering on the gasoline-andparaffin mixture used to waterproof the tent's roof. Eventually, several members of the circus's senior on-site staff were convicted of criminal negligence and served brief prison terms. Survivors and their families were scarred, physically and mentally. Six corpses-including one in almost untouched condition-were laid in their graves, like the cause of the fire, unidentified.
Stewart O'Nan, the author of five novels, begins his narrative with a brief examination of a circus fire in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1942. Turning his attention to the Hartford scene before the fire, he provides important background information on the business structure of the circus and on the physical organization of the grounds and tent. Succeeding chapters describe, sometimes in excruciating detail, the fire and its oftermath. The book concludes...