NONFICTION

Big Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and the Greatest Show On Earth

by Laura A. WOOLLETT
176p. bibliog. chart. index. notes. photos. reprods. Chicago Review. Jun. 2015. Tr $18.95. ISBN 9781613731147.
COPY ISBN
Gr 5–8—The Hartford, CT, circus fire of 1944 is still infamous locally for killing 167 people and injuring more in only 10 minutes. Woollett's retelling of the event is interspersed with thought-provoking questions designed to encourage readers to ponder the gaps in our knowledge about the event ("So what about the city of Hartford? Did it have a role in not preventing the disaster?"). The story of the actual fire is gripping, but the narrative is occasionally on the dry side, and the pace slows as the book goes into more detail covering the arson investigation and the identification of the victims. The inclusion of photos and documents adds appeal, though, and students learning about forensics may be interested in the investigation processes.
VERDICT A suitable addition to history collections.
Reviewed by Dorcas Hand, Annunciation Orthodox School, Houston, TX
In 1944, a fire broke out at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Connecticut, killing 167 people in ten minutes. This compelling account covers the tragedy, as well as the mysteries that remain about the cause and about one of the survivors. The readable text is supported by well-chosen black-and-white archival photos of the scene. Bib., ind.
, Jun 01, 2015

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