In the summer of
1944, people near Hartford, Connecticut were excited to attend the Ringling
Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which was coming to town. Being
distracted for a couple of hours by entertainers and animals was just what
people thought they needed. Unfortunately, a massive fire broke out and tragedy
struck. What happened as a result of the fire was a lesson for the Ringling
Brothers and the local emergency department. Reading this narrative nonfiction
book about a true event that happened not far from where I live really hit
home. My heart broke thinking about all the people and animals trapped inside the tent. Fire isn't the only damage to worry about during an
emergency, when people don't stay calm- more people get hurt. Have you ever
heard of the Hartford Circus fire of 1944?
I discovered Big
Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and the Greatest
Show on Earth on Rosi’s blog; The Write
Stuff. I was lucky enough to win a copy of the book. The story intrigued me because I
live a state away from Connecticut and had never heard of the fire (or any
other circus fire for that matter). Reading about the mystery that surrounded
not only how the fire started, but what happened to the people lost
during the tragedy, peaked my interest. I was shocked to learn that the pieces of the puzzle were never put together, and the exact cause of the fire, along with a list of all the people who died, have yet to be determined. Each chapter was filled with careful research. The photos made the story even more real. Although the book includes information that's horrific, it's based on true events, and none of the details are
gory; they're just sad. When we understand things that went wrong in history, and how common sense and safety precautions weren't in place, we can be thankful for lessons learned. This was my first book by
Laura A. Woollett, but I plan to read
more by this author!
Have you read Big
Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and the Greatest
Show on Earth? Or have you read another book by Laura A. Woollett? We’d
love to hear your thoughts!
Happy Reading!
~L
