Acclaim fo r Ste wart O'Nan's The Circus Fire “The Circus Fire is terrifying, compelling, and absolutely read able—because it is real It happened in 1944, but Stewart O'Nan brings it to life again, along with its heroes and villains, and makes you feel like you're inside the big top as it starts to burn.” —Rick Bragg “A tting and poignant memorial to the victims… To his credit, O'Nan sticks with the facts and by doing so enables the story to tell itself.” —Chicago Tribune “Taut and loving, this book strains to the heart's outer limits The Circus Fire is journalism in the service of literature, literature in the service of history.” —Rick Bass “Mr O'Nan's research has been prodigious, and his presentation of his findings is expert.” —The Atlantic Monthly “Like Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, The Circus Fire does more than just re-create and explain disaster It examines its human cost.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune “A superbly written and absorbing book, admirably documented This is a candid picture of humans at their best and their worst, and deserves a place on the shelves of any serious student of the American circus.” —Jim Foster, editor, The White Tops, official publication of the Circus Fans Association of America “O'Nan endows The Circus Fire with a haunting literary sense of time and place, enhancing the non ction genre within which he works.” —Austin American-Statesman “The real gut punch of the book is delivered by some very per sonal stories… For all the sadness, however, this book is a sat isfying read that sidesteps sensationalism It includes stories of unsung heroes, those who reacted to disaster with strength and courage, and those who used the situation as a starting point for change.” —The Denver Post “A remarkable piece of reporting… [O'Nan] shows an earnest dedication to giving the story what it deserves: a solemn, care ful telling.” —The Hartford Courant “[O'Nan's] thoroughness takes in a myriad of often icting perspectives until he creates a mosaic that includes the pica yune and the epic… [an] unflinching account… tense and grisly.” —San Francisco Chronicle “It seems strange that one of the most devastating tragedies in American history had, until recently, not received in-depth coverage outside of newspapers Stewart O'Nan's excellent book has provided that coverage in a de nitive yet easy-to-read style… It is as fast-moving as a novel, yet it left very few ques tions unanswered.” —The Little Circus Wagon “One of the best examples of nonfiction narrative writing I've ever encountered… The Circus Fire sets the bar many notches higher for all who would aspire to write such ‘nonfiction novels.’” —David Dawson, The Commercial Appeal “Spectacular… The e ect of this book is like that of Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm… In focusing on what psychologists say are predictable human responses to sudden danger, O'Nan makes us all wonder what would have happened to us if we'd been at the circus that day.” —The Arizona Republic “A compelling story… Those who read it won't soon for get it.” —The Dallas Morning News The Circus Fire Stewart O'Nan is the author of ve critically acclaimed novels—Snow Angels, The Names of the Dead, The Speed Queen, A World Away, and A Prayer for the Dying—and served as the editor for The Vietnam Reader He lives in Avon, Connecticut Also by Stewart O'Nan A Prayer for the Dying A World Away The Speed Queen The Names of the Dead Snow Angels In the Walled City Editor The Vietnam Reader On Writers and Writing, by John Gardner This book is for everyone who went to the circus that day— those who came home and those who stayed Contents Foreword CLEVELAND, 1942 JULY 4, 1944 Principals JULY 5, 1944 JULY 6, 1944 Circus Day Showtime The Point of Origin Our Boys in Uniform Blue Sky Animal Acts The Bravest Girl I've Ever Seen This Ain't No Time to Faint, Lady Don't Look Back The Stars and Stripes Forever Ten More Bars! Death by Fire Alive, Alive, Alive Have You Seen Him? Bringing Out the Dead Triage Unexpected Guests Extra, Extra We Can't Reach You, Hartford A G.I Party The Names of the Dead Bad Face Evidence In the Evening, Sun Is Going Down Go to Sleep Bad News Were You in Cleveland? All Through the Night And on Till Morning JULY 7, 1944 JULY 8, 1944 JULY 9, 1944 JULY 10, 1944 JULY 11-JULY 15, 1944 JULY 15-JULY 31, 1944 AUGUST-DECEMBER, 1944 1946-1950 1950-1990 1990-1991 1991-1999 Acknowledgments ... Likewise, the camels refused to move, balked at any e ort to save them They folded themselves down in their straw and the re broke over them The canvas was coming down, pieces burning in the dirt In their... OF THE CIRCUS WORLD MUSEUM Schenectady The cables of the rigging are visible, still attached to the tops of the quarter poles PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CIRCUS WORLD MUSEUM There was no panic The. .. pull their trains were needed for the war The O ce of Defense Transportation decided when they went and how they got there—a problem only made worse by the oversized atcars they used to haul their