The Fires That Changed America

by Patrick Griffith, Henry Northrop, Marshall Everett

The book contains not only the story of the The General Slocum Steamboat Fire, but the history of four other horrific fire disasters, The Iroquois Theater Fire, The Rhoads Opera House Fire, The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the The Collinwood School Fire, thus making it a valuable reference work. It portrays in a vivid manner the causes that lead to these great fire panics and shows at a glance the large number of human lives that have been lost in the these disasters. These disasters will remain always in the minds of the American people as some of the greatest horrors of the this century. For generations the awful tragedies of these fires, will be remembered with feelings of sorrow. These disaster were a veritable carnival of death. Caught like rats in a trap, without a chance of escape, these hapless victims were trampled under foot, smothered, and then half consumed by the fiery flames jumped off buildings, balconies, and steamships to their deaths. This is their stories.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

503 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 12, 2011

Reviews

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is currently available on Audible Plus. It was around five hours long, and I completed it in one shift at work. The physical copy is just under 300 pages. This book offers an overview of tragic fires that changed rules and regulations for public buildings in the United States. I had heard or read about all of the fires mentioned in this book, except for one. I appreciated the personal statements the author included in this book, as it gave a heavier weight to the facts presented. Not bad for a free to listen to book.

[Kyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting

The coverage of the fires, some of which I'd already heard of and some that were new to me, was presented with more detail than any other work I've read on the subject. I look forward to reading volume II next.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horrific stories of actual events in the United States. However, I don't understand why the American people continue to allow these types of incidents to occur to this day. Tragic and sad how we never seem to learn from the past.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so taken by the details of each one of the four fires written about in this book. Devastating that there was so much loss of life that could have been avoided if there had been more comprehensive fire codes and the enforcement of those codes.