Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire, The: A Boston Tragedy

by Stephanie Schorow

On November 28, 1942, fire roared through Boston's famed Cocoanut Grove nightclub during what was supposed to be a high-spirited Saturday night. By midnight, more than five hundred people were dead, dying, or maimed for life.


Local author Stephanie Schorow probes the club's history, the circumstances leading to the fire, and the tragedy's lingering impact. The inferno reached deep into the city's social structure--its politics, medical care, law enforcement, and religious life--and touched nearly everyone in the Boston area, even those who had never set foot in the club. In this newly updated and revised edition, Schorow has added new information, photographs, interviews and insights on the worst nightclub fire in American history.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

227 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 31, 2022

About the author

Stephanie Schorow is a Boston-area reporter and writer. For 12 years she toiled as a features editor and ink-stained scribe for the Boston Herald until she struck out on her own as a freelance writer in 2005. Her articles now regularly appear in the Boston Globe and other publications.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

a solid 4.5 stars. very descriptive and entertaining, albeit sad for obvious reasons. i care v much about the “so what?” of the books i read—why does the subject matter /matter/?—and the cocoanut grove’s significant impact is very clear: the still-relevant results from studies on the victims’ burn treatments, reinforcement of existing fire/egress laws, and setting legal precedence for manslaughter cases.

the craziness of it all (the insanity that was the club’s door system????) obviously drew me into the story. the chapter structure made sense and broke the book into clear segments that flowed together in a narrative-like fashion. i appreciated the time schorow took to paint a clear image of the fire’s victims and saviors (including people who were both). when i think about what makes me more likely to stick with a nonfiction book instead of abandoning it (like i have done many times), i think the humanization of its “characters” is an essential piece for me. i like to know everyone’s story!

i love it when i can connect books to other media i’ve enjoyed. let’s just say i see a lottttt of similarities btwn the cocoanut grove nightclub fire and the great molasses flood. people in power who ignore safety regulations for the sake of profit frustrate me but are a very reliable through-line throughout history.

this book was short, sweet(?), and an easy + entertaining read. i’d like to read about the iroquois theater fire soon, but i’ll have to read other books in the meantime. i seem to have suddenly found myself w extra free time lately… # iykyk

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth reading for the fantastic photographs and diagrams. Other books on the Grove fire are longer- but this one will help you understand the physical location better. Many photographs of the well-known employees and customers as well as ordinary victims.

[Kenneth P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on Boston's historic fire

A very fast but interesting and informative book about the devastating fire. Well written and thoroughly read. A bit long at the end but an overall great read that I would highly recommend

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such an interesting nonfiction book on the Cocoanut Grove Fire (1942). Because of this accident, burn care improved as well as the importance and renewed conversation of fire safety.