Customer Reviews

City on Fire: The Forgotten Disaster That Devastated a Town and Ignited a Landmark Legal Battle

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

"City on Fire" purports to be a work of history, but it is so poorly written that it loses whatever historical value it might have. Much of it is written in the present tense, rarely ever appropriate in a historical work. Additionally, the book contains no notes or bibliography, another major warning sign in a work of history. Given how it is constructed, one has to wonder if the author intended for his work to read like a historical novel, but it fails on that level as well.

It's a pity, because the subject itself is quite interesting and deserves a much better treatment.

Swings from over-simplification to exaggeration in City on Fire leaves this reader almost dizzy. It is fortunate the author incorporated the research of Hugh Stephens (The Texas City Disaster 1947) to somewhat stabilize his story. For ?story? winds insidiously throughout what purports to be an historical account. The book?s recounting of so many impossible-to-know private thoughts and actions of citizens, plus the seemingly arrogant absence of footnotes and sources weakens any credibility. Careless errors in first names of the citizens (sometimes even last names), the lay-out of the town in distances and directions and the 1947 construction materials of various structures add to the confusion.
The blast was indeed a disaster, but the author seems to stretch for sensational descriptions. In the first hours after the explosion countless ordinary citizens voluntarily stepped in to do what needed to be done. Their heroism is a legacy.
I found the book to be a mixture of fact and fiction with no map to help separate the components. Therefore, it is not credible to me. I will not add it to my library.

If you're not interested reading a story that is absolutely factual or at least as factual as someone's research can make it, this book is probably one you want to read. After all, it is a dramatic telling of the cataclysmic explosion in Texas City in 1947.

Yet if you are a fussy reader like me, something is going to bother you about the narrative. It's very simple. In the case of at least one of the major figures of the book, Father Bill Roach, the author puts words in his mouth; tells us what he is thinking; and frequently informs us in detail of his routine actions. This is despite the fact that Father Roach died in the explosion, and unless the author knows the secret of time travel or can speak with the dead, this means there is a large amount of fiction in the book.

To me, this wrecks the credibility of the narrative. The enormous amount of research Mr. Minutaglio did almost becomes moot. He doesn't even give us footnotes, endnotes, or chapter notes, so we can pick out what amounts to pure speculation on his part and ignore it.

His only sop to the readers is italicizing some passages. These he coyly describes as "external and internal dialogue" that he "built" from what is known as fact. In the end, I find myself wondering why he didn't just stick to the facts like most other writers of non-fiction do or simply write a novel about the explosion. He writes very well, and I bet such a book would have sold.

Well defined description of merchandise and very pleased with seller's quickness in getting product to me. I have read the book before and will be using it in the classroom. It's descriptive, has chapters that leave the reader ready to move on, and an interesting subject matter.

Although not strictly an historical work, Bill Minutaglio nonetheless uses in depth research to reconstruct the Texas City Explosion of the late 1940's.

I do consulting work in the hydrocarbon processing industry and do a lot of work in Texas City, so I was naturally interested in this event. As Minutaglio reconstructs the event one sees that it bears the hallmarks of a major disaster--ignorance, arrogance and extraordinary bad luck all mixed together to create the conditions for horror on a grand scale.

Minutaglio uses the stories of several involved survivors and relatives of some of the prominent deceased to weave this tale. This lends a high level of credence to the reconstruction. There is, however, a fair degree of inference in what is presented.

Beyond the pure human tragedy that Minutaglio chronicles it is the social aspect of the story that really riles. Having in large part created the circumstances that led to this disaster the federal government spends great time and energy in denying the people of Texas City any real comfort, compensation or even recognition of its culpability. When one looks at how the government reacted to 9/11 and compare that to the reaction to the Texas City disaster you can't help but feel anew for the victims.

I found this to be a well written, well researched, lovingly tendered story. It's not a book that one can enjoy, but is a book that should be read. As has often been noted, we do not truly appreciate the power of our modern tools till something goes wrong. This book reveals just how truly awful "when things go wrong" can be.

Highly recommended.

This book appealed to me because I was born there 7 years after the Disaster and grew up there where it was part of local lore that I learned from my parents who lived through it. I enjoyed the book for its human interest aspects derived from the author's interviews with survivors. The way he describes life in Texas City coincides with my memories of it from my childhood. I attended the church where Fr. Roach served and the author seemed to use his artistic license from interviewing those who knew him to portray Roach's thoughts and words.

My previous reading on this topic was of dry historical narratives of events of those days in 1947. The inside look at the role of the federal government and the ensuing litigation and resolution of survivors' claims was new to me and fascinating to read. As one who grew up in the shadows of the port and local corporations involved, I heartily recommend this book to interested readers!

Don't lose sight of the fact that this book is NOT an absolute documentary piece of work -- the writer says as much in his introduction.

It is instead an extremely well-told, compelling story pieced together from documentary evidence, witness accounts and interviews that well chronicles this tragedy and puts the reader right in the middle of the event.

I couldn't put it down.

In the great literary tradition of Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe, and Truman Capote, Bill Minutaglio, one of our country?s best writers, has produced a wonderful non-fictional novel that should be on everybody?s bookshelf. An absolute page-turner with a narrative that moves at a breakneck pace, it also, in light of the events of September 11th, couldn?t be more relevant. Combining both stunning and, at times, fiery prose with brilliantly detailed research, Minutaglio brings to life a cautionary tale of history long forgotten, of a 1947 explosion that leveled the factory town of Texas City, Texas, caused the deaths of over 700 people (as well as injured over 5,000), and started a landmark legal battle. While a story of humanity at its worst?political ambition, big industry greed, racism?it provides the uplift of the indestructibility of the human spirit, of our ability to literally rise from the ashes. Minutaglio has magnificently captured this magnificent story and made memorable an important chunk of history that could?ve easily been forgotten forever.

Minutaglio combines Michael Crichtonesque pacing with the unflinching detail of Capote. His book tells "a history" that takes the reader beyond the dry facts, figures and footnotes. Want banal? standard history? Go back to junior high and fall asleep at your desk (perhaps underneath the asbestos). Buy this book and find yourself inside a story, walking the neon streets and smelling the factories. I was thankful that Mr. Minutaglio didn?t get too mired in some kind of academic repeat of microfiche minutia. His uncanny ability to tell the whole story even as he trimmed the fat and gave special attention to what was inherently dramatic was what made this book such a joy to read.

I absolutely loved this book. My grandparents lived through the Texas City disaster and shared many stories with me. This book gave me an even deeper appreciation for what my family and so many others experienced that tragic day in 1947. I honestly could not put this book down and I highly recommend it to others.