Customer Reviews

The Cocoanut Grove Fire (New England Remembers)

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

 

 

Like the author's other book "Boston On Fire," this story is almost impossible to put down once you start reading it. When you read the details of that tragic nightclub fire, it's difficult to believe it could even happen, much less happen so fast that hundreds were killed. But the recent fire at the Station Night Club in Rhode Island is so similar it's scary. Everyone likes to think they would figure out a way to escape such a fire, but some blazes, like the ones at the Cocoanut Grove and The Station Night Club move so fast that they are more like explosions. The author makes the reader feel as though they were actually in the fire. She also goes into the shady history of the nightclub's mobster owner and why so many exit doors were locked. The reader will never again look at revolving doors in the same way and they will always check out the locations of the nearest exit to where they are seated. This is a great read, but maybe not for just before going to bed. The struggles of some of the survivors bring tears to the eyes of the reader. The fire did prove many new techniques for treating burn victims worked. This book makes one believe in fate, luck and just plain good fortune.

I recently read Schorow's entry in the New England Remembers series, and it is a haunting book. Schorow has great details; a reporter, she used her skills to update a story that happened in 1942. This book is especially interesting to those who wondered what happened to the main characters after 1959, when Paul Benzaquin's book Holocaust! on the same subject was published.

I grew up hearing my parents talk about the Cocoanut Grove fire but never knew the whole story until I discovered this book.
The real facts of how the fire started will never be known but the causes have been narrowed down and, as with so many tragedies, medical breakthroughs in burn treatment and building safety have resulted from the disaster.
This book draws all the known facts together without speculation. It's an intense, terrifying and sorrowful story.

I almost didn't read this book because I had read several works on this topic years ago. Given the horror and sadness perpetrated on the City of Boston as a result of this fire, I felt obligated to spend the time and energy to read just one more account. I'm very glad that I did.

Unlike other books that I had read, this author focuses on the history, politics and legal aspects of the disaster rather than just on how the fire itself impacted its victims. The affects of mob mentality and panic are explored with a simplicity and clarity that should be required reading for all high school freshmen. The preparedness and innovative approaches of local hospitals to burn victims, in both medical and psychological treatment, is understood as heroic and ground-breaking. The legal trial, although replete with the personality and politics of the time, produced law and legal strategy applicable today to such disasters as the Station Nightclub in RI.

In short, this isn't just a great read, this is a must read!

The author presents a succinct account of this tragedy and the mystery causes of the fire that surround it. A fascinating story of one night in the early stages of this country's preparation for WWII when celebration turned into a nightmare.

Excellent research presented in a very readable format. It's not too long, but still has a lot of content. Well done!

This book is short, and lacks much in the way of substance. If you want to read about this historic disaster find a book better suited to the topic.

Book came in the time frame and in the condition specified.