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Title: To Sleep With the Angels: The Story of a Fire by David Cowan, John Kuenster ISBN: 1-56663-217-X Publisher: Ivan R Dee, Inc. Pub. Date: October, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.97 (64 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Burning With Emotion
Comment: As an Ohio Catholic elementary school student in 1958, the tragic fire at Holy Angels School in Chicago left an indeligble image. Heaven, opening its arms to the little angels, solemnly and obediently praying with their nun had more spin than Elvin in those days. "To Sleep With The Angels" not only unspun the myths about a tragedy, which led to safety improvements in all American schools, but it brought out the raw emotions of the survivors.
The book is balanced, hesitating to point fingers, trying to put the event into the cultural perspective of the time, and succeeding in forcing each reader in appreciating their own relative heaven.
While ghastly and emotionally devastating, the prose is outstanding, bringing each of us into the doomed class rooms. This book demonstrates the best drama is on the non-fiction shelves.
In conclusion no monument was ever erected at the site of the fire. I believe this book may be the lasting tribute to the children, nuns, parents and firefighters forever haunted by the Holy Angel's fire.
Rating: 5
Summary: Unbelievable sadness
Comment: This book took me back to a painful time in otherwise happy years as a child. In December of 1958 I was a third grader at St. Peter Canisius School, just northwest of OLA. I can remember watching the news bulletins on television, my mother weeping and praying and the unbelievable sadness at the sight of the dozens of small coffins. The changes in school fire codes were swift. Before the end of the school year, we were on half-day shifts because our basement classroom (somewith block glass windows) did not meet fire code. The authors of this book have brought to light that the 93 OLA martyrs left a legacy of change and improved safety for school children across the country and even around the world. I, too, was compelled to go back to the old neighborhoods - down North Avenue, past what used to be St. Anne's on Thomas Street where I was born, to Avers and Iowa. The authors remark how not even a plaque on the property remembers those who died. Even at this late date, I hope something will be done to remedy that injustice. I could not stop reading this book - even once past the horror of the actual fire, the investigative reporting was clear, concise, riveting and brings answers to so many questions. A must read, especially for Chicagoans.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Masterpiece of storytelling!
Comment: As a student of a Catholic elementary school in norhtern Illinois, I was shocked and scared to death by the rumors that came from my relatives in Chicago about this tragic event. I too went to an old two story frame school with stairs, high window sills and a six foot wrought iron fence around the perimeter of the school building waiting to spear anyone who would jump from above! This is a gripping and emotionally charged piece of literature, as well as an excellent piece of investigative reporting. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop. My uncle, a commander in the Chicago Fire Department on that day, refuses to talk to this day other than to say ruefully is "That was a BAD fire." Through all the heartache and pain I read in each chapter, I could not separate myself from those children. As I watch my youngest go to high school now, I am grateful for the changes that came as a result of the OLA fire, yet an saddened and somewhat ashamed of the cost. As a legal practitioner, I bear a sense of guilt at the handling and prosecution of the person I believe (and the book believes) responsible for the deaths of 92 students and 3 nuns. As a former Catholic, I can recall all too well the absolute authority of the church, which ultimately failed its parishoners. I have passed the book along to a friend who is working on his Master's Degree is School Administration as a testament of the duties and responsibilities a community shares towards its schools. Although the subject of the book is a disaster about the most precious things on earth, our children, it serves well as an indictment for all to recognize the value of those too young to protect themselves. I wish there had been more development of the successes enjoyed by the survivors and possibly a summation ascribing the culmulative effects and benefits that resulted from the sweeeping changes regarding fire safety in our schools nationwide. Nevertheless, this book is an excellent read and an extraordinary piece of work. My hat is off to the authors.
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Title: Chicago Death Trap: The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903 by Nat Brandt, R. Perry Duis, Cathlyn Schallhorn , Perry R. Duis ISBN: 0809324903 Publisher: Southern Illinois Univ Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: February, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: The Circus Fire : A True Story of an American Tragedy by Stewart O'Nan ISBN: 0385496850 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 12 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Triangle Fire by Leon Stein, William Greider ISBN: 0801487145 Publisher: Ilr Pr Pub. Date: April, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle ISBN: 0871138743 Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Great Chicago Fires: Historic Blazes That Shaped a City by David Cowan ISBN: 1893121070 Publisher: Lake Claremont Press Pub. Date: 26 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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