The acclaimed author of Emily, Alone and Henry, Himself  brings all his narrative gifts to bear on this gripping account of tragedy and heroism—the great Hartford circus fire of 1944. It was a midsummer afternoon, halfway through a Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus performance, when the big top caught fire. The tent had been waterproofed with a mixture of paraffin and gasoline; in seconds it was burning out of control. More than 8,000 people were trapped inside, and the ensuing disaster would eventually take 167 lives. Steward O'Nan brings all his narrative gifts to bear on this gripping account of the great Hartford circus fire of 1944. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of survivors, O'Nan skillfully re-creates the horrific events and illuminates the psychological oddities of human behavior under stress: the mad scramble for the exits; the perilous effort to maneuver animals out of danger; the hero who tossed dozens of children to safety before being trampled to death. Brilliantly constructed and exceptionally moving, The Circus Fire is history at its most compelling. “A triumph of literary storytelling.”– The Cleveland Plain Dealer “An extraordinary book. O’Nan is amazing in his handling of the abundance of fact, rumors and legends that have built up around this fire.”– USA Today “[O’Nan’s]non-fiction is as accomplished as his fiction.... [ The Circus Fire is] as gripping as any thriller.”– The Seattle Times d author of A Prayer for the Dying brings all his narrative gifts to bear on this gripping account of tragedy and heroism-the great Hartford circus fire of 1944. Halfway through a midsummer afternoon performance, Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus's big top caught fire. The tent had been waterproofed with a mixture of paraffin and gasoline; in seconds it was burning out of control, and more than 8,000 people were trapped inside. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of survivors, O'Nan skillfully re-creates the horrific events and illuminates the psychological oddities of human behavior under stress: the mad scramble for the exits; the hero who tossed dozens of children to safety before being trampled to death. Brilliantly constructed and exceptionally moving, The Circus Fire is history at its most compelling. The acclaimed author of A Prayer for the Dying brings all his narrative gifts to bear on this gripping account of tragedy and heroism-the great Hartford circus fire of 1944. Halfway through a midsummer afternoon performance, Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus's big top caught fire. The tent had been waterproofed with a mixture of paraffin and gasoline; in seconds it was burning out of control, and more than 8,000 people were trapped inside. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of survivors, O'Nan skillfully re-creates the horrific events and illuminates the psychological oddities of human behavior under stress: the mad scramble for the exits; the hero who tossed dozens of children to safety before being trampled to death. Brilliantly constructed and exceptionally moving, The Circus Fire is history at its most compelling. Stewart O'Nan is the author of fifteen previous novels, including  West of Sunset ,  The Odds ,  Emily Alone ,  Songs for the Missing ,  Last Night at the Lobster ,  A Prayer for the Dying , and  Snow Angels . His 2007, novel  Last Night at the Lobster , was a national bestseller and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, where he lives with his family. The Circus Fire By Stewart O'Nan Anchor Books Copyright ©2001 Stewart O'Nan All right reserved. ISBN: 9780385496858 Excerpt The band blasted it, sat there while the fire came straight at them, the crowdsplitting like a river around the bandstand. The flames were above the endgrandstand sections, not far to go. It was snowing fire. Hot cables werefalling, cinders, embers. The kettle drums exploded from the heat. "Jump!" Merle Evans directed, and the band bailed?like true musicians, takingtheir instruments with them. A flaming quarterpole toppled, dropped onto thestand like a hammer. Faces smudged, white uniforms scorched, they regrouped outside and serenaded thedazed crowd that stood there watching the drums and the organ burn. A man leading two children straggled out. "By the time we got to the end of thetent we got out the door on the right of the bandstand. I do recall goingoutside of the tent, and the bandleader was standing there blowing his trumpet,and there were a couple of bandsmen around there. They were playing right at theentrance to the tent." Both children had third-degree burns all over, the mansecond-degree burns on his lips. By the southeast exit, a Coca-Cola top caught fire, flames enveloping tiers ofempty deposit bottles in yellow wooden crates. The glass melted and pooled likewater. Inside, in the withering heat, a twelve-year-old boy and his mother reached thetop of the stands. She dropped