Chicago Death Trap: The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903 - Hardcover

Brandt, Nat; Duis, Perry R; Schallhorn, Cathlyn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0809324903 ISBN 13: 9780809324903

Verlag: Southern Illinois University Press, 2003

Inhaltsangabe

Book by Brandt Nat

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Críticas:

"Nat Brandt has unearthed a plethora of interesting, off-beat, and unusual tales and facts that balance a methodical minute-by-minute account of the most horrific building fire disaster in Chicago history.... The depth of research Brandt brings to the topic is the best compilation of historical material dealing with the fire and its subsequent hearings that I have ever read." "This chilling narrative provides a minute-by-minute chronicle of one of the most physically and psychologically devastating disasters of the twentieth century. . . . Packed with eyewitness testimony, this gripping account takes on a sense of dreadful immediacy as theatergoers, players, rescue workers, and victims' family members recount the grisly horrors of that afternoon and its aftermath. This superior piece of historical investigative journalism will keep readers turning the pages until the bitter end."--"Booklist" ""Chicago Death Trap" vividly tells the story of a theater that wasn't properly designed despite its owner's public claim that it was "absolutely fireproof." So many safety rules were willfully ignored that in retrospect it is not surprising that the Iroquois disaster remains the deadliest fire in the history of any American city. Brandt . . . deftly lays out the story of a tragedy waiting to happen in a city with a corrupt government and greedy businessmen. . . . In the one hundred years since the fire, the worldwide horror and anger over the Iroquois calamity has faded away. But Brandt's carefully documented, readable account reminds us what all the shouting was about.""--Chicago Sun-Times " "Journalist [Nat] Brandt has written a riveting narrative of a tragedy that affected not only Chicago but the entire world. Public libraries will want to consider this readable book for their disaster collections while academic libraries that collect Chicago materials will find it essential."--"Library Journal " "Nat Brandt has unearthed a plethora of interesting, off-beat, and unusual tales and facts that balance a methodical minute-by-minute account of the most horrific building fire disaster in Chicago history. . . . The depth of research Brandt brings to the topic is the best compilation of historical material dealing with the fire and its subsequent hearings that I have ever read."--Richard Lindberg, author of "Return to the Scene of the Crime: A Guide to Infamous Places in Chicago" "[F]ew who pass through [the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theater's] doors realize that the building sits on the site of one of the most horrific tragedies in American history: the Iroq "Chicago Death Trap" vividly tells the story of a theater that wasn t properly designed despite its owner s public claim that it was absolutely fireproof. So many safety rules were willfully ignored that in retrospect it is not surprising that the Iroquois disaster remains the deadliest fire in the history of any American city. Brandt . . . deftly lays out the story of a tragedy waiting to happen in a city with a corrupt government and greedy businessmen. . . . In the one hundred years since the fire, the worldwide horror and anger over the Iroquois calamity has faded away. But Brandt s carefully documented, readable account reminds us what all the shouting was about. "Chicago Sun-Times "" This chilling narrative provides a minute-by-minute chronicle of one of the most physically and psychologically devastating disasters of the twentieth century. . . . Packed with eyewitness testimony, this gripping account takes on a sense of dreadful immediacy as theatergoers, players, rescue workers, and victims' family members recount the grisly horrors of that afternoon and its aftermath. This superior piece of historical investigative journalism will keep readers turning the pages until the bitter end. "Booklist"" Journalist [Nat] Brandt has written a riveting narrative of a tragedy that affected not only Chicago but the entire world. Public libraries will want to consider this readable book for their disaster collections while academic libraries that collect Chicago materials will find it essential. "Library Journal " Nat Brandt has unearthed a plethora of interesting, off-beat, and unusual tales and facts that balance a methodical minute-by-minute account of the most horrific building fire disaster in Chicago history. . . . The depth of research Brandt brings to the topic is the best compilation of historical material dealing with the fire and its subsequent hearings that I have ever read. Richard Lindberg, author of "Return to the Scene of the Crime: A Guide to Infamous Places in Chicago" [F]ew who pass through [the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theater's] doors realize that the building sits on the site of one of the most horrific tragedies in American history: the Iroquois Theatre fire that claimed the lives of six hundred and two people, over two-thirds of them women and children, on the afternoon of December 30, 1903. As Nat Brandt s fascinating narrative reveals, this is a multilayered story that illuminates many aspects of life in the city and on the stage. Perry R. Duis and Cathlyn Schallhorn, from the Introduction" " Journalist [Nat] Brandt has written a riveting narrative of a tragedy that affected not only Chicago but the entire world. Public libraries will want to consider this readable book for their disaster collections while academic libraries that collect Chicago materials will find it essential. " -- Library Journal & nbsp; & nbsp; " Nat Brandt has unearthed a plethora of interesting, off-beat, and unusual tales and facts that balance a methodical minute-by-minute account of the most horrific building fire disaster in Chicago history. . . . The depth of research Brandt brings to the topic is the best compilation of historical material dealing with the fire and its subsequent hearings that I have ever read. " -- Richard Lindberg, author of Return to the Scene of the Crime: A Guide to Infamous Places in Chicago & nbsp; " [F]ew who pass through [the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theater's] doors realize that the building sits on the site of one of the most horrific tragedies in American history: the Iroquois Theatre fire that claimed the lives of six hundred and two people, over two-thirds of them women and children, on the afternoon of December 30, 1903. As Nat Brandt ' s fascinating narrative reveals, this is a multilayered story that illuminates many aspects of life in the city and on the stage. " -- Perry R. Duis and Cathlyn Schallhorn, from the Introduction " Chicago Death Trap vividly tells the story of a theater that wasn ' t properly designed despite its owner ' s public claim that it was " absolutely fireproof. " & nbsp; So many safety rules were willfully ignored that in retrospect it is not surprising that the Iroquois disaster remains the deadliest fire in the history of any American city. Brandt . . . deftly lays out the story of a tragedy waiting to happen in a city with a corrupt government and greedy businessmen. . . . In the one hundred years since the fire, the worldwide horror and anger over the Iroquois calamity has faded away. But Brandt ' s carefully documented, readable account reminds us what all the shouting was about. " -- Chicago Sun-Times " This chilling narrative provides a minute-by-minute chronicle of one of the most physically and psychologically devastating disasters of the twentieth century. . . . Packed with eyewitness testimony, this gripping account takes on a sense of dreadful immediacy as theatergoers, players, rescue workers, and victims' family members recount the grisly horrors of that afternoon and its aftermath. This superior piece of historical investigative journalism will keep readers turning the pages until the bitter end. " -- Booklist " Journalist [Nat] Brandt has written a riveting narrative of a tragedy that affected not only Chicago but the entire world. Public libraries will want to consider this readable book for their disaster collections while academic libraries that collect Chicago materials will find it essential." -- "Library Journal " " Nat Brandt has unearthed a plethora of interesting, off-beat, and unusual tales and facts that balance a methodical minute-by-minute account of the most horrific building fire disaster in Chicago history. . . . The depth of research Brandt brings to the topic is the best compilation of historical material dealing with the fire and its subsequent hearings that I have ever read." -- Richard Lindberg, author of "Return to the Scene of the Crime: A Guide to Infamous Places in Chicago" " [F]ew who pass through [the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theater's] doors realize that the building sits on the site of one of the most horrific tragedies in American history: the Iroquois Theatre fire that claimed the lives of six hundred and two people, over two-thirds of them women and children, on the afternoon of December 30, 1903. As Nat Brandt' s fascinating narrative reveals, this is a multilayered story that illuminates many aspects of life in the city and on the stage." -- Perry R. Duis and Cathlyn Schallhorn, from the Introduction " "Chicago Death Trap" vividly tells the story of a theater that wasn' t properly designed despite its owner' s public claim that it was " absolutely fireproof." So many safety rules were willfully ignored that in retrospect it is not surprising that the Iroquois disaster remains the deadliest fire in the history of any American city. Brandt . . . deftly lays out the story of a tragedy waiting to happen in a city with a corrupt government and greedy businessmen. . . . In the one hundred years since the fire, the worldwide horror and anger over the Iroquois calamity has faded away. But Brandt' s carefully documented, readable account reminds us what all the shouting was about." "-- Chicago Sun-Times" " This chilling narrative provides a minute-by-minute chronicle of one of the most physically and psychologically devastating disasters of the twentieth century. . . . Packed with eyewitness testimony, this gripping account takes on a sense of dreadful immediacy as theatergoers, players, rescue workers, and victims' family members recount the grisly horrors of that afternoon and its aftermath. This superior piece of historical investigative journalism will keep readers turning the pages until the bitter end." -- "Booklist"

Reseña del editor:

On the afternoon of December 30, 1903, during a sold-out matinee performance, a fire broke out in Chicago's Iroquois Theatre. In the short span of twenty minutes, more than six hundred people, two thirds of whom were women and children, were asphyxiated, burned, or trampled to death in a panicked mob's failed attempt to escape. A century after the fire - the deadliest in American history - Nat Brandt provides the only detailed chronicle of this horrific blaze to assess not only the titanic tragedy of the fire itself but also the municipal corruption and greed that kindled the flames beforehand and the political cover-ups hidden in the smoke and ash afterwards. Advertised as "absolutely fireproof," the Iroquois was Chicago's most modern playhouse when it opened in the fall of 1903. With the approval of the city's building department, theater developers Harry J. Powers and William J. Davis opened the theater prematurely to take full advantage of the holiday crowds, ignoring flagrant safety violations in the process. During the matinee on this particular Wednesday, all 1,724 seats were filled and an additional two hundred people were standing. Midway through the second act, a spark from a defective light ignited a drop curtain and the blaze spread quickly to the scenery. Roof vents designed to handle smoke and heat were sealed off, and the fire curtain snagged before it could shield the audience from danger. A blast of gaseous fumes shot across the auditorium from an open stage door and asphyxiated hundreds of theatergoers almost instantly. Others were trampled or burned to death in the panic that ensued as they struggled to escape through locked exits, succeeding only in piling body upon body as the flames closed in. For days afterward, Chicago mourned as relatives and friends searched hospitals for missing loved ones. The aftermath of the fire proved to be a study in the miscarriage of justice. Despite overwhelming evidence that the building was not complete, that fire safety laws were ignored, and that management had deliberately sealed off exits during the performance, no one was ever convicted or otherwise held accountable for the enormous loss of life.

Über diese Auflage

• Verlag: Southern Illinois University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0809324903
• ISBN 13: 9780809324903
• Einband: Tapa dura
• Anzahl der Seiten: 240