First published in November 1959, this is the bestselling account of the fire at The Cocoanut Grove, a premier nightclub during the post-Prohibition 1930s and 1940s in Boston, Massachusetts, on the night of November 28, 1942. It was the scene of the deadliest nightclub fire in history, killing 492 people and injuring hundreds more. The scale of the tragedy shocked the nation and briefly replaced the events of World War II in newspaper headlines. It led to a reform of safety standards and codes across the U.S., and to major changes in the treatment and rehabilitation of burn victims internationally. Written by radio broadcaster and Boston Globe journalist, Paul Benzaquin, this book is widely regarded as one of the most harrowing tales in the annals of disaster: a story of panic and desperation, of chaos and utter fear, it is also a story of almost incredible courage and ingenuity in the midst of despair. What gives this story lasting value is its emphasis on the aftermath of the fire: the medical innovations wrought by hospital workers in their attempt to save lives; the change in safety regulations brought about by the official enquiry in to the causes of the fire. Paul Benzaquin has scrupulously sifted facts from fancy and with powerful dramatic force molded these and other important elements into a stunning narrative, making Holocaust! a powerful book. Unmissable reading. Contains a detailed layout plan of The Cocanut Grove illustrated with over 20 black-and-white photographs.

Provides a minute-by-minute account of the fire in Boston's Cocoanut Grove nightclub in 1942.

On Saturday night, November 28, 1942, Boston suffered its worst disaster ever. At the city's premier nightspot, the Cocoanut Grove, the largest nightclub fire in U.S. history took the lives of 492 people--nearly one of every two people on the premises. A flash of fire that started in an imitation palm tree rolled through the overcrowded club with breathtaking speed and in a mere eight minutes anyone left in the club was dead or doomed. The Grove was a classic firetrap, the product of greed and indifference on the part of the owners and the politicians who had knowingly allowed such conditions to exist. Against the backdrop of Boston politics, cronyism, and corruption, author John C. Esposito re-creates the drama of the fire and explores the public outcry that followed. In retelling the horrific events of one of America's most cataclysmic tragedies, Esposito has fashioned both an incomparably gripping narrative and a vibrant portrait of the era. But it is the intense, detailed narrative of the fire--harrowing yet compulsively readable--and the trials that followed that will stay with the reader well after they finish this remarkable book. "[Esposito] reminds us that the cautionary tale of the Cocoanut Grove is still relevant today." (New York Law Journal)

On the Night of November 28, 1942, a fire raged through Boston's number one glitter spot, the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in the South End. The worst nightclub fire in American history was over within minutes as flames and fumes swept through the two-story building. Some escaped through luck, fate, or guile, but by midnight, more than five hundred people were dead, dying, or maimed for life. In her gripping narrative, journalist Stephanie Schorow tells the story of the tragic night that made the name "Cocoanut Grove" synonymous with horror and devastation. As Schorow writes, "The inferno reached deep into the city's social structure-its politics, medical care, law enforcement, and religious life-and touched nearly everyone in the Boston area that day, even those who had never set foot in the club." Book jacket.

The definitive book on The Station nightclub fire on the 10th anniversary of the disaster

A blow-by-blow account of the deadliest fire in American history retraces the final days of the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago, a supposedly indestructible building that burned killing more than six hundred people.

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