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)

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.

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.

First published in 1993, the award-winning Cherry Grove, Fire Island tells the story of the extraordinary gay and lesbian resort community near New York City. This new paperback edition includes a new preface by the author.

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

Describes the 1911 fire that destroyed the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York's Greenwich Village, the deaths of 146 workers in the fire, and the implications of the catastrophe for twentieth-century politics and labor relations.

A definitive chronicle of the 1871 Chicago Fire as remembered by those who experienced it—from the author of Chicago and the American Literary Imagination. Over three days in October, 1871, much of Chicago, Illinois, was destroyed by one of the most legendary urban fires in history. Incorporated as a city in 1837, Chicago had grown at a breathtaking pace in the intervening decades—and much of the hastily-built city was made of wood. Starting in Catherine and Patrick O’Leary’s barn, the Fire quickly grew out of control, twice jumping branches of the Chicago River on its relentless path through the city’s three divisions. While the death toll was miraculously low, nearly a third of Chicago residents were left homeless and more were instantly unemployed. This popular history of the Great Chicago Fire approaches the subject through the memories of those who experienced it. Chicago historian Carl Smith builds the story around memorable characters, both known to history and unknown, including the likes of General Philip Sheridan and Robert Todd Lincoln. Smith chronicles the city’s rapid growth and its place in America’s post-Civil War expansion. The dramatic story of the fire—revealing human nature in all its guises—became one of equally remarkable renewal, as Chicago quickly rose back up from the ashes thanks to local determination and the world’s generosity. As we approach the fire’s 150th anniversary, Carl Smith’s compelling narrative at last gives this epic event its full and proper place in our national chronicle. “The best book ever written about the fire, a work of deep scholarship by Carl Smith that reads with the forceful narrative of a fine novel. It puts the fire and its aftermath in historical, political and social context. It’s a revelatory pleasure to read.” —Chicago Tribune