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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
4.5 Stars
This is a fascinating book on the triangle shirtwaist factory fire.... or more accurately, it's a fascinating book on the intricacies of the reforms that were stirring before the fire and played out after the fire. The fire itself, while covered in precise and exciting, if not horrific, detail, isn't the center stage of the story. The effects of said fire are.
The author explains the events that occurred before the fire: strikes for labor reforms like worker safety carried out by the same workers later killed by the fire, along with thousands of others, and the collapsing old Tammany machine of new york city to name a few. Effortlessly introducing new characters left and right, the author doesn't leave a perspective untold in this book. From rich millionaire suffragists to the owners of the factory, harris, and blanck, people are built into characters through just a few paragraphs on their origins. For someone with a lot of memory issues concerning names, this book is surprisingly easy to follow. Each person that plays any significant role in the story of the factory fire is easy to remember.
What I liked most about the book was the way that it was able to explain the motives, backgrounds, and futures of the characters and how those three things tied into the current story of the reforms and the fire, showing both why the fire happened and how it would affect those lives who were touched by it. But most importantly, seen from my use of the term character to describe real people, the people described in this book come alive for me.
However, what the author does brilliantly for each person mentioned, the author does poorly for the story as a whole. After the fire descriptions, the book wraps up very quickly. This might be due to the amount of context before the fire making detail about the later reforms unneeded, but those following reforms felt less detailed and developed than the rest of the book. It felt like the author was building context for something he ended up making a quick study of in the end. Instead, the author focused a little too much on the spectacle of the trial against harris and blanck.
tl;dr this book is definitely worth the read and is very well articulated and researched, especially since there aren't that many books about the fire on its own. However, it felt a little underdeveloped in areas, like the author either didn't have enough resources or didn't spend as much time researching.
This is a fascinating book on the triangle shirtwaist factory fire.... or more accurately, it's a fascinating book on the intricacies of the reforms that were stirring before the fire and played out after the fire. The fire itself, while covered in precise and exciting, if not horrific, detail, isn't the center stage of the story. The effects of said fire are.
The author explains the events that occurred before the fire: strikes for labor reforms like worker safety carried out by the same workers later killed by the fire, along with thousands of others, and the collapsing old Tammany machine of new york city to name a few. Effortlessly introducing new characters left and right, the author doesn't leave a perspective untold in this book. From rich millionaire suffragists to the owners of the factory, harris, and blanck, people are built into characters through just a few paragraphs on their origins. For someone with a lot of memory issues concerning names, this book is surprisingly easy to follow. Each person that plays any significant role in the story of the factory fire is easy to remember.
What I liked most about the book was the way that it was able to explain the motives, backgrounds, and futures of the characters and how those three things tied into the current story of the reforms and the fire, showing both why the fire happened and how it would affect those lives who were touched by it. But most importantly, seen from my use of the term character to describe real people, the people described in this book come alive for me.
However, what the author does brilliantly for each person mentioned, the author does poorly for the story as a whole. After the fire descriptions, the book wraps up very quickly. This might be due to the amount of context before the fire making detail about the later reforms unneeded, but those following reforms felt less detailed and developed than the rest of the book. It felt like the author was building context for something he ended up making a quick study of in the end. Instead, the author focused a little too much on the spectacle of the trial against harris and blanck.
tl;dr this book is definitely worth the read and is very well articulated and researched, especially since there aren't that many books about the fire on its own. However, it felt a little underdeveloped in areas, like the author either didn't have enough resources or didn't spend as much time researching.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Much more than a look at one of the worst industrial accidents in US history, Von Drehle’s Triangle delves into the politics of Tammany Hall, the misery of the tenements, the determination of striking workers, and the terrors that immigrants fled to come to the US. He explores the lives of some of the fire victims as well as those of the industrialists who focused on profits, not safety. The author researched an event which was difficult to document as so much of the original information had been lost.
The description of the fire itself is horrifying but the aftermath, where the owners weren’t held liable for any of the injuries and deaths, is infuriating. Luckily , industrial reforms followed and factory safety was improved. However, bosses still lock doors to keep employees from stealing, and people continue to die to save the owners a bit of money. (I vividly recall the poultry processing plant fire in Hamlet NC where a locked door resulted in multiple deaths.)
I admit I’d have liked some drawings showing the layout of the building and the factory floors but I never found any after searching online. Maybe there wasn’t enough detailed info to create graphics so the author was forced to leave that out.
Highly recommended for those who love social history. It fills in all the details of a vibrant period in New York City and brings the people to life far beyond their deaths.
The description of the fire itself is horrifying but the aftermath, where the owners weren’t held liable for any of the injuries and deaths, is infuriating. Luckily , industrial reforms followed and factory safety was improved. However, bosses still lock doors to keep employees from stealing, and people continue to die to save the owners a bit of money. (I vividly recall the poultry processing plant fire in Hamlet NC where a locked door resulted in multiple deaths.)
I admit I’d have liked some drawings showing the layout of the building and the factory floors but I never found any after searching online. Maybe there wasn’t enough detailed info to create graphics so the author was forced to leave that out.
Highly recommended for those who love social history. It fills in all the details of a vibrant period in New York City and brings the people to life far beyond their deaths.
This book is sad, but is a necessary read for those studying 20th century America. The Triangle incident had a huge impact on the relationship between the United States' government and the business world.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
An excellent read for anyone interested in the topics of early progressive American movements or New York history.
The author's account of the titular fire was so vividly written, it could very well lay the groundwork for a screenplay.
In addition to a great account of the specific fire, the events socially and politically leading up to the fire are clearly detailed, as well as the resultant consequences (or lack there of).
The author's account of the titular fire was so vividly written, it could very well lay the groundwork for a screenplay.
In addition to a great account of the specific fire, the events socially and politically leading up to the fire are clearly detailed, as well as the resultant consequences (or lack there of).
On March 25, 1911, just before closing time, a fire broke out at the Triangle Waist Company factory in New York City and quickly raged out of control. Due to a combination of poor building design, a lack of proper leadership, and the absence of any type of disaster preparedness or safety protocols, the fire would kill 146 people, some as young as 14 years of age. This book presents the events of that day, the progress of the fire and the ensuing panic in vivid and frightening detail. The background provided on many of the victims and survivors, heroes and villains of the disaster provides a very human element. This book seems to be very well-researched and presents the Triangle fire within the social and political context of the time, describing relevant developments with regard to the garment industry, the immigrant experience, labor reform and women's rights in appropriate detail. I found it to be a very compelling read and highly recommend it.
After reading Leon Stein's book, this is the next work over the Triangle Fire that should be read. Von Drehle takes the story Stein first told and goes deeper into the layers behind the event. Without bogging down readers, he discusses important figures like Charles Murphy and Frances Perkins. He even discusses Max Steuer who was the lawyer for Max Blanck and Issac Harris during the trial after the fire. The story of the judge and his probable opinions on the trial is also fascinating.
By far the best part of the work is how Drehle has weaved Tammany Hall into the story of New York factory work. Of course I knew a lot about Tammany before this, but I had no idea that the machine played such a significant role in the fire and progressive New York. This is a brilliant social history that anyone remotely interested in the topic should read.
By far the best part of the work is how Drehle has weaved Tammany Hall into the story of New York factory work. Of course I knew a lot about Tammany before this, but I had no idea that the machine played such a significant role in the fire and progressive New York. This is a brilliant social history that anyone remotely interested in the topic should read.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
I don't write a summary of the book in my reviews, but rather, things I liked and didn't so those reading this can have a take on multiple sides. Also, if you want the summary... It's above under the book. I don't need to repeat it.
Liked:
- The detailed accounts of what happened in this horrific event according to survivors and witnesses (my appreciation and respect has significantly increased regarding the fire and those involved)
- The histories of the owners and some of the workers (I felt it brought the victims back to life and honored them in ways; as far as the owners, their backgrounds made this more understandable about how such a tragedy could've occurred)
- How the author worded things (talk about a wordsmith!)
Disliked:
- Primarily, my biggest dislike are all the side-notes. There are intricate details and histories of events that did play a part in this catastrophe, but that honestly didn't need to be addressed so much. Example: politics are a headache for me. They're important to what happened, but there is WAY too much history that really could have been a, "Oh, look at this detail. Let me make a note to Google and read more on this later. For now, let's figure out why it was brought up in relation to the topic at hand."
While beautifully and accurately researched, it was out of context, in my opinion, in several places. If I wanted to know the depth of detail, which seemed to be vignettes themselves, I'd have done my own research. These things are crucial to the history itself of what happened, but could've been condensed and still made accurate points in relation overall.
Needless to say, it was incredibly difficult to keep my attention with all the side tangents.
Rating: 3/5 because while intruguing, keeping my attention wasn't easy in more places than not, despite my love of history.
Liked:
- The detailed accounts of what happened in this horrific event according to survivors and witnesses (my appreciation and respect has significantly increased regarding the fire and those involved)
- The histories of the owners and some of the workers (I felt it brought the victims back to life and honored them in ways; as far as the owners, their backgrounds made this more understandable about how such a tragedy could've occurred)
- How the author worded things (talk about a wordsmith!)
Disliked:
- Primarily, my biggest dislike are all the side-notes. There are intricate details and histories of events that did play a part in this catastrophe, but that honestly didn't need to be addressed so much. Example: politics are a headache for me. They're important to what happened, but there is WAY too much history that really could have been a, "Oh, look at this detail. Let me make a note to Google and read more on this later. For now, let's figure out why it was brought up in relation to the topic at hand."
While beautifully and accurately researched, it was out of context, in my opinion, in several places. If I wanted to know the depth of detail, which seemed to be vignettes themselves, I'd have done my own research. These things are crucial to the history itself of what happened, but could've been condensed and still made accurate points in relation overall.
Needless to say, it was incredibly difficult to keep my attention with all the side tangents.
Rating: 3/5 because while intruguing, keeping my attention wasn't easy in more places than not, despite my love of history.
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
This is an exceptional account of the events leading up to and from the fire at the Triangle factory. It is easy to see Von Drehle really dug into his research. His chapter on the moment by moment movements of the fire left me in tears. This was a heartbreaking and pivotal moment for labor rights in American history and a time we should never forget.