A Matter of Degree by Don Massey & Rick Davey

I'd never heard of the fire that nearly destroyed the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey circus in 1944. Recently, I met one of the authors, Don Massey, and he gave me a copy of this book. I was curious to read it as soon as I could.

The first half of the book is very moving and sometimes difficult to read. The authors made good use of some foreshadowing of the horrific fire that occurred in Hartford, CT on July 6, 1944, including two previous small fires in the same week, a cancelled performance and a red moon--all spelling doom to suspicious circus performers and employees. In addition, one of the families followed, the Cooks, went on an outing and a young girl drowned while they were at the scene.

There is pathos in this part of the book, too, and that's what makes it so gripping. The mother, Mildred Cook, is loving and devoted to the point where she made a most painful decision. Because her worthless husband abandoned her and the children, she gave custody of the young ones to her brother so that she could work and earn money to eke out an existence to help support them. She would see her three children only rarely and that July 4th holiday of 1944, she planned some very special activities for them to enjoy.

As a mother, I can only imagine the horror of being in an enclosed place like the circus, enjoying the show with my kids--a big treat in those days--and then having this killer fire break out. In those days, tents were waterproofed by using a mixture of wax and gasoline which is deadly in a fire--it makes napalm. Because WWII was still raging, fire proofing supplies weren't available. The fire burned at such an intensity metal melted and bodies were fused together. In the stampede to escape, Mildred Cook was separated from two of her children.

Another person was introduced--a disturbed young pyromaniac recently hired by the circus. Not so coincidentally, the fires all occurred after the teenager was hired as a member of the crew who had access to lighting materials.

Most of the people killed in the fire were women and children. One young girl virtually untouched by the flames was never identified and was buried anonymously as "Little Miss 1565".

The second part of the book was devoted to the research and hard work of a fire investigator named Rick Davey. He was captivated by the little girl's picture and saddened she'd never been identified. As he worked to learn her identity, he uncovered some very shocking things that had been covered up by the investigator for the City of Hartford. He also learned the identity of the little girl lost in the terrible tragedy.

This is a very good book for those interested in our history and in justice.