The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

Flesh & Blood So Cheap:
The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy
by Albert Marrin
Knopf, 2011
182 pages
for readers 11+

On March 25, 1911, 146 people died during a fire, most likely started by a tossed-away cigarette, in Greenwich Village's Triangle Waist Company, which manufactured women's blouses. Most of the deceased were women, some teenagers, and most were recent immigrants from Italy and Russia. Albert Marrin's book about the before and after of that horrific event, during which many jumped from the burning building, covers a lot of ground: immigration history, feminism, labor history, Tammany Hall politics, safety reform, and organized crime, but the most gripping chapters focus on the devastating fire itself, which "sent ripples of misery in all directions." Black and white photographs from the time period enhance the well-researched text.

Flesh & Blood So Cheap, a finalist for the National Book Award in Young People's Literature, is also on the long list for the Cybil Award in the middle grade/young adult nonfiction category. The National Book Awards are announced on November 16th, and the Cybil shortlists on January 1st. 

On Mondays a number of the children's literature blogs feature nonfiction; you'll find today's roundup at Charlotte's Library.

 cover image from Powell's Books

Comments

[Leslie Bulion]

Thanks for sharing this interesting book. I'm looking forward to reading it!