Triangle: The Fire That Changed America
3 journalers for this copy...
I love reading about history, and had heard of the Triangle shirtwaist factory fire so when I happened to find this book at the library sale, I knew I wanted to read it.
From the cover -
On March 25, 1911, as workers were getting ready to leave for the day, a fire broke out in the Triangle shirtwaist factory in New York's Greenwich Village. Within minutes it spread to consume the building's upper three stories. Firemen who arrived at the scene were unable to rescue those trapped inside: their ladders simply weren't tall enough. People on the street watched in horror as desperate workers jumped to their deaths. The final toll was 146 people - 123 of them women. It was the worst workplace disaster in New York City history.
This harrowing yet compulsively readable book is both a chronicle of the Triangle shirtwaist fire and a vibrant portrait of an entire age. It follows the waves of Jewish and Italian immigration that inundated New York in the early years of the century, filling its slums and supplying its garment factories with cheap, mostly female labor. It portrays the Dickensian work conditions that led to a massive waist-worker's strike in which an unlikely coalition of socialists, socialites, and suffragettes took on bosses, police, and magistrates. Von Drehle shows how popular revulsion at the Triangle catastrophe led to an unprecedented alliance between idealistic labor reformers and the supremely pragmatic politicians of the Tammany machine.
David von Drehle orchestrates these events into a drama rich in suspense and filled with memorable characters: the tight-fisted "shirtwaist kings" Max Blanck and Isaac Harris; Charles F. Murphy, the shrewd kingmaker of Tammany Hall; blue-blooded activists like Anne Morgan, daughter of J. P. Morgan; and reformers Frances Perkins and Al Smith. Most powerfully, he puts a human face on the men and women who died on March 25. Triangle is an immensely moving account of the hardships of New York City life in the early part of the twentieth century, and how this event transformed politics and gave rise to urban liberalism.
From the cover -
On March 25, 1911, as workers were getting ready to leave for the day, a fire broke out in the Triangle shirtwaist factory in New York's Greenwich Village. Within minutes it spread to consume the building's upper three stories. Firemen who arrived at the scene were unable to rescue those trapped inside: their ladders simply weren't tall enough. People on the street watched in horror as desperate workers jumped to their deaths. The final toll was 146 people - 123 of them women. It was the worst workplace disaster in New York City history.
This harrowing yet compulsively readable book is both a chronicle of the Triangle shirtwaist fire and a vibrant portrait of an entire age. It follows the waves of Jewish and Italian immigration that inundated New York in the early years of the century, filling its slums and supplying its garment factories with cheap, mostly female labor. It portrays the Dickensian work conditions that led to a massive waist-worker's strike in which an unlikely coalition of socialists, socialites, and suffragettes took on bosses, police, and magistrates. Von Drehle shows how popular revulsion at the Triangle catastrophe led to an unprecedented alliance between idealistic labor reformers and the supremely pragmatic politicians of the Tammany machine.
David von Drehle orchestrates these events into a drama rich in suspense and filled with memorable characters: the tight-fisted "shirtwaist kings" Max Blanck and Isaac Harris; Charles F. Murphy, the shrewd kingmaker of Tammany Hall; blue-blooded activists like Anne Morgan, daughter of J. P. Morgan; and reformers Frances Perkins and Al Smith. Most powerfully, he puts a human face on the men and women who died on March 25. Triangle is an immensely moving account of the hardships of New York City life in the early part of the twentieth century, and how this event transformed politics and gave rise to urban liberalism.
An excellent non-fiction read that I've finally gotten around to (thanks to Hyphen8!). Von Drehle pulls together lots of info about early 20th-century politics (Tammany Hall, which up until now I was never quite sure what that was), early labor reforms, and the conditions at the Triangle Waist Company. Easy to read, he shines a light on a somewhat forgotten event in 1911. He thoroughly covers all the aspects of this time and place, the immigrants, living and working conditions, and captures the realities of life at that time. A wonderful book, highly recommended!
This will soon be in the mail, on its way to a tropical paradise.
This will soon be in the mail, on its way to a tropical paradise.
Journal Entry 3 by 
maryzee
at Wishlist Surprise, A RABCK -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, May 24, 2012
maryzee at Wishlist Surprise, A RABCK -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, May 24, 2012
Released 11 yrs ago (5/24/2012 UTC) at Wishlist Surprise, A RABCK -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Not exactly a wishlist surprise, but a wishlist tag. Enjoy!
Arrived today as a wishlist tag book - thanks very much.
I've been trying to remember which book I first encountered this fire in many years ago...I thought it was something fictional involving time travel, but that might have been Jack Finney's Time and Again, which featured a different fire.
Here's another copy on my BookCrossing shelf.
--
Took this book along with me on my trip to the East Coast hoping to finish it and leave it in NYC.
A fascinating look at the circumstances that led up to the event, what happened during the (surprisingly short) time of the actual fire, and the aftermath. This was one of the worst workplace disasters ever until 9/11/2001 (in other words, for 90 years) and it's very sad to think of all the untold stories of the garment workers who perished. On the other hand, the fire was the catalyst for a lot of workplace safety and labor reform, so at least *something* good came out of it. Here's a good resource for more info about the fire: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire.
Finished on the train headed back into the city and taken to the NYC BookCrosser's meetup group. It was great to meet a bunch of other BC'ers - thanks for welcoming me!
--
Journaled before I could officially release it, but released for GoryDetails's 2012 Chills & Spills Challenge anyway.
I've been trying to remember which book I first encountered this fire in many years ago...I thought it was something fictional involving time travel, but that might have been Jack Finney's Time and Again, which featured a different fire.
Here's another copy on my BookCrossing shelf.
--
Took this book along with me on my trip to the East Coast hoping to finish it and leave it in NYC.
A fascinating look at the circumstances that led up to the event, what happened during the (surprisingly short) time of the actual fire, and the aftermath. This was one of the worst workplace disasters ever until 9/11/2001 (in other words, for 90 years) and it's very sad to think of all the untold stories of the garment workers who perished. On the other hand, the fire was the catalyst for a lot of workplace safety and labor reform, so at least *something* good came out of it. Here's a good resource for more info about the fire: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire.
Finished on the train headed back into the city and taken to the NYC BookCrosser's meetup group. It was great to meet a bunch of other BC'ers - thanks for welcoming me!
--
Journaled before I could officially release it, but released for GoryDetails's 2012 Chills & Spills Challenge anyway.
I haven't been to a swap in 2 years and this lovely woman visiting from Hawaii walked in the door with this book. I went nuts! I started reading it on the train home and will be bringing it back to the swap as soon as I'm done!
