Tinder Box: The Iroquois Theater Disaster, 1903 by Anthony Hatch

Tinder Box: The Iroquois Theater Disaster, 1903 by Anthony P Hatch Six hundred and two people, mostly women and children, lost their lives in the fire even worse than the Great Chicago Fire that destroyed most of the city in 1873. The Iroquois Theater was advertised as “absolutely fireproof.” It was not. Hatch has written a very readable, but scholarly, look at the causes, failings, politics, and machinations of the owners, builders, managers, politicians, firemen and inspectors charged with safeguarding the lives entrusted to them. Illustrated by 30 pages of photographs and drawings and supported by personal interviews with survivors and voluminous research, he details the fire itself and the changes that resulted from the fire. Any group interested in history, fires or politics will find this an interesting and revealing look at the fire, what lead up to it and the changes it forced. 5 of 5 stars