Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic Inc., 2004
Pages: 340
Rating: Highly Recommend
Synopsis: Triangle is a poignantly detailed account of the 1911 disaster that horrified the country and changed the course of twentieth-century politics and labor relations. 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 disaster in New York City history. Triangle is a vibrant and immensely moving account that Bob Woodward calls, “A riveting history written with flare and precision.”
Review: As a teenager in the 1990s, I loved reading historical fiction. Sunfire books were my favorite (now out of print). They contained two themes: history and romance. Each book featured a teenage girl who experienced a particular period or event in American history. At the same time, with very few exceptions, the girl was torn between two potential lovers. The girl was typically ahead of her time in ideas and actions and the suitor she almost always chose was the one who approved or or accepted her actions.
When the book titled Rachel begins it is 1910 and 16 year old Rachel Roth and her family are immigrants from Poland to America. When Rachel sees the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, she catches her breath. The magnificent status seems to promise a better life. While life in bustling New York City turns out to be hard, Rachel is happy with her new country and her job at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.
Rachel stayed with me all these years, as did many others in the series. Triangle, the Fire that Changed America was a must-read when I found it. Not only was the subject matter something I was already interested in, but I also seem drawn to non-fiction about disasters. You only have to browse this reading log to see that.
The book started out slow, but finally the chapter about the fire itself drew me in, and I flew through its pages. Finally, I realized that in order to understand the climate under which this fire occurred the author had to set the stage with the political and economic tensions and unrest, not only in immigrant-flooded New York, but around the world.
Most interesting to me is the strong possibility that the tragic fire was intentionally set. That was a shocking revelation, but one that makes a good deal of sense, IF you're the owner of a shirtwaist factory in 1910.
I highly recommend this book. Not only is the reader given a comprehensive look at the world in 1910, a time none of us ever knew, but it becomes obvious why certain laws and regulations are in place now. As the author states in the epilogue, "Their individual lives are mostly lost to us, but their monument and legacy are stitched into our world." The Triangle fire was a pivotal event in American history.
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