 | | | | The Winecoff Fire: The Untold Story of America's Deadliest Hotel Fire |  | Authors: Sam Heys, Allen B. Goodwin
Publisher: Longstreet Pr
Category: Book
Buy New: $40.50
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $16.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (14 reviews)
Sales Rank: 343072
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Original Language), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 234
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 1563520699
Dewey Decimal Number: 975.8231
EAN: 9781563520693
ASIN: 1563520699
Publication Date: April 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Fast paced and readable but lacks structure August 20, 2008
The Winecoff Fire was a fast paced, interesting and for the most part highly readable book. Approximately the first half of the book is taken up with the fire itself and the second half deals with the aftermath and investigation. Obviously the pace slows after the description of the fire, but it is well written and doesn't seem to drag. However there are what I consider several serious structural flaws with the book that prevent me from giving it an excellent review. Primarily the book has no index, list of illustrations, endnotes, list of sources or references.
The failure to include an index was extremely irritating because it meant it was very hard to keep up with what happened to various individuals. The journalistic style used to keep it fast paced meant that you did not always find out what happened to a person all at once. I seemed to spend a considerable amount of time flicking backwards and forwards to get a good overview of what exactly happened to an individual throughout the fire. For example Bob and Pauline Bault's experiences were often hard to follow due to the lack of an index.
Although there are numerous illustrations which is good there is no list of illustrations. The pictures all seemed to be press pictures unfortunately printed directly on to the page which seemed to affect the quality of the image as some were very grainy i.e. they were not on superior quality paper inserts. The best example of this is Arnold Hardy's Pulitzer winning photograph of the lady falling. The street plan in Chapter One is also virtually unreadable in places.
I assume that the authors did extensive research in writing what seems to be quite an authoritive book. However there are no endnotes or list of sources and references. In my opinion the book loses all credence without them. The reader is left in the dark as to when and where information was gleaned whether from personal interviews with survivors in the recent past, press reports at the time of the fire or other historical documents and records.
I am quite annoyed at the lack of academic structure which can only enhance a book. I have never agreed with the argument that the general public are put off reading books which have any hint of academic structure such as citations, in fact as a member of the public I find it insulting. I really don't know whether it was the authors or publishers who decided that there should be no index and no references but I can't help but feel that it was a serious mistake. It undermines all the hard work the authors have done as the book cannot be taken seriously as a true retelling of a historical event without references. I didn't expect them to be exhaustive but I did expect them to be there in one form or another.
On a positive note if you decide to read this book please do so whilst referring to the excellent website about the Winecoff maintained by Allen B. Goodwin, one of the co-authors. The website contains all sorts of information that must not have been available at the time of publication. Ultimately I feel that this book deserves to be reprinted and updated. It could have been a truly authoritative work and still could be.
 great read June 19, 2008
When I received this book - I started reading it and couldn't put it down. It detailed a night in Atlanta history that I've only heard mentioned in passing. This fire truly changed the fire codes across the country and for that we should be thankful.
I found it interesting that the hotel has been renovated under another name. I will make a point to visit it next time I'm in Atlanta.
An unexpected bonus is that the author of this book is the person who sold the book to me - and he autographed it. He is still very interested in meeting anyone with a family connection to any of the victims of this fire to hear their stories.
 MY GRANDFATHERS PICTURE January 30, 2001
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
During the Winecoff Fire, Newton Elmer Pittman, my grandfather (who was a Fireman) was taken to the hospital 3 different times for smoke inhalation. The first time, he left the hospital AMA to return to the fire, the second time the hospital kept his boots and the 3rd time, the hospital kept his clothing and undergarments. You will see him on a ladder crossing to the hotel and the joke was that all he had on at the time was a borrowed fireman's raincoat with nothing underneath. He still would not quit. We bought the book for that particular photograph! He will always be my hero!.
MY GRANDFATHERS PICTURE January 30, 2001
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
During the Winecoff Fire, My grandfather (who was a Fireman) was taken to the hospital 3 different times for smoke inhalation. The first time, he left the hospital AMA to return to the fire, the second time the hospital kept his boots and the 3rd time, the hospital kept his clothing and undergarments. You will see him on a ladder crossing to the hotel and the joke was that all he had on at the time was a borrowed fireman's raincoat with nothing underneath. He still would not quit. We bought the book for that particular photograph! He will always be my hero!.
Always Think Twice October 18, 2000
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The vivid descriptions of the fate of so many people trapped or killed by this fire made it difficult to put this book down. These people were like you and me. I will never check into a hotel again without looking for the nearest exits.... just in case. The last two chapters of the book were a bit harder to follow, as they didn't seem to mesh with the style of the earlier chapters. Perhaps it was because the details of the fire were so gripping that is was almost a letdown once the story line switched to the attempt to solve the mystery of the fire's origin. Regardless, this is a good, quick read that will make you think twice before you check in to a hotel or high-rise on your next trip.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| | |