Triangle

The Fire That Changed America

By: David Von Drehle

Narrated by: Barrett Whitener

“Outstanding… social history at its best.” –The New York Times Book Review

“An amazing, long-forgotten tale. A riveting history written with flair and precision.”—Bob Woodward

In one of the most honored books of the year, David Von Drehle transports us to a beautiful spring day in March 1911 when 146 workers—most of them young immigrant women—lost their lives. Employees had just begun preparing to leave the Triangle shirtwaist factory in New York’s Greenwich Village when a fire broke out and within minutes consumed the building’s upper three stories.It was the worst workplace disaster in New York City history until 9/11.

“Animated by vigorous, descriptive prose, Triangle carries the reader deep into a portrait of early-twentieth-century New York . . . when colorful machine politicians battled socialists, suffragists and upright progressive reformers for the soul of an increasingly immigrant city.” —Chicago Tribune

“Von Drehle’s spellbinding and detailed reconstruction of the disaster is complemented by an equally gripping account of the factory owners’ subsequent manslaughter trial (they got off scot-free), drawing on court records he helped unearth.” —The New York Times

“Behind the fire lay the extraordinary history of sweatshop labor and the fledgling beginnings of union organizing. The heart of Von Drehle’s book is its detailed, nuanced, mesmerizing description of the fire. The descriptions . . .leave a reader staring into space.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

Praise for David Von Drehle's Triangle:
New York Times Extended List Best Seller • New York Times Book Review Notable Book •Washington Post Book World Rave of the Year • New York Public Library Book of the Year • New York Society Library Book of the Year • Fresh Air Critic’s Top Book of 2003 • Hadassah Top Ten Jewish Best Seller • ALA Notable Book of the Year • Winner of the 2004 Christopher Award • Winner of the 2004 Sidney Hillman Foundation Award •Amazon Top 50 Books of the Year • San Jose Mercury News Best Book • Rocky Mountain News Best Book • Providence Journal Critic’s Choice



Cover design by Marcia Salo and Charles Rue Woods
Cover photograph courtesy of Culver Pictures
Photo imaging by Michael Tedesco
Grove Press books are distributed by Publishers Group West
Reading Group Guide available online at www.groveatlantic.com
PRINTED IN THE USA 0904

Interesting but Loong

The "Triangle" book furnishes every possible detail regarding the sad fire, the victims, and. The aftermath. As a historic reference work it is great, but as an audio book it's so filled with facts, figures, columns of names that it is difficult to keep track. An audio version would do well to be about half the length. Even better would be to purchase the book version so that the reader can easily flip back and forth to verify names and timeline. On the plus side, the narration is excellent; crisp, clear and the perfect tempo.

If you like this kind of history book its great.

Its nice to hear the whole story on something. Maybe one day we will get to read a book that puts September 11th into a nice little package.

Great book!

I so enjoyed this history, which takes the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory as its core. Although focusing on the factory, its workers and bosses, and the fire, the author also examines all the other historical pieces that contributed and the results afterwards.

I thought the performer was excellent.

Highly recommend!

Fantastic!

Amazing. Though it's a nonfiction book, it paints a picture with a narrative that feels like fiction to put the reader right there among the strikers and the fire victims. This story should be required for everyone studying women's history.

Historical Importance

This book appears to have been extremely well-researched and was fascinating to read about both the events leading up to the fire, as well as gaining more of the social, political and historic context for these events.

Am very glad I read (& listened) to this book as I learned things about that time period and the fire that I never knew - as well as how significant this event was in shaping future laws and political direction. The beginning portion of book was a bit dry, largely due to all of the social/political context and straight history (almost read like as a textbook), but it was a compelling read overall, and very well-done.