To Sleep with the Angels, John Kuenster
To Sleep with the Angels, John Kuenster
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

To Sleep with the Angels
The Story of a Fire

Author: John Kuenster, David Cowan

Narrator: Sean Runnette

Unabridged: 11 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/14/2017


Synopsis

If burying a child has a special poignancy, the tragedy at a Catholic elementary school in Chicago almost fifty years ago was an extraordinary moment of grief. One of the deadliest fires in American history, it took the lives of ninety-two children and three nuns at Our Lady of the Angels School, left many families physically and psychologically scarred for life, and destroyed a close-knit working-class neighborhood. This is the moving story of that fire and its consequences, written by two journalists who have been obsessed with the events of that terrible day in December 1958. It is a story of ordinary people caught up in a disaster that shocked the nation. In gripping detail, those who were there—children, teachers, firefighters—describe the fear, desperation, and panic that prevailed in and around the stricken school building on that cold Monday afternoon. But beyond the flames, the story of the fire at Our Lady of the Angels became an enigma whose mystery has deepened with time: its cause was never officially explained despite evidence that it had been intentionally set by a troubled student at the school.

About John Kuenster

John Kuenster (1924-2012) was a sportswriter for the Chicago Daily News and the editor of Baseball Digest. He wrote several books, including At Home and Away and Remembrances of the Angels.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Eric_W

The devastating fire that occurred in early December 1958 at Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago had a lasting impact on school construction. Almost before the 5-11 alarm was struck and more than eighty fire companies arrived on the scene, 92 children and 3 nuns died, most of them on the second......more

Goodreads review by Jan C

oh, boy! I had my review almost written when I saw that I was writing it for the paperback edition, except I was reading a hardcover. So, of course I had to change it right away. Well written. It was a real tear-jerker for me because I remember the fire. We had just moved to a big suburb of Chicago f......more

Goodreads review by Michael

Amazing book!! Very sad. Very tragic. This book is extremely well written. Easy to follow and very well researched. Even though there is a lot of information it is easily absorbed and it reads like you are watching a movie. The balance of pre-fire, the actual event and the aftermath is perfect. No u......more