Trial by Fire: A Devastating Tragedy, 100 Lives Lost, and a 15-Year Search for Truth
Description
As featured on the CBS News program 48 Hours
**2021 New England Society Book Award Winner for Contemporary Nonfiction
In only 90 seconds, a fire in the Station nightclub killed 100 people and injured hundreds more. It would take nearly 20 years to find out why--and who was really at fault.
All it took for a hundred people to die during a show by the hair metal band Great White was a sudden burst from four giant sparklers that ignited the acoustical foam lining the Station nightclub. But who was at fault? And who would pay? This being Rhode Island, the two questions wouldn't necessarily have the same answer.
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About the Author
Reviews
"Everything you thought you knew about the [Station nightclub] fire is probably wrong....Trial By Fire details the many misconceptions about the blaze....This is not a book simply about uncovering truths. This is about the people whose lives were changed forever by the blaze....Trial by Fire reminds us that tragedies do not always have villains, but they do have flawed humans and institutions. And the result is that there are victims, and in the case of The Station nightclub fire, far too many of them."--Mike Kirby, The Sun Chronicle (Attleboro, MA)
The author's account is minutely detailed, its technical discussions punctuated by human-interest-story portraits of the victims...An unsettling history of horrific events whose memory is still fresh. --Kirkus Reviews James draws on his knowledge of the state's politics and interviews with the principal players to present a complete, affecting picture of the tragedy's terrible human cost. This is essential reading for true crime fans. --Publisher's Weekly When Scott James tells the tragedy of The Station nightclub fire, he does for Rhode Island what Truman Capote did for Kansas. With new evidence and interviews, he traces the horror that left 100 dead and hundreds more scarred for life, and in James' new investigation, none are spared. From the judicial system to the media to the club owners and vendors, each is subjected to a reporter's skepticism, and an insider's unflinching compassion. This is journalism as it is meant to be. --Raj Patel, New York Times bestselling author of The Value of Nothing Well-researched and well written... it is well worth reading for true crime fans who are tired of serial killers. --Booklist "Trial by Fire sucks you in faster than flames racing across an oil-based ceiling before pulling you into the wrangling and untangling of the aftermath. Scott James' investigative journalism reads like an Agatha Christie whodunit." --Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Alex Storozynski, author of The Peasant Prince"Trial by Fire is an incredible work of investigative writing and storytelling that thankfully never loses sight of the people at the heart of this awful tragedy. This is a story of community, of those that existed prior to the horrific events at The Station Nightclub and those that were born out of it. James brings the proper amount of compassion, skepticism and nuance to construct a narrative that is as engaging as it is, at times, alarming." --Academy Award winning filmmaker Daniel Lindsay, for best documentary "Undefeated."
