Twenty years of silence. No one talked about it. No one wanted to. The public was shocked by ghastly televised images of an uncontrollable inferno and of the endless views of twisted, charred remains of what had been billed as "The Showplace of the Nation", now reduced to smoldering rubble with 167 of its guests dead. How could this happen? From its notorious early years of illegal gambling, glamorous night life, and organized crime to its reborn reputation as one of the finest entertainment and dining establishments in the country, the Beverly Hills Supper Club was frequented by the biggest stars, governors, politicians, and athletes of its day and never failed to deliver a good time. But, On May 28, 1977, the final curtain fell. Now you can know what really happened. Follow long-time Beverly Hills dealer, waiter, and finally captain, Wayne Dammert, in his personal inside account, Inside the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire, of this renowned showplace and the horrifying events of one of our nations' worst disasters. Wayne Dammert and other survivors tell the inside story: true eyewitness accounts of the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire.

Describes a disastrous nightclub fire which claimed 165 lives, discusses the cause of the fire, and looks at the subsequent legal actions

In 1977, at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, 165 people died in a tragic fire. Covered by news outlets across the country, many still associate tragedy with this popular entertainment destination. The club's legacy, however, stretches back to the 1950s, when it was known as the Beverly Hills Country Club. Folks from across the nation came here to see the best shows in town and to gamble in the casino. Considered the finest nightclub in the Cincinnati area, it showcased lavish entertainment at a time when television and rock and roll were still in their infancy. Beverly Hills presented all of the day's top entertainers: Liberace, Milton Berle, Carol Channing, Mel Torme, Jimmy Durante, Tony Bennett, and a galaxy of other world-famous headliners. This book reveals a host of those wonderful and diverse performers as they prepare backstage for their shows, chat with musicians, and strike poses for the camera. Featuring photographs taken by Earl W. Clark, who played saxophone in the Beverly Hills house band from 1951 to 1962, Images of America: Beverly Hills Country Club includes hundreds of the talented artists who graced the stage, as well as the crowds who saw them perform.

Controlled by the heavy hand of the mob and fueled by government corruption, Newport evolved through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries into a notoriously robust center of criminal activity. With top political and law enforcement officials often on the take, the seedy status quo became so excessive that a May 1961 issue of Time magazine declared, “Newport has developed such a gaudy brand of gambling and prostitution that it stands today as one of the nation’s most blatant sin centers.” Eastern Kentucky University Professors Gary Potter and Thomas Barker, both experts on organized crime, along with Jenna Meglen, offer up a captivating chronicle of Newport’s criminal development, complete with thought-provoking assessments of the possible advantages that organized crime brought to the city commonly considered to be Las Vegas’s predecessor.

The definitive book on The Station nightclub fire on the 10th anniversary of the disaster

A blow-by-blow account of the deadliest fire in American history retraces the final days of the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago, a supposedly indestructible building that burned killing more than six hundred people.

Contributors with backgrounds in philosophy, theology, science fiction, and children's literature bring their expertise to this critical investigation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, and the insights it offers to today's world.

The acclaimed author of A Prayer for the Dying brings all his narrative gifts to bear on this gripping account of tragedy and heroism—the great Hartford circus fire of 1944. It was a midsummer afternoon, halfway through a Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus performance, when the big top caught fire. The tent had been waterproofed with a mixture of paraffin and gasoline; in seconds it was burning out of control. More than 8,000 people were trapped inside, and the ensuing disaster would eventually take 167 lives. Steward O'Nan brings all his narrative gifts to bear on this gripping account of the great Hartford circus fire of 1944. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of survivors, O'Nan skillfully re-creates the horrific events and illuminates the psychological oddities of human behavior under stress: the mad scramble for the exits; the perilous effort to maneuver animals out of danger; the hero who tossed dozens of children to safety before being trampled to death. Brilliantly constructed and exceptionally moving, The Circus Fire is history at its most compelling.

Fire safety is a major concern in many industries, particularly as there have been significant increases in recent years in the quantities of hazardous materials in process, storage or transport. Plants are becoming larger and are often situated in or close to densely populated areas, and the hazards are continually highlighted with incidents such as the fires and explosions at the Piper Alpha oil and gas platform, and the Enschede firework factory. As a result, greater attention than ever before is now being given to the evaluation and control of these hazards. In a comprehensive treatment of the subject unavailable elsewhere, this book describes in detail the applications of hazard and risk analysis to fire safety, going on to develop and apply quantification methods. It also gives an explanation in quantitative terms of improvements in fire safety in association with the costs that are expended in their achievement. Furthermore, a quantitative approach is applied to major fire and explosion disasters to demonstrate crucial faults and events. Featuring: Full international coverage and a review of several major fires and explosion disasters. Presentation of the properties and science of fire including the latest research. Detailed coverage of the performance of fire safety measures. This is an essential book for practitioners in fire safety engineering, loss prevention professionals, technical personnel in insurance companies as well as academics involved in fire science and postgraduate students. This book is also a useful reference for fire safety officers, building designers, engineers in the process industries, safety practitioners and risk assessment consultants.