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2nd out of 51 books
—
30 voters
Watching People Burn
by
Julian Darius (Goodreads Author)
The deadliest school massacre in U.S. history, its victims in grade school. A terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Three separate, coordinated bombings, culminating in a suicide car bomb that killed a public official and sent shrapnel into the crowd. This isn't fantasy. It all really happened... in rural Michigan, in 1927.
This historical screenplay dissects the Bath school disas...more
This historical screenplay dissects the Bath school disas...more
Paperback, 192 pages
Published
November 30th 2011
by Martian Lit
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I received this book as a FirstRead from GoodReads.
I was surprised when I received it and found it was a screenplay, but I quickly delved into it full force, finishing it in one day!
This true story is so tragic, compelling, and, thankfully, detailed- due mostly to the "neighbor" who happened to witness many of the events taking place.
Of course, a little poetic license has to be taken, because no one will ever know the reasons for the lapses in time in the characters lives as well as personal c...more
I was surprised when I received it and found it was a screenplay, but I quickly delved into it full force, finishing it in one day!
This true story is so tragic, compelling, and, thankfully, detailed- due mostly to the "neighbor" who happened to witness many of the events taking place.
Of course, a little poetic license has to be taken, because no one will ever know the reasons for the lapses in time in the characters lives as well as personal c...more
"Watching People Burn" is a precision piece, producing the kind of visceral reaction I expect from great fiction, but my own ambivalence shocked me. From the opening scene, I was pulled into that bygone era by simple but stunning dialogue, while feeling a sense of anticipatory dread. "History offers no explanations, only interpretations." (from the author's notes On the Title and Script) Darius not only took me through a riveting interpretation of the tragedy at Bath, but offered a explanation t...more
This was a quick read. I read it in a few hours. It partly reads quickly because it is written as a screenplay so pages are short. That being said it was a well written story with fascinating characters. Kehoe was a tragic and frightening character. This book reads like a tragic fiction tale and I have to remind myself this was an actual historic event that occurred in our nation's history. There are so many issues to consider as this story moves along. Psychological issues, political issues, fa...more
I received a copy of this book as part of a First Reads giveaway.
This books is a screenplay written formatted into chapters. The first scene describes children in a rural Michigan town getting on the bus to school, a very normal thing. Then we read a description of the bomb going off in the school basement. I was hooked and could barely put the book down after that! The book includes photos from the Toledo Blade newspaper and Monty Ellsworth.
We go back in time and learn about the life and perso...more
This books is a screenplay written formatted into chapters. The first scene describes children in a rural Michigan town getting on the bus to school, a very normal thing. Then we read a description of the bomb going off in the school basement. I was hooked and could barely put the book down after that! The book includes photos from the Toledo Blade newspaper and Monty Ellsworth.
We go back in time and learn about the life and perso...more
I won this book on goodreads and learned a lot about an American tragedy that few people have ever heard of. Julian has written a screen play about a school house that was blown up in 1929. My problem with the book was just that it was a screen play and for me it was a quick read but far from an easy read as all the int ex lines took away from the story and confused me..I liked the story and Juian's interputation of history. We will have to agree to disagree in the comparison to other historic e...more
Dec 04, 2012
Danielle Freeman
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery,
best-of-2012
This is a dramatic and fictionalized account of the true story about a school bombing. The dialogue is crisp and tight. I really felt that the author made every word count! Every word is important, there is not one line of throw away dialogue in the screenplay.
Criminals are made not born.
Criminals are made not born.
written as a screen play but once you get used to the format it's a very good story..and true.
Mar 16, 2012
Chadwick
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
screenplays,
historical-fiction
I first read this on Kindle and then bought the print version for my shelf. Highly recommended!
This is one messed-up story. I can't believe it's true!
a screenplay i recieved as a giveaway from goodreads. i found it a quick read. it was interesting but hard FOR ME to follow though I am sure not most other people will have difficulties following it as it was quite good. a historic tragic tragedy in in itself. written well though scrren plays really are not good for me to read
May 23, 2013
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Margo R
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
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Mar 19, 2013
Em
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q&A with Juli...: Watching People Burn | 5 | 6 | Jun 04, 2012 03:22am |
After graduating magna cum laude from Lawrence University (Appleton, Wisconsin), Julian Darius obtained his M.A. in English, authoring a thesis on John Milton and utopianism. In 2002, he moved to Waikiki, teaching college while obtaining an M.A. in French (high honors) and a Ph.D. in English. In 2011, he founded Martian Lit, an offbeat literary house.
In 1996, while still an undergraduate, Darius f...more
More about Julian Darius...
In 1996, while still an undergraduate, Darius f...more
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Jan 30, 2012 03:40pm