I thought I knew a lot about the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire and the labour issues surrounding it, but reading this book made me realize how much more there was to learn. von Drehle paints vivid pictures of New York at the time, as well as the lives of some of the victims, the factory owners, and the key players in the labour and political struggles before and after.

What I found most interesting was how he illuminated New York's political corruption and power struggles and tied that into the picture, showing how the system that was established at times worked both for and against the immigrant workers and their families. I also really appreciated the discussion of the difficulties maintaining the alliance between the poor women workers and the wealthy women socialites who were advocating for reforms - it has similar dynamics to what we see in many social movements today.

Though there is a lot of information packed into this book it's an accessible read. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in women's history, labour history and/or New York history.