So Others Might Live - Softcover

Golway, Terry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0465027415 ISBN 13: 9780465027415

Publisher: Basic Books, 2003

Synopsis

In the first history of the New York Fire Department--FDNY--in over sixty years, journalist Terry Golway weaves together stories of heroic firefighters and extraordinary fires to create a moving and original account of New York as seen through the eyes and actions of the city's firefighters. From the eighteenth century's most ambitious public-works project--the building of aqueducts from upstate to help control fires--to firefighter-turned-politician Boss Tweed's backroom politics, fire and firefighters have played an integral part in the life of New York. So Others Might Live also offers a new view of the building of modern urban America and the social turbulence of New York from the 1700s to the present day.

About this title

About the Author:

Terry Golway, columnist and City Editor of The New York Observer, is a frequent contributor to the Irish Echo, American Heritage, the Boston Globe, and the New York Times. He is the co-author of The Irish in America, and the author of For the Cause of Liberty: A Thousand Years of Ireland's Heroes, and Irish Rebel: John Devoy and America's Fight for Ireland's Freedom. He lives in Maplewood, New Jersey.

From Publishers Weekly:

Writing with humor and passion and an understanding of the firefighter's mindset that comes from deep personal experience (his father, father-in-law, godfather and uncles were all firemen), New York Observer editor-columnist Golway (The Irish in America, etc.) takes readers inside the New York City Fire Department. As Golway's account follows the FDNY going back to its origins in New Amsterdam, points of familiarity emerge from the fine details: the need, even in 1731, to raise money for state-of-the-art equipment; the "respect and awe" felt by little boys for firefighters; the passion of firefighters for their work; the feverish search to recover the bodies of fallen brothers. Golway also provides vivid portraits of the city's worst conflagrations: the "ocean of fire" that destroyed 674 buildings in lower Manhattan in 1835, the tragic 1904 excursion boat fire that left 1,000 dead, the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the 850 alarms reported on April 20, 1963, "the busiest day in FDNY history." Closing chapters are devoted to the 1993 and 2001 World Trade Center attacks. Centuries of heroism and bravery are documented here, along with profiles of firefighters famed within the organization, and many readers will see this as a compelling volume to shelve alongside Richard Picciotto's Last Man Down, David Halberstam's Firehouse and former Fire Commissioner Thomas von Essen's forthcoming autobiography, Strong of Heart. 70 b&w photos.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0465027415
• ISBN 13: 9780465027415
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384