Fire Fighters: Stories of Survival from the Front Lines of Firefighting (Adrenaline) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1560254025 ISBN 13: 9781560254027

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2002

Synopsis

Firefighters have long been among the most admired men and women in our culture, and recent events have shown how well-placed that admiration is—adding fuel to our innate fascination with stories about fire and the people who risk their lives to fight it. Some of our best writers are drawn to the subject of firefighting, and over the years they have created a rich body of literature. Fire Fighters offers the most exciting and compelling stories from that body of work, including accounts of devastating fires from New York to Yellowstone, as well as smaller blazes that have turned particularly ugly or dangerous. Selections include Jimmy Breslin's eulogy for the men who died in the famous Chelsea fire, Norman McLean on the Great Gulch forest fire that killed nine young smokejumpers, John McPhee on fires in the Pine Barrens, Studs Terkel's interview with a fire fighter, and riveting accounts of the FDNY's role in the September 11 tragedy and its aftermath. 16 black-and-white photos are also featured.

About this title

About the Author

Clint Willis has published more than forty books, including anthologies on topics such as adventure, politics, relgion, and war. His work has appeared in hundreds of publications, including Men's Journal, Outside, and the New York Times. His work has also been nominated for the American Society of Magazine Editors' National Magazine Award.

Reviews

One casualty of the terrorist atrocities of September 2001 was the ironic attitude toward heroism, which is reflected in the unabashed proliferation of the FDNY logo. Firefighters themselves deny any designation of hero, as this anthology reflects, explaining the risks they take in terms of simply doing their jobs. Those whom they protect, feeling otherwise, may find an outlet for admiration in the 20-plus stories editor Willis has assembled here. New York's firefighters are strongly represented: two articles profile men swept into the World Trade Center maelstrom: the FDNY's second-in-command, who died, and survivor Kevin Shea. In oral-history format, New York firefighters relate harrowing accident scenes, from flaming warehouses to plane crashes, which they bravely entered. West of the Hudson, Willis sifted the literature of forest fires and includes excerpts from Norman MacLean's wildly popular Young Men and Fire (1992) plus several authors' direct experiences of working the fire line at Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. Mere display guarantees this collection's circulation. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1560254025
• ISBN 13: 9781560254027
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 369
• Editor: Willis Clint