Fire Fighters: Stories of Survival from the Front Lines of Firefighting

by Clint Willis (Editor)

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.

369 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Charles Delorme]

The individual stories were great. Just some of the writing I found made it more drawn out then it needed to be.

[Michael]

Stories of wildland and structural firefighting. Most were great first-hand accounts, some left you scratching your head wondering why they were included.

[Mandy Huot]

This book was good. A bit long, but the stories filled the space very well and made you not realize how long it took to read.

[J.]

decent all together