Customer Reviews

Badges of the Bravest: A Pictorial History of Fire Departments in New York City

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
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This is certainly not the most exciting book in the world, but it is of great interest to anyone who enjoys the history of the fire service and particularly the FDNY. It is very well researched and the photos are great. The coffee table size makes it cumbersome to read and handle. I bought at a fire fest and got a slight discount.

I purchased this for my husband for Christmas and he loves it. It is an excellent book on the NYFD and its history.

Really detailed book on the badges and history of the FDNY.
Great for any fire buff interested in the FDNY.

Not knowing exactly what to expect and not knowing if this would be a dry and boring read,we are very happy to say it is an interesting and informative read. The background knowledge and interest that the writer has shown is a very good part of the book. He is a very interesting writer and the information in his book is well presented and keeps the readers interest by his writing style.We were amazed at how many badges there are and what a wide variety of reasons for them.
I would say this book is great for any one interested in the fire department, and it's history, of New York.

You do not have to look too far into the book to see a lot of time and research has taken place writing this book. If you have any interest in Badges or the FDNY you will appreciate this book.The photographs are excellent as is the history.

I believe Gary Urbanowicz in his new book Badges of the Bravest set out to do one thing and accomplished another. Ostensibly the story of insignia, Gary succeeds in sharing what the insignia stands for: bravery, pride, the diversity of the people and institutions that all fire departments protect. Like a Freudian slip, where you say one thing but mean your mother, Gary's book
is more about 'the bravest' than 'the badges.' The respect and admiration and fascination with firefighters shows through. A job well done.

If you have the slightest interest in the history of the FDNY, this is the book for you. Yes, there are other good books on the FDNY, but the niche occupied by this book (i.e, badges) is unique. But, it would be a mistake to think the book deals only with badges. Rather, the book uses FDNY badges as the focal point for describing the development of the FDNY as we know it today. The writing is clear, details abound, and the photos are wonderful. In real life, I - like the author of this book - am a health care professional. However, I am a fire buff (originally from Brooklyn, NY), a member of our local Citizens Fire Academy, and have been collecting a variety of fire department memorabilia, including FDNY badges, for some time. For the first time, I have a reference on my shelf that affords me the ability to more vividly appreciate the history, art, lore and romance of fire department antiques.