The Brave: A Story of New York City's Firefighters [Hardcover]

George Pickett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006

Every so often a writer of substantive talent appears through the smokey background to perk up our interest in firefighters and firefighting. George Pickett is just such a man....In The Brave you will come to know him and a valiant group of men as they speed from alarm to alarm in downtown New York, where the buildings are tall and for the most part old, where bums and drug addicts populate the streets, and where the fire companies hardly ever rest.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Every so often a writer of substantive talent appears through the smoky background to perk up our interest in firefighters and firefighting. George Pickett is just such a man... In this book you will come to know him and a valiant group of men as they speed from alarm to alarm in downtown New York, where the buildings are tall and for the most part old, where tramps and drug addicts populate the streets, and where the fire companies hardly ever rest. You will begin to feel that you too are a member of Engine 33, Ladder 9, and, after George's promotion to lieutenant, of some of Brooklyn's busiest fire companies. It is an empowering feeling, until you suddenly realise that these are among the very first fire companies who will arrive one fateful day in their future at the World Trade Center, providing our city with more courage, determination, and selflessness that we ever knew we had. You will then thank George Pickett for letting you into their lives." -- Dennis Smith, New York Times' best-selling author.

About the Author

George Pickett

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Ibooks, Inc. (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188328337X
• ISBN-13: 978-1883283377
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,115,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Brave, January 1, 2004

By 

Mr Stephen Dudeney (London UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Brave: A Story of New York City's Firefighters (Hardcover)

The Brave takes you right into the Heart of Firefighting in 70's New York. As a fellow Firefighter who loves to put pen to paper I am always keen to read the experiences of other Firefighters in this vastly underrepresented market.

Every book shelf these days seems to be full of Celebrities, Politicians, Soldiers or sports personalities telling us their stories. It make a refreshing change when a Firefighter, Medic or Policemen puts pen to paper, these people are fighting a never ending war every day on the Streets of our Countries.

The Brave tells the story of Life in a Firehouse on the Lower East Side of New York City in the 1970's, a period now remembered by the Veterans of those days as 'The War Years'. Recession, social unrest, poverty and crime were the catalyst for may Fires in many run down cities in the World. Very Few Cites saw the Fires that New York saw in that period and fewer Still Firemen saw the Fire Duty that the Men of the FDNY saw at this time.

George Pickett has an ability to drag the reader down the stinking burning hallways of the tenements. You can feel the heat searing your skin and the smoke choking your lungs. Time and again you follow page after page wondering will the heroes of the FDNY reach the victim before the room erupts all around them, more often than not they do...frequently with seconds to spare.

I finished this book in 24 hours, such was the draw of the story unfolding before me. I found every possible excuse to pick the book up and start reading again. If action is what you want then give the jungles of South America or the Desert of the Middle East a rest..opt instead for the action in the Blazing sweatshops, tenements and flop houses of New York City in the 70's.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Alarm action, January 16, 2003

By 

Jim Moerschel (Monroe, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Brave: A Story of New York City's Firefighters (Hardcover)

During the years that George Pickett so vividly describes in The
Brave, I worked in a neighboring fire company in the "west village." On many shifts, I worked in the Great Jones Street Firehouse that was the quarters of Engine 33 and Ladder 9. I knew most of the men who are mentioned in this action packed story. George Pickett's accounts of what went on in the firehouse, the detailed description of the firehouse and the unrelenting fire activity of the "lower eastside" is so real, that I felt as if I was working another tour there as I read The Brave. Pickett's writing style is superb as he takes the reader
from a harrowing fire then back to the mundane moments in the firehouse. He skillfully weaves the lives of the residents of the east village into this fast paced story that speaks of a changing society, changing fire service and a changing America. This book is worthy of becoming a movie.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Brave: A Story of New York City's Firefighters, July 31, 2003

By 

michael deegan (Valhalla, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Brave: A Story of New York City's Firefighters (Hardcover)

Few books have captivated my attention as much as George Pickett's "The Brave: A Story of New York City Firefighters". Both as a native New Yorker growing up in the 60's and 70's in the Bronx, and a volunteer firefighter in Westchester County, NY, I can rerlate to the many references in this action packed book.
Pickett brings the reader into every fire call, every dark smokey hallway and heat searing room. The reader is there, holding the irons, the nozzle or climbing the ladder.
Above all the book is truthful. Clearly, the author;s integrity and honest is eveident during each story-both the flattering and humiliating. George Pickett should be proud of his career, family and work on the compelling effort to document the life of a New York City Firefighter. Bravo!!!
-Michael J. Deegan