Fire Fighters: Stories of Survival from the Front Lines of Firefighting (Adrenaline) [Paperback]

Clint Willis (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Adrenaline | Publication Date: June 4, 2002

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

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

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (June 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560254025
• ISBN-13: 978-1560254027
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #378,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the series' best!, July 7, 2002

By 

Andrew Entwistle (Schodack, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire Fighters: Stories of Survival from the Front Lines of Firefighting (Adrenaline) (Paperback)

You'll have trouble putting this one down. 21 strong selections look at firefighting from a variety of angles. I read a lot of 'fire books' but the editor found plenty I had not seen. 8 of the 21 stories are stand-alone articles, not excerpts - 2 about 9-11 that will just tear you up. The focus is split about 50/50 between city firefighting and forest firefighting, with a couple essays from folks who don't actually fight fires themselves, but must live with those who do. You'll read about a lot of brave men who never came home from their fires and you can't help but pause at the end of most of the selections. This book is especially relevant in the summer of 2002 with wildfires devouring Arizona and Colorado - what a way to better understand the human aspect of what you see on the news, and even learn something. Willis has chosen powerful, gut-wrenching, tear-jerking stuff from sources you haven't seen and you or your firefighter will stay up to read this one cover to cover.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not What the Title Implies, May 24, 2003

By 

Frederick S. Goethel "wildcatcreekbooks" (Central Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire Fighters: Stories of Survival from the Front Lines of Firefighting (Adrenaline) (Paperback)

I was disappointed in this book. I found the majority of material to be related to 9/11 or to wildland firefighting while the cover implies it covers all ranges of firefighting. The material included is good...it just spends very little time on structural firefighting and the men who do that job. What time it does dedicate to it is mostly in the form of re-hash of previous material; Report from Engine Co 82, Working etc. There are better books out there, unless you are interested in wildland firefighting. If you are, then this is one of the better books on the subject.