The Greatest Firefighter Stories Never Told [Paperback]

Mike Santangelo (Author), Mara Bovsun (Author), Allan Zullo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2002

The firefighters who lost their lives in the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center have become well-known-and rightfully so. But firefighters throughout America risk life and limb every day, many times without any acknowledgement whatsoever, let alone fame or fortune.In The Greatest Firefighter Stories Never Told, authors Mike Santangelo, Mara Bovsun and Allan Zullo have collected more than two dozen gripping accounts of America's bravest heroes, those who save lives every day as they rush in to rescue others. From airport firefighters to hazardous materials experts, from forest firefighters to high-elevation rescuers, from smoke jumpers to harbor firefighters, The Greatest Firefighter Stories Never Told captivates readers with its focus on the fresh and fascinating tales of real heroes and those they save.Several stories highlight some of the courageous firefighters of the New York Fire Department who were on hand during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Already, the department's heroism has captured America's heart. These gripping, in-depth stories will put names and faces to those most deserving of worldwide recognition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mike Santangelo, who covered the police and fire beats for The New York Daily News for 20 years and was on a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting team for Newsday, is a Fox News Channel writer and producer in New York. Mara Bovsun writes historical features for The New York Daily News, including "The Justice Stories," the oldest continuous weekly newspaper feature in the United States. She is also managing editor for McGraw-Hill's newsletter, Biotechnology Newswatch. Allan Zullo has authored or co-authored more than seventy books, including The Nanas and the Papas: A Boomer's Guide to Grandparenting, When Bad Things Happen to Good Golfers, and the popular Sports Hall of Shame series. He's also the creator and producer of Andrews McMeel Publishing's highly successful Amazing but True book series and calendar line.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (August 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740728202
• ISBN-13: 978-0740728204
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,120,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remembering Especially the Firefighter Heroism on 911 and at the OLA School Fire, December 23, 2007

By 

Jan Peczkis "Scholar and Thinker" (Chicago IL, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Greatest Firefighter Stories Never Told (Paperback)

There are many different instances, covered in this small book, where firefighters had to risk their lives. These include the aftermath of the Mexico earthquake, arson-for-profit situations, the burning WTC towers on 911, and the Our Lady of the Angels School Fire of December 1958. I focus my review on the latter two.

Imagine being in a skyscraper that is collapsing, hearing the sounds of the floors pancaking above you, and realizing that you have only seconds to live. But, fortunately for these-discussed firefighters in WTC 1, the lowest few stories of the staircases weren't crushed, and so the firefighters got their reprieve from death.

The account of the OLA Fire (pp. 35-48) is quite detailed for its brevity. It gives a summary of the course of the fire, and also recounts the experiences of two firefighters, Charles Kamin and Richard Scheidt.

Kamin laddered Room 211 (an 8th-grade class) and, pulling children out of the windows, dropped them below (He realized that he had no time to climb up and down the ladder with them). It was a race against time, measured in seconds. Boys' shirts were already turning colors from the heat, and glasses worn by students had started to melt. Then Room 211 flashed over: "Twenty-six children were still inside, but there were no more screams coming from Room 211." (p. 42). But he had managed to snatch perhaps 10 children from certain death (pp. 47-48).

Firefighter Scheidt is best known from the famous LIFE Magazine photo of him carrying the body of a child. Scheidt's men had broken through a wall to a classroom while the building was still well ablaze, and, hoping that some of the children were still alive, carried them out for resuscitation attempts. Unfortunately, for all of them, it was already too late.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What A Great Book!, March 12, 2006

By 

J. Chitty - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Greatest Firefighter Stories Never Told (Paperback)

I really enjoyed reading this book. It truly exceeded my expectations. I would recommend it to just about anyone.

4.0 out of 5 stars Quick and Easy Reading, July 3, 2011

By 

Anthony G. Buono (Valatie, New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Greatest Firefighter Stories Never Told (Paperback)

This book is written by three journalists, and it reads that way. Each of the 15 stories told in this book starts off like a good piece of journalistic writing and reaches out and grabs the reader. The book is quick and easy reading and spans only 210 pages.

The stories are varied and cover not just traditional firefighting. EMS, fire marshals/investigations as well as airport crash fire and rescue are also included.

The problem with this book is it was written by three journalists. It is not historical or scholarly text. It also lacks some precision in language when describing fire fighting techniques as well as the apparatus and equipment used. If you can look past that, this book is worth reading.