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Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 (P.S.) (Paperback)

~ Daniel James Brown (Author)
Key Phrases: quarry office, flaming front, death swamp, Saint Paul, Skunk Lake, Pine City (more...)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

On September 1, 1894, Hinckley, Minn.—a thriving town with a population of more than 1,200, two railroads, a successful lumber mill and five hotels—was ravaged by a firestorm that grew out of a catastrophic convergence of two ordinary fires, high winds, hot weather and white pine forest. Brown, a textbook writer, gives a human face to natural calamity as he draws on firsthand survivor stories, such as those of his grandfather, who at nine was rescued from the disaster that killed his father, a Norwegian immigrant. A wide range of characters evoke the reader's pity and respect in these well-researched and highly readable pages. A black porter selflessly saves white passengers on a train engulfed in flames; a quick-thinking clergyman plunges into a river with a stranger's baby in his arms; and a survivor is haunted by the death screams of 127 of his neighbors in a swamp. With its pine forests obliterated in the firestorm that claimed more than 436 lives, Hinckley became a specter of its former self. Illustrated with period pictures, this deft slice of regional history will attract disaster and weather buffs as well as fans of Norman Maclean's standout Young Men and Fire. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* In 1894, smoke and the reek of it weren't unusual in the northernmost U.S. with its miles of pine forest. Lumber companies pursued the equivalent of strip-mining, sans any cleanup, and in hot, dry weather, branches stripped from trunks and the -forest-floor detritus became tinder for hundreds of sudden fires. On September 1, two big fires south of Hinckley, Minnesota, combined under weather conditions conducive to firestorms. By nightfall, Hinckley and three nearby hamlets were no more. More than 436 persons were incinerated, and some 400 square miles were so thoroughly burned that the soil was rendered useless. Brown, whose maternal grandfather was an 11-year-old survivor, tells the story of that day in clean, precise, fluid prose, maintaining focus on those who fled to communicate some of their terror as they ran from flames moving as fast as they and sometimes lethally faster. He weaves together the movements of his forebears and other Pine County residents as they fled, took shelter, and survived, were rescued, or perished, and the countermovements of the heroic train crews who came to their rescue. He also judiciously inserts explanations of such matters as firestorms, Norway-to-Minnesota immigration, death by burning, and an even more destructive precursor of the Hinckley disaster. Riveting, moving, white-knuckle reading to rank with classic accounts of the "perfect storm," Krakatoa, and other storied calamities. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial (August 14, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 006123625X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061236259
  • Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #110,495 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #4 in  Books > History > United States > State & Local > Minnesota
    #4 in  Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Forestry > Fires
    #19 in  Books > History > United States > 19th Century > Turn of the Century

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Daniel Brown
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
quarry office, flaming front, death swamp, main fire, relief train, coal tender, spot fires
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Saint Paul, Skunk Lake, Pine City, Angus Hay, Mission Creek, Bill Grissinger, Emil Anderson, Jim Root, The New York Times, Evan Hansen, Kettle River, Bill Best, Pine County, Tom Sullivan, Hinckley Fire Museum, Union Station, John Blair, Mary Anderson, Marie Hansen, Clara Anderson, Grindstone River, Dave Williams, Duluth News Tribune, Robert Bell, Rush City
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Unimaginable horror in the woods of Northern Minnesota, July 17, 2006
This review is from: Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 (Hardcover)
When the citizens of Hinckley, Minnesota arose on Saturday, September 1, 1894 it looked for all the world to be just another ordinary Saturday. Some folks had to work at the Brennan Lumber Mill. For others there was washing to do and provisions to be picked up in town. The children might well spend part of the day fishing or maybe picking cranberries in the nearby bogs. And as for the engineers on the St Paul and Duluth and Eastern Minnesota railroads, they simply had no idea of the calamity there were about to encounter in the towns of Pokegama, Sandstone and Hinckley later that day. "Under A Flaming Sky" is the gripping true story of the mammoth firestorm that engulfed these towns on that fateful Saturday. Author Daniel James Brown, a direct descendant of two of the Hinckley survivors, offers up an incredible book that captures all of the trauma, all of the heartbreak and the unspeakable pain and heroism that emerged on that day. It is a book you will find hard to put down.
Imagine suddenly being caught in a firestorm where temperatures reached 1600 degrees Fahrenheit. Now small brush and forest fires were quite common in these parts in those days so most folks had absolutely no warning about the debacle they were about to face. In "Under A Flaming Sky" Daniel James Brown focuses on a number of families and how they attempted to cope with an impending disaster. Some would manage to escape but many others were not so lucky. You will meet many ordinary people who did extraordinary things. Twenty five year old Tommy Dunn was a telegrapher working at the St. Paul and Duluth depot in Hinckley. Despite the impending disaster Dunn stayed on the job just trying to keep the lines of communication open for as long as he possibly could. Tragically, he would lose his life in the process. Read about the heroics of engineers James Root, Edward Barry and William Bennet Best and discover how they somehow managed to assist so many citizens in getting out of harms way. And finally, you will find out why the lessons that were learned from the Hinckley fire were instrumental in ushering in an era of better fire management all over America.
"Under A Flaming Sky" is an extraordinarily well written book. Daniel James Brown is a terrific storyteller who puts his readers right into the heart of this incredibly desperate situation. You'll discover the split second choices people were forced to make and the ultimate consequences of those choices. You will also learn about the unlikely confluence of atmospheric conditions that occured on that fateful day that would allow such a firestorm to come together in the first place. In so many ways it really was the "perfect storm". Highly recommended!
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Get a glass of wine and sit a spell, May 30, 2006
By D @ Paradise Lake (Woodinville, WA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 (Hardcover)
I started reading this- a chapter each evening. About a third of the way through, I got hooked and read straight through to the end in one sitting. I don't normally come to Amazon to write reviews- but this story is worth the read. I enjoyed this more than Isaac's Storm by Eric Larson, which got a lot of press a few years back. If you liked Endurance or the Johnstown Flood, you'll love this book.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for anyone interested in Americana..., May 15, 2006
This review is from: Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 (Hardcover)
I got this book last week and since I had to fly cross-country, I figured it would help me pass the time during my flight. Not only could I not put it down, but I my husband (who rarely reads) and I fought over it all weekend when he decided he wanted to read it too! I had to physically force myself to stop reading at 2:00 am early one morning because I had to get some sleep! Mr. Brown writes such compelling prose that, at times, it's easy to forget that this book is a work of non-fiction that this terrible fire swept through Minnesota, leaving destroyed towns and families in its wake. It's hard to comprehend trying to escape a fire of this magnitude, only to survive and discover that your family, house, land and everything you own is gone. Mr. Brown's minute by minute account of the Hinckley fire of 1894, interspersed with details regarding the evolution of the fire from a few burning embers to total firestorm, weather science, burn and infection treatments of the late 1800s, make this book both an engrossing and educational find.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrifying and very well written story
Highest praise for this book, and I'm a hard sell. Excellent research coupled with a compelling narative. I can't speak highly enough of this terrifying story. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mark E. Lehde

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent account of fearsome disaster
The author's great-grandfather died in the fearsome fire which swept Pine County, Minnesota on Sept 1, 1894. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Schmerguls

4.0 out of 5 stars An Engrossing Read
I found this book to be a really good read. Even though he's recounting history it doesn't drag in any way. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Marla Crocker

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book by a new author
Daniel has written a harrowing account of an historical event. The writing is excellent. His grandfather was a survivor of this event and he draws from what he learned as a... Read more
Published 9 months ago by A. Brown

5.0 out of 5 stars Flaming Skies, Heroes and Victims
"Under A Flaming Sky," by Daniel James Brown, is an intense, enthralling book detailing the events of the 1894 Hinckley firestorm. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Winslow Bunny

5.0 out of 5 stars Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894
Author Daniel James Brown is to be commended for his knowledge of the incident and his chronicling of it. What an emotional read! Read more
Published 20 months ago by Julia McMillie

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hometown Perspective
I grew up in Sandstone, MN and happened to find this book on the "Noteable Reads" table at BN. Picked it up and couldn't put it down. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Jennifer C. Dempich

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative read
This book is an easy, informative read about a horrific disaster. It follows several people before, during and after the fire. Read more
Published 22 months ago by K. Willberg

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
I was glued to this book. Wonderfully written, interesting facts combined with a heart breaking story...I couldn't recommend it highly enough!
Published 24 months ago by Melissa H. Daniels

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow
The Hinkley fire has been a passion of mine since I was 12 years old. I even dragged my grandma to Hinkley to see the mass graves and memorials. Read more
Published on January 13, 2008 by happyhappykatie

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