"In the firehouse the men not only live and eat with each other, they play sports together, go off to drink together, help repair one another's houses and, most importantly, share terrifying risks; their loyalties to each other must, by the demands of the dangers they face, be instinctive and absolute." So writes David Halberstam, one of America's most distinguished reporters and historians in this stunning book about Engine 40, Ladder 35 - one of the firehouses hardest hit in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Towers. On the morning of September 11, 2001, two rigs carrying 13 men set out from this firehouse, located on the west side of Manhattan near Lincoln Center; twelve of the men would never return.
Firehouse takes us to the very epicenter of the tragedy. We watch the day unfold, the men called to duty, while their families wait anxiously for news of them. In addition we come to understand the culture of the firehouse itself, why gifted men do this and why in so many instances they are anxious to follow in their fathers' footsteps and serve in so dangerous a profession - why more than anything else, it is not just a job, but a calling as well.
Firehouse is journalism-as-history at its best. The story of what happens when one small institution gets caught in apocalyptic day, it is a book that will move readers as few others have in our time.
This is the story of the firefighters at one mid-Manhattan firehouse--Engine 40, Ladder 35. Of the 13 men who responded to the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, only one survived. The book is outstanding in its evocation of the culture of the firehouse and the men who create it. Mel Foster offers a sensitive reading, providing just enough emotion, and letting the fine writing tell the tale. The listener feels connected to the realness of the firefighters and their families, while being fascinated by their responses to the devastating events they share. Attention will never wander. R.E.K. 2003 YALSA Selection (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
About the Author
David Halberstam is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the bestselling author of The Powers That Be, The Best And the Brightest, and Summer of 49.
