Fire Fighters Stories of Survival from the Front Lines of Firefighting

by Willis, Clint

• ISBN13: 9781560254027
• ISBN10: 1560254025
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-06-04
• Publisher: Da Capo Press

Summary

Firefighters have long been among the most admired men and women in our culture, and recent events have shown how well-placed that admiration isadding 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.

Author Biography

Clint Willis has published more than forty books, including anthologies on topics such as adventure, politics, relgion, and war. His work has appeared in hundreds of publications, including Men's Journal, Outside, and the New York Times. His work has also been nominated for the American Society of Magazine Editors' National Magazine Award.

Table of Contents

photographs	viii
introduction	ix
Blowup: What Went Wrong at Storm King Mountain	1	(16)
Sebastian Junger
Which Way Did He Run?	17	(18)
David Grann
from The Fire Inside Firefighters Talk About Their Lives	35	(22)
Steve Delsohn
from Fire Line: Summer Battles of the West	57	(16)
Michael Thoele
from Working	73	(8)
Studs Terkel
from Will the Circle Be Unbroken?	81	(6)
Studs Terkel
from Report from Engine Co. 82	87	(8)
Dennis Smith
from On Fire	95	(10)
Larry Brown
The Chief	105	(12)
Elizabeth Kolbert
Bound Upon a Wheel of Fire	117	(10)
Sallie Tisdale
from Young Men and Fire	127	(38)
Norman Maclean
from Fire on the Rim	165	(32)
Stephen J. Pyne
from USFS 1919: The Ranger, the Cook, and a Hole in the Sky	197	(26)
Norman Maclean
from The journey Home	223	(28)
Edward Abbey
A Reporter at Large Fire	251	(38)
Thomas Hackett
from Yellowstone's Red Summer	289	(4)
Alan Carey
Sandy Carey
from Seasonal A Life Outside	293	(16)
Ed Engle
Pride and Glory of Firefighting Is Hard to Resist	309	(6)
Louise Wagenknecht
The Fires Next Time	315	(12)
Rick Bass
from The Pine Barrens	327	(12)
John McPhee
When Every One Is Panic Stricken	339	(8)
Stephen Crane
acknowledgments	347	(1)
permissions	348	(2)
bibliography	350