Seven Fires : The Urban Infernos That Reshaped America

by Hoffer, Peter Charles

• ISBN13: 9781586483555
• ISBN10: 1586483552
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-04-24
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group

Summary

This resonant and fascinating book by a renowned historian examines how seven fires shaped the larger course of American history. The Boston fire of 1760 set the stage for the American Revolution. The Pittsburgh fire of 1845 opened the way to larger scale industrial plants. Out of the ashes of the Chicago fire of 1871 came the modern skyscraper, the Haymarket Riots, and the Pullman Strike. The Baltimore fire of 1904 showed how a city's downtown, utterly destroyed, could re-invent itself after a catastrophe. The Detroit fire of 1967 forced politicians to concede what people of Detroit already knewthat racism and racially-based deprivation were not changed by the civil rights movement. The Oakland Hills tragedy demolished a landscape of private privilege and imperiled the dream of leisure living in natural settings. Apart from their domestic and global political implications, the fires of 9/11 have prodded a complacent nation to admit to itself that twentyfirst century emergency services, and the urban lifestyles they protected, have to be thoroughly rethought. Told through gripping narrative chronicles of the catastrophic events, memorable portraits of historic figures, and incisive, thought-provoking analysis,Seven Firesreveals a nation and a people at its best and worst and illustrates how disasters teach lessons that, if we grasp them, can help us better our society.

Author Biography

Peter Hoffer is professor of history at the University of Georgia. He is the author of Past Imperfect and many academic works. He lives in Athens, GA, and Camden, NJ.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	1	(19)
Boston, 1760	20	(44)
``A Torrent of Flame''	25	(18)
``Sons of Liberty''	43	(21)
Pittsburgh, 1845	64	(42)
A Dreadful Scene of Destruction	67	(19)
``This Gigantic Workshop''	86	(20)
Chicago, 1871	106	(48)
``We Are in Ruins''	110	(23)
``Heroic and Confident Men''	133	(21)
Baltimore, 1904	154	(50)
``Big Fire Here''	159	(25)
``We'll Win Again''	184	(20)
Detroit, 1967	204	(54)
``Motown, If You Don't Come Around, We Are Going to Burn You Down''	213	(26)
``New Detroit''	239	(19)
The East Bay: Oakland Hills, 1991	258	(50)
A Perfect Firestorm	264	(26)
The ``Quality of Life''	290	(18)
Lower Manhattan, 2001	308	(65)
``The Worst Day''	319	(27)
They ``Ran In As Others Ran Out''	346	(27)
Conclusion	373	(6)
Notes	379	(58)
Index	437