"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 an apocalyptic day, it
is an audiobook that will move listeners as few others have in our time.
