"For, Lo! We live in an Iron Age--In the age of Steam and Fire!" wrote a
poet mesmerized by the engines that were transforming American
transportation, agriculture, and industry during his lifetime. Indeed,
by the nineteenth century fire had become America's leitmotif--for good
and for ill. "Keeping the flame" was deadly serious: even the slightest
lapse of attention could convert a fire from friendly ally to ravaging
destroyer. To examine the cultural context of fire in "combustible
America," Margaret Hazen and Robert Hazen gather more than a hundred
illustrations, most never before published, together with anecdotes and
information from hundreds of original sources, including newspapers,
diaries, company records, popular fiction, art, and music. What results
is an immensely entertaining and encyclopedic history that ranges from
stories of the tragic "great fires" of the century to fire imagery in
folktales and popular literature. Dealing more with technology than with
fire in nature, the book provides a vast amount of information on fire
manipulation and prevention in urban life. Hazen and Hazen discuss the
people who worked with fire--or against it. Founders, gaffers,
blacksmiths, boilers at saltworks, and housewives knew how to "read" a
fire and employ it for their purposes. A few dedicated investigators
inquired about the scientific nature of heat and flame. And firefighters
gradually progressed from "bucket brigades" to "using fire to fight
fire" with the newly invented steam engine. The colorful stories of
these Americans--the risks they took and the rewards they received--will
fascinate not only social historians but also a broad audience of
general readers.
Originally published in 1992.
The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand
technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from
the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions
preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting
them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the
Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich
scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by
Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
