This history of New York's bravest (the FDNY) is "a useful and relentless reminder of the scourge of fire--a weapon of terror long before 2001--and the routine heroism of the city's firefighters" ("New York Times"). 80 photos.

Terry Golway is the director of the John Kean Center for American History at Kean University in Union, NJ. A former member of the New York Times Editorial Board, and former City Editor of the New York Observer, he has authored several history books, including Let Every Nation Know, an academic study of John F. Kennedy's speeches. Golway has also appeared in documentaries on PBS and the History Channel among others. He lives in northern New Jersey.