Firehouse, David Halberstam
Firehouse, David Halberstam
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Firehouse

Author: David Halberstam

Narrator: Mel Foster

Unabridged: 4 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/16/2017

Synopsis

"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.

About David Halberstam

David Halberstam is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the bestselling author of The Powers That Be, The Best And the Brightest, and Summer of 49.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Susan on September 30, 2017

I found this in my vast unread pile and just started reading it at lunch. I bought it so long ago I didn't remember it was about a fire house that lost 12 men on 9/11. Yikes. But although obviously very sad, it wasn't maudlin or deliberately tear jerking at all. Just a profile of each man, how he fi......more

Goodreads review by Tom on February 14, 2025

As powerful of a book as you'll ever read. It's only 200 pages (some Halberstam - AKA God - books are as much as 800-900 and been great) but it gets to the point and the research and writing are second to none. Halberstam profiles 12 firefighters that all died on 9/11 that were stationed at the 40/3......more

Goodreads review by Carin on November 07, 2010

I thought a nonfiction work by a famous author about a firehouse would be cool. Didn't realize until I started reading it that it's about September 11th. Still wanted to read it, but knew it would be hard, so even though it's very short, it took me a little while. It's about Firehouse 40/35 (Engine......more

Goodreads review by Ciara on May 02, 2012

Ciara Travers May 2, 2012 Firehouse First Response Character In my book Firehouse, it illustrates the hardships that engine 40 and ladder 35 go through. In this story it really illustrates how they live and they all grow together as a family. I would love to be a part of this fire house, because all th......more

Goodreads review by Brian on October 20, 2015

The brevity of this book does not provide the author much time to enter into the culture of the firehouse, describe it, and then describe the trauma it underwent on 9/11, but he accomplishes this admirably. Although he is reaching across from a safe, materialistic, white-collar culture to one that i......more

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