In the first history of the New York Fire Department- FDNY- in over sixty years, journalist Terry Golway weaves together stories of heroic firefighters and extraordinary fires to create a moving and original account of New York as seen through the eyes and actions of the city's firefighters. From the eighteenth century's most ambitious public-works project- the building of aqueducts from upstate to help control fires- to firefighter-turned-politician Boss Tweed's backroom politics, fire and firefighters have played an integral part in the life of New York. So Others Might Live also offers a new view of the building of modern urban America and the social turbulence of New York from the 1700s to the present day.
"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
