My Review of Halberstam’s “Firehouse”
Firehouse by David Halberstam
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a very good book.
Inadvertently, I checked this book out at the begining of September not realizing that I would be reading it on the 11th. The timing could not have been better.
For me it served as a reminder of the sacrifice the firemen of New York made on that tragic day. The book helped me understand the loss on a more personal level. Halberstam includes a background on each of the men. How they came to the firehouse and how they related to one another. After only a few of these stories does one understand how deeply these men were related to one another. The culture of a firehouse means that men work side by side for hours and in times of crisis have to rely upon one another. Over time, these men and their families bond their individual families into a larger firehouse family. It is this larger family that lies as the depth of the tragedy. It made the tragedy deeper and more painful because it affected so many families and friends.
I have always really enjoyed Halberstam’s work because he was able to marry his investigative side with the broader brush stroke of a higher more historical view. But in this context his reporter skills come to life, taking us into the lives of these men (and their families). In my own way this has caused me to miss these men. Their value to their families and the firehouse will be missed. Now I know a bit more why that loss is so great.
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