3000 Degrees

If the nation was awed by the heroism of firefighters on September 11, it should not have been surprised. Flynn's engrossing book about a far lesser known tragedy in Worcester, Massachusetts, makes clear that bravery did not suddenly materialize that day among the men who put out fires for a living. Rather, every firefighter is a hero-in-waiting who at any moment may be called upon to risk everything for a stranger or comrade. Flynn's gripping account of a lethal three-alarm fire in a monstrous windowless warehouse is a primer in the universal ethic of the firefighting profession. The mentality is most nearly that of soldiers in a war, who are as dedicated to the defeat of a dangerous, crafty enemy as to their brothers in battle. Richard Rohan's reading is true, capturing the flavor of workingmen in New England and never succumbing to mawkishness. M.O. 2003 Audie Award Winner (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine