The Great Fire

Starred review from April 3, 1995
For more than a century, poor Mrs. O'Leary and her cow have shouldered the blame for Chicago's infamous Great Fire of 1871. Now Murphy (The Boys' War; Across America on an Emigrant Train) lays bare the facts concerning one of the biggest disasters in American history, in the process exculpating the maligned bovine and her owner. Murphy demonstrates that the fire could have been contained: he unfolds a tale of botched communication, class discrimination (the fire began in a working-class section of the city and only later spread to the wealthier areas) and plain old bad luck. Strategically quoting the written accounts of witnesses-who include a 12-year-old girl and a newspaper editor-Murphy both charts the 31-hour spread of the fire and conveys the atmosphere in the streets. This volume, beautifully printed in sepia tones, contains historic photos, engravings and newspaper clippings on nearly every page. Especially helpful are maps placed at intervals throughout the book that represent the progress of the fire. Engrossing. Ages 8-12.

Listening to THE GREAT FIRE narrated by Taylor Mali is like watching a History Channel program with one's eyes closed. The personal narratives, eyewitness accounts, and expert opinions that piece together the events of the Chicago fire of 1871 are here but not, unfortunately, the maps and illustrations showing the fire's rapid spread and damage. Award-winning author Jim Murphy meticulously researched the circumstances of one of the worst conflagrations in American history, a disaster that left more than 200,000 people homeless and hundreds dead. Slam poet Mali conveys the terror, rage, and hope reborn experienced by the stunned Chicagoans, making this Audio Bookshelf production one that will burn in memory long after the recording ends. M.M.O. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine


Embittered by war and its skeletal aftermath, 33-year-old British war hero Major Aldred Leith, after walking across China, is posted not far from Hiroshima. There in the shadow of blighted landscapes a delicately fresh 17-year-old girl restores him to love and hope. Ironically, the distances between them--age and experience--both attract them to each other and threaten their relationship. Virginia Leishman's narration, precise and thoughtful, reflects this underlying irony with a sense of painful gentleness. It is tentative and unhurried, reflecting Leith's cautious retelling of his story and tenuous hold on life, yet it shimmers with an implicit energy that seems to respond to the life ready to spring out anew. Though not really a war novel, this 2003 National Book Award winner is probably the finest study ever of its aftermath, and Leishman's narration replicates the almost imperceptible movement from postwar hollowness to hope reborn. P.E.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine