This book vividly brings to life the unimaginable risks of fire-fighting and the bravery and personal interactions of Captain Meaghan and the crew of Hook & Ladder Company No. 0 in New York City. A 1905 review in the New York Times notes: "'The Smoke-Eaters'...is one of those rare good treats that fall to the reviewer's lot.... There is enough humor and pathos of a grim and rugged sort, enough tense life and excitement and thrilling heroism to make a dozen...of the ordinary run of books, and it is all told with a straightforward simplicity that well accords with the single-hearted devotion to duty of the men who...`eat smoke and spit black buttons'.... Not only are they the best sort of stories about firemen, but some of them would stand as models of all that any short story should be - so compact, so restrained, and yet possessed of a vigor and force that keep expectation keyed to the highest tension." A pdf of the FULL REVIEW may be accessed here: - Lee Smalley
