City Journal: Rescue Men
Charles Kenney takes you on a family journey from the firehouse to the World Trade Center.
With a journalist’s eye for detail, former Globe writer Kenney examines some of Boston’s most infamous fires, and also describes his own family’s involvement in fighting the blazes. From the Cocoanut Grove fire back in ’42, when Kenney’s grandfather battled the flames, to a Kenney brother’s struggle at the World Trade Center, the story spans a half century of firehouse lore. Filled with riveting, how-they-do-it insights, Kenney’s book reminds us why so many boys dream of donning a fireman’s helmet. —Danny Lutz