List $29.95

Written by Dennis Smith - Abridged Nonfiction - 4 CASSETTES - 7 hours

Publisher, HighBridge Audio (March 2002)

What would make someone rush into a towering inferno and dash up stairs toward danger against a flow of human beings running in the opposite direction? Only someone who's been there can tell us.

In this first book-length account of the rescrue efforts at the World Trade Center, retired New York City firefighter Dennis Smith gives a remarkable eyewitness account of perhaps the most heroic and desperate collaborative disester effort in recent history. Smith arrived on the scene shortly after the attacks on September 11 and stayed for weeks. He stretched hoses, picked up bodies, and talked with police, firefighters, and emergency workers who had rushed downtown to confront a spectacle no rescue worker had ever faced before.

In Report from Ground Zero, Smith gives us the stories of some of the 343 firefighters who were reported missing or dead, including; Captain Pat Brown from Ladder Company 3, who was a personal friend; a father and son; the department's beloved chaplain; commanders; rookies; and entire companies that were lost. Smith pays tribute to the dozens of police and emergency workers who die, as well as those who undertook an urgent search and rescue mission and, finally, the grim and daunting task of massive clean up.

Smith's rare blend of superb writing skills and up-close firefighting experience drop us into the psyche of a firefighter, which sheds light on what would make someone rush into a flaming building--it's called heroism.

About the Author: Dennis Smith is a retired New York City firefighter. He stayed in the Fire Department an additional 19 years after the success of his first book, Report from Engine Co. 82. He is the author of 11 books including three other bestsellers about firefighting. Smith founded Firehouse Magazine and has become an outstanding spokesman for firefighters nationwide.