"Every so often a writer of substantive talent appears through the smoky background to perk up our interest in firefighters and firefighting. George Pickett is just such a man... In this book you will come to know him and a valiant group of men as they speed from alarm to alarm in downtown New York, where the buildings are tall and for the most part old, where tramps and drug addicts populate the streets, and where the fire companies hardly ever rest. You will begin to feel that you too are a member of Engine 33, Ladder 9, and, after George's promotion to lieutenant, of some of Brooklyn's busiest fire companies. It is an empowering feeling, until you suddenly realise that these are among the very first fire companies who will arrive one fateful day in their future at the World Trade Center, providing our city with more courage, determination, and selflessness that we ever knew we had. You will then thank George Pickett for letting you into their lives." -- Dennis Smith, New York Times' best-selling author.