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The Great Fire |
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The Great Fire |
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基本信息·出版社：Scholastic Paperbacks
·页码：144 页
·出版日期：2006年10月
·ISBN：0439203074
·条形码：9780439203074
·装帧：平装
·正文语种：英语
·外文书名：大火
内容简介 "Vivid firsthand descriptions by persons who lived through the 1871 Chicago fire are woven into a gripping account... Absorbing and riveting reading." The Horn Book, starred review
编辑推荐 From Publishers Weekly 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.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition. From School Library Journal Grade 5-12-Jim Murphy's primary source-based account (Scholastic, 1995) of the October 1871 conflagration that virtually wiped Chicago from the map is fully voiced by Taylor Mali. Weaving together technical details with firefighters', journalists', and ordinary citizens' accounts of their personal physical and emotional traumas as they unfolded across the 24 hours of the fire, this version of the long-mythologized event carefully repairs earlier historians' class- and gender-biased reports. Modern listeners will not be surprised to hear that some men fled and some women hauled traditionally man-sized loads in the face of the flames, but they will be fascinated by how very modern some of the responses to the disaster seem: the mayor of Chicago, for instance, called for help-and received it-from fire departments as far away as Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Murphy carefully explains how specific mistakes led to the fire becoming so quickly out of control, as well as how political precepts of the era worked to keep these facts from public view. This is excellent social history as well as suspenseful storytelling. The diversity and multitude of personal accounts is presented in both text and voice so that there is no sense of frustration in the changes of viewpoints, but rather a better appreciation of the event as a dynamic experience from which we still have much to learn.
Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition. From AudioFile 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 © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition. From Booklist Gr. 5^-9. The great Chicago fire has long been the stuff of folklore and legend. Yet separating fact from fiction in this major disaster has often appeared a secondary priority at best. Murphy sets the record straight through carefully selected documents, personal accounts, photographs, and illustrations. Beginning on that warm Sunday evening, October 8, 1871, in the O'Leary barn, Murphy traces the fire through its three horror-filled days as, fed by lusty prairie winds, cinders from a Saturday night blaze, and structures (even streets and sidewalks) built almost entirely of wood, it consumed block after block of homes, businesses, and bodies, eventually leaving 100,000 people homeless. The book's design complements the author's treatment of the subject. Six double-page spreads of Chicago street maps show the sweep of the flames from the little-known Saturday blaze until rain finally extinguished the fire on Tuesday. Photographs and illustrations of the conflagration and the damage it left behind only add fuel to the author's dramatic text, a riveting narrative that combines the details of the fire itself with personal anecdotes gleaned from newspaper accounts and books written during and immediately after the fire.
The Great Fire will automatically draw readers with its fiery cover and illustrations of disaster, but the text will keep them reading.
Frances Bradburn --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
