I don't think I would recommend this book to anyone. While it does cover many famous fires, it didn't deliver on what it also promised, as in "Explores the role of firefighting in human history..." I was expecting a more detailed account of firefighting. But this is just a "coffee table" book about fires and photographs showing the evolution of equipment. It does cover many of the new building and safety regulations enacted after many fires took a great toll of life. But as you read about more fires you wondered who was suppose to enforce those regulations. Even in the U.S. and Great Britain, corruption in government meant those regulations were often ignored.
I also found it somewhat depressing when reading about the hundreds of victims of each fire, many of whom were children. Equally depressing was reading about the many government officials and building owners who literally got away with murder. And some also benefited financially due to insurance payoffs.
Then there was the physical problem with the book. The pages are glossy, which made it difficult to read due to glare. Plus, I imagined an editorial meeting prior to publishing the book, where some staff member suggests using four to five different size fonts, with the smallest font being printed on dark portions of the page---often photographs---so that it would be impossible to read without a magnifying glass. I had to use such to read through the first half of the book. It was extremely annoying. But I decided to finish the book while sitting outside on a cloudy day. I was amazed to discover I could read all the fonts without a a magnifying glass. Apparently, household lighting---lamps---is a no-no when trying to read this book. I wonder if that staff member received a pay raise and promotion? Is he/she still laughing about the suckers who bought this book and are trying to read it?
There was one new regulation which caught my attention. I always wondered why exits with revolving doors also have outward-opening, regular doors on each side of the revolving doors. When you read about the hundreds of people who died trying to get through revolving doors, which then became jammed, you wondered why it took so long for this regulation to be required. And we won't even discuss the thousands of people who died trying to use fire exits which were locked, or which opened inward.
I also found it somewhat depressing when reading about the hundreds of victims of each fire, many of whom were children. Equally depressing was reading about the many government officials and building owners who literally got away with murder. And some also benefited financially due to insurance payoffs.
Then there was the physical problem with the book. The pages are glossy, which made it difficult to read due to glare. Plus, I imagined an editorial meeting prior to publishing the book, where some staff member suggests using four to five different size fonts, with the smallest font being printed on dark portions of the page---often photographs---so that it would be impossible to read without a magnifying glass. I had to use such to read through the first half of the book. It was extremely annoying. But I decided to finish the book while sitting outside on a cloudy day. I was amazed to discover I could read all the fonts without a a magnifying glass. Apparently, household lighting---lamps---is a no-no when trying to read this book. I wonder if that staff member received a pay raise and promotion? Is he/she still laughing about the suckers who bought this book and are trying to read it?
There was one new regulation which caught my attention. I always wondered why exits with revolving doors also have outward-opening, regular doors on each side of the revolving doors. When you read about the hundreds of people who died trying to get through revolving doors, which then became jammed, you wondered why it took so long for this regulation to be required. And we won't even discuss the thousands of people who died trying to use fire exits which were locked, or which opened inward.
