General Information
===================
 Title:                  The Great Fire
 Author:                 Jim Murphy
 Read By:                John McDonough
 Copyright:              1995
 Audiobook Copyright:    1995
 Genre:                  Audiobook
 Publisher:              Recorded Books
 Abridged:               No

Original Media Information
==========================
 Media:                  CD
 Number:                 3
 Condition:              Very Good

File Information
================
 Number of MP3s:         3
 Total Duration:         2:58:15
 Total MP3 Size:         81.64
 Parity Archive:         Yes
 Ripped By:              Frankee2
 Ripped With:            dBpowerAMP
 Encoded With:           LAME
 Encoded At:             CBR 64 kbit/s 44100 Hz Joint Stereo
 ID3 Tags:               Set, v1.1, v2.3

Book Description
================
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, CA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to 
the Audio Cassette edition.

