The Fires of Philadelphia

The Fires of Philadelphia
Author: Zachary M. Schrag
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2021-06-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1643137298

A gripping and masterful account of the moment one of America's founding cities turned on itself, giving the nation a preview of the Civil War to come. America is in a state of deep unrest, grappling with xenophobia, racial, and ethnic tension a national scale that feels singular to our time. But it also echoes the earliest anti-immigrant sentiments of the country. In 1844, Philadelphia was set aflame by a group of Protestant ideologues—avowed nativists—who were seeking social and political power rallied by charisma and fear of the immigrant menace. For these men, it was Irish Catholics they claimed would upend morality and murder their neighbors, steal their jobs, and overturn democracy. The nativists burned Catholic churches, chased and beat people through the streets, and exchanged shots with a militia seeking to reinstate order. In the aftermath, the public debated both the militia’s use of force and the actions of the mob. Some of the most prominent nativists continued their rise to political power for a time, even reaching Congress, but they did not attempt to stoke mob violence again. Today, in an America beset by polarization and riven over questions of identity and law enforcement, the 1844 Philadelphia Riots and the circumstances that caused them demand new investigation. At a time many envision America in flames, The Fires of Philadelphia shows us a city—one that embodies the founding of our country—that descended into open warfare and found its way out again.

Philadelphia Fire

Philadelphia Fire
Author: John Edgar Wideman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2020-10-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1982148853

One of John Wideman’s most ambitious and celebrated works, the lyrical masterpiece and PEN/Faulkner winner inspired by the 1985 police bombing of the West Philadelphia row house owned by black liberation group Move. In 1985, police bombed a West Philadelphia row house owned by the Afrocentric cult known as Move, killing eleven people and starting a fire that destroyed sixty other houses. At the heart of Philadelphia Fire is Cudjoe, a writer and exile who returns to his old neighborhood after spending a decade fleeing from his past, and who becomes obsessed with the search for a lone survivor of the event: a young boy seen running from the flames. Award-winning author John Edgar Wideman brings these events and their repercussions to shocking life in this seminal novel. “Reminiscent of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man” (Time) and Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song, Philadelphia Fire is a masterful, culturally significant work that takes on a major historical event and takes us on a brutally honest journey through the despair and horror of life in urban America.

The Princeton Guide to Historical Research

The Princeton Guide to Historical Research
Author: Zachary Schrag
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 434
Release: 2021-04-27
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0691215480

The essential handbook for doing historical research in the twenty-first century The Princeton Guide to Historical Research provides students, scholars, and professionals with the skills they need to practice the historian's craft in the digital age, while never losing sight of the fundamental values and techniques that have defined historical scholarship for centuries. Zachary Schrag begins by explaining how to ask good questions and then guides readers step-by-step through all phases of historical research, from narrowing a topic and locating sources to taking notes, crafting a narrative, and connecting one's work to existing scholarship. He shows how researchers extract knowledge from the widest range of sources, such as government documents, newspapers, unpublished manuscripts, images, interviews, and datasets. He demonstrates how to use archives and libraries, read sources critically, present claims supported by evidence, tell compelling stories, and much more. Featuring a wealth of examples that illustrate the methods used by seasoned experts, The Princeton Guide to Historical Research reveals that, however varied the subject matter and sources, historians share basic tools in the quest to understand people and the choices they made. Offers practical step-by-step guidance on how to do historical research, taking readers from initial questions to final publication Connects new digital technologies to the traditional skills of the historian Draws on hundreds of examples from a broad range of historical topics and approaches Shares tips for researchers at every skill level

Philadelphia Fire

Philadelphia Fire
Author: John Edgar Wideman
Publisher: Scribner
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2020-10-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1982148845

One of John Wideman’s most ambitious and celebrated works, the lyrical masterpiece and PEN/Faulkner winner inspired by the 1985 police bombing of the West Philadelphia row house owned by black liberation group Move. In 1985, police bombed a West Philadelphia row house owned by the Afrocentric cult known as Move, killing eleven people and starting a fire that destroyed sixty other houses. At the heart of Philadelphia Fire is Cudjoe, a writer and exile who returns to his old neighborhood after spending a decade fleeing from his past, and who becomes obsessed with the search for a lone survivor of the event: a young boy seen running from the flames. Award-winning author John Edgar Wideman brings these events and their repercussions to shocking life in this seminal novel. “Reminiscent of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man” (Time) and Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song, Philadelphia Fire is a masterful, culturally significant work that takes on a major historical event and takes us on a brutally honest journey through the despair and horror of life in urban America.

Highrise Office Building Fire One Meridian Plaza- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Highrise Office Building Fire One Meridian Plaza- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Author: U. S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency
Publisher:
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2013-03-15
Genre:
ISBN: 9781482781830

This report on the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, One Meridian Plaza fire documents one of the most significant highrise fires in U.S. history. This body of work provides detailed information on the nature of the fire problem for policymakers who must decide on allocations of resources between fire and other pressing problems, and within the fire service to improve codes and code enforcement, training, public fire education, building technology, and other related areas.

Fire Underground

Fire Underground
Author: David Dekok
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2009-10-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0762758244

How a modern-day mine disaster has turned a Pennsylvania community into a ghost town * For much of its history, Centralia, Pennsylvania, had a population of around 2,000. By 1981, this had dwindled to just over 1,000—not unusual for a onetime mining town. But as of 2007, Centralia had the unwelcome distinction of being the state’s tiniest municipality, with a population of nine. The reason: an underground fire that began in 1962 has decimated the town with smoke and toxic gases, and has since made history. Fire Underground is the completely updated classic account of the fire that has been raging under Centralia for decades. David DeKok tells the story of how the fire actually began and how government officials failed to take effective action. By 1981 the fire was spewing deadly gases into homes. A twelve-year-old boy dropped into a steaming hole as a congressman toured nearby. DeKok describes how the people of Centralia banded together to finally win relocation funds—and he reveals what has happened to the few remaining residents as the fiftieth anniversary of the fire’s beginning nears.

Spring Fires

Spring Fires
Author: Cynthia Wright
Publisher: Boxwood Manor Books
Total Pages: 343
Release: 2011-08-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0988886049

From a New York Times bestselling author...RT Book Reviews' "ALL TIME FAVORITE" selection. GOLD rating! An independent woman's quest for love... When dashing Nicholai Beauvisage returns to America, he's been hardened by the terrors of the French Revolution and now seeks to indulge in the pleasures of a rake. However, his plans are soon complicated by Lisette Hahn, a self-sufficient beauty who runs a coffee house where Jefferson and Hamilton argue politics. Proud of her success, she’s been able to rise above the desires of her heart - until Nicholai arrives back in Philadelphia. That very night, in the wake of tragedy, Lisette finally gives her passions free rein…but what will the dawn bring? Beloved characters from Stolen by a Pirate, Rescued by a Rogue, Touch the Sun, and Silver Storm return as supporting characters in this sensuous, enchanting story that sweeps from a new, vibrant America across the ocean to the glittering salons of London. "Cynthia Wright magically entwines passion and history." ~Kathe Robin, RT Book Reviews Rakes & Rebels: The Beauvisage Family: 1 – STOLEN BY A PIRATE: a novella prequel to RESCUED BY A ROGUE (Jean-Philippe & Antonia) 2 – RESCUED BY A ROGUE (Alec & Caro) 3 – TOUCH THE SUN (Lion & Meagan) 4 – SPRING FIRES (Nicholai & Lisette) 5 – HER DANGEROUS VISCOUNT (Grey & Natalya) The 2 Rakes & Rebels series feature intertwining characters! Rakes & Rebels: The Raveneau Family: 1 - SILVER STORM (André & Devon) 2 - HER HUSBAND, THE RAKE: a sequel novella (André & Devon) 3 - SMUGGLER'S MOON (Sebastian & Julia) 4 - THE SECRET OF LOVE (Gabriel & Isabella) 5 - SURRENDER THE STARS (Ryan & Lindsay) 6 - HIS MAKE-BELIEVE BRIDE (Justin & Mouette) 7 - HIS RECKLESS BARGAIN (Nathan & Adrienne) 8 - TEMPEST (Adam & Cathy) "SPRING FIRES is a classic historical romance that you'll never forget! Treat yourself to entering the world of our American ancestors... you'll be swept away!" ~ NYTimes Bestselling Author Ciji Ware

The Big Burn

The Big Burn
Author: Timothy Egan
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2009-10-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 0547416865

National Book Award–winner Timothy Egan turns his historian's eye to the largest-ever forest fire in America and offers an epic, cautionary tale for our time. On the afternoon of August 20, 1910, a battering ram of wind moved through the drought-stricken national forests of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, whipping the hundreds of small blazes burning across the forest floor into a roaring inferno that jumped from treetop to ridge as it raged, destroying towns and timber in the blink of an eye. Forest rangers had assembled nearly ten thousand men to fight the fires, but no living person had seen anything like those flames, and neither the rangers nor anyone else knew how to subdue them. Egan recreates the struggles of the overmatched rangers against the implacable fire with unstoppable dramatic force, and the larger story of outsized president Teddy Roosevelt and his chief forester, Gifford Pinchot, that follows is equally resonant. Pioneering the notion of conservation, Roosevelt and Pinchot did nothing less than create the idea of public land as our national treasure, owned by every citizen. Even as TR's national forests were smoldering they were saved: The heroism shown by his rangers turned public opinion permanently in favor of the forests, though it changed the mission of the forest service in ways we can still witness today. This e-book includes a sample chapter of SHORT NIGHTS OF THE SHADOW CATCHER.

No Ashes in the Fire

No Ashes in the Fire
Author: Darnell L Moore
Publisher: Bold Type Books
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2018-05-29
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1568589492

From a leading journalist and activist comes a brave, beautifully wrought memoir. When Darnell Moore was fourteen, three boys from his neighborhood tried to set him on fire. They cornered him while he was walking home from school, harassed him because they thought he was gay, and poured a jug of gasoline on him. He escaped, but just barely. It wasn't the last time he would face death. Three decades later, Moore is an award-winning writer, a leading Black Lives Matter activist, and an advocate for justice and liberation. In No Ashes in the Fire, he shares the journey taken by that scared, bullied teenager who not only survived, but found his calling. Moore's transcendence over the myriad forces of repression that faced him is a testament to the grace and care of the people who loved him, and to his hometown, Camden, NJ, scarred and ignored but brimming with life. Moore reminds us that liberation is possible if we commit ourselves to fighting for it, and if we dream and create futures where those who survive on society's edges can thrive. No Ashes in the Fire is a story of beauty and hope-and an honest reckoning with family, with place, and with what it means to be free.