The Great Fire

Jim Murphy's Newbery Honor Book available for the first time in paperback.

The Great Fire of 1871 was one of most colossal disasters in American history. Overnight, the flourshing city of Chicago was transformed into a smoldering wasteland. The damage was so profound that few people believed the city could ever rise again.By weaving personal accounts of actual survivors together with the carefully researched history of Chicago and the disaster, Jim Murphy constructs a riveting narrative that recreates the event with drama and immediacy. And finally, he reveals how, even in a time of deepest dispair, the human spirit triumphed, as the people of Chicago found the courage and strength to build their city once again.

A Newbery Honor Book"The Great Fire will automatically draw readers with its fiery cover and illustrations of disaster, but the text will keep them reading." -- Booklist"[Murphy] puts the incident in perspective, giving it stunning immediacy for contemporary readers." -- Kirkus Reviews