Brian McDonald (2)

I liked this book! If you have been following my reviews for any amount of time, you have probably noticed that I am a fairly eclectic reader but I tend to stay within the realm of fiction. Every once in a while, I am drawn to a non-fiction title and it is usually books that tell the story of ordinary people doing extraordinary things that I choose to pick up. This book features not just one member of the Feehan family but 4. I learned a lot about the history of the New York Fire Department along with some of the experiences this family has had while doing the job.

As a general rule, I don’t cry over books. I have cried while reading but it is not a common occurrence. For the first time in quite a few years, I found a book that made me cry. This novel touches on 9/11 early on and it really transported me back to that day. I vividly remember watching that second plane hit while packing my lunch to go to work, knowing how terrible it was. Only to realize how much worse it could be when those towers fell. This book made that scene come alive and I guess it is safe to say that I am not completely over those feelings from that time.

This book covers a lot of ground going back to the very early days of NYFD to 9/11 and after. There were some events that were touched on that I remember making the national news when they occurred but it was eye opening to get the perspective of someone tasked with dealing with these scenarios. I liked the camaraderie that the members of the fire department shared and how serious they were about their responsibilities. There was some politics in the discussions of how the department has changed over the years which I found interesting.

P.J. Ochlan did a great job with the narration of this book. I believe that this is my first experience in listening to this narrator but I thought that he was a good choice for this particular book. I found his voice to be pleasant and I had no problems listening to this book for hours at a time, except that one time that I stopped to cry for a bit.

I think that a lot of readers will find this book interesting. There are photos in the hardcover which really help to make the members of this family come to life. I am glad that I decided to give this book a try.

I received a review copy of this book from Grand Central publishing and purchased a copy of the audiobook.… (más)

The conceit of this book as a glimpse of the evolution of the FDNY through the lens of one family's involvement drew me in and it was interesting to read about how both the technology and the culture of the fire department changed over time. However, the tone of the book was a little odd. For the most part it is a very celebratory and uncritical tale of heroism, but there are asides regarding discriminatory practices and mismanagement within the department that are brought up but never fully examined. It left the book feeling dissonant to me, like it was caught between being two very different sorts of books without enough to bridge the gap.… (más)

"Death Need Not Be Fatal" is a fun look back at the McCourt family from what turned out to be its second most famous member, Malachy. For most of his life, Malachy McCourt was actually the most famous member of the family, only to be eventually supplanted by his brother Frank, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of "Angela's Ashes."

Malachy looks back upon his life among all those brothers (and one sister) with great humor and a certain amount of hindsight that serves him well. The man, who spent a good portion of his life in bars as patron, server, and owner seems to have a song for every occasion - and this being an audiobook, the reader gets to hear the author actually sing them instead of having to rely on only the written lyrics. Of course, Malachy was also an actor and a writer among his many other roles in this life.

Malachy McCourt, now deceased, did not fear death in any way, and he makes that very obvious in this, his final memoir. He was not at all a religious man; for him it was all about family and friends and being remembered by those he loved best and most. His was a life well lived, and "Death Need Not Be Fatal" is a memorable piece of writing.… (más)