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Larry Brown was a
fireman in Oxford, MS, for 17 years. I say “was” a fireman for two reasons. One, he left
the fire department to write full time, and two, he passed away suddenly in November
2004.
The stories in the book are all true, and alternate from off-duty
escapades to fire fighting adventures. Many of the personal stories concern hunting,
which may be a turn off for some people (me included), as are the numerous accounts of
hard drinking with his fireman buddies, sometimes while driving long distances on
official business.
But Mr. Brown was a nice guy and dedicated fireman.
He put his life on the line and never hesitated to be there for his fellow firefighters.
He brings the reader along on the big red truck with him, and even throws in a few
informative tidbits about fires and firefighting.
I hope Mr. Brown’s
writing inspires people in other professions to put pen to paper and get their stories
told. I for one enjoy reading most memoirs, as they introduce me to new and different
ways of life.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys light
reading, as it’s in short story format and easy to follow in small doses.
Larry Brown published numerous additional books, mostly novels. Some
titles are Father and Son (winner of the Southern book award), Joe, Big
Bad Love, Billy Ray’s Farm, The Rabbit Factory and Dirty
Work.
This is good news for Larry Brown fans, because they have a
large selection of books to read, but unfortunately, there won’t be any new works from
Mr. Brown.
