Andy Ecker
GEOG361
Book Review
Firestorm at Peshtigo: A Town, Its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History
The same night as the Great Chicago Fire, an even worse and more destructive force swept through the town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin. In less than one hour, a fire swept through Peshtigo killing more than 2,000 people on October 8th, 1871. The book, Firestorm at Peshtigo, is a creation meant to put you through the experience. Through accounts of people and newspapers, the book re-creates the story. I choose this book in the beginning as I have always heard about how the fire at Peshtigo was more deadly than the Great Chicago Fire and wanted to find more information about it. The book has great reviews and is a great book to learn about the Firestorm at Peshtigo.
The fire in Peshtigo was the deadliest fire in American history. Peshtigo “was struck with a five-mile-wide wall of flames, borne on tornado-force wings of one hundred miles per hour that tore across more than 2,400 square miles of land.” The book definitely brings you into the experience. The authors did some great research on the topic as I can tell after reading the book. The reason the fire was so deadly, was the situation Peshtigo was in. At the time, it was a busy lumber community. Forests were being cleared and what were left was piles of deadly timber, branches and tree tops. Also, at the time the area was under a great drought.
The book is intense. It details the fire with no hesitation. People were on fire. Bodies were nothing except ash. The railroad cars had nothing left, but melted wheels. Of all the natural disasters we have learned about this semester, the devastation the firestorm brought was unreal. Of the 1,700 population in Peshtigo, 800 people died.
In summary, I would definitely recommend this book. The details the authors Denise Gess and William Lutz used in the book put you there. The fire at Peshtigo is overlooked by the Great Chicago Fire by so many. This story is one that should be taught in schools along with the Great Chicago Fire.
