"Dennis Smith has always been the chronicler of catastrophic fire, but he always brings to his narratives a powerful sense of the complexity of the human beings who have to deal with its elemental horror. San Francisco is Burning is worth reading just for its wonderful creation of the rich, venal, exuberant society of 1906. The word "denizens" seems to have been created for his picture of the people who rule the finances and power blocs of San Francisco on the eve of the city's great earthquake and fire. When earthquake and fire are added, and the impulsive bravery by which the fire is at last quenched, we are left with a wonderful tale which the reader will want to finish at one gulp."
Thomas Keneally, author of The Tyrant's Novel and Schindler's List

Dennis Smith, a leading firefighting historian and bestselling author of Report from Ground Zero and Report from Engine Co. 82, now focuses his attention to the horrifying and devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fires. In SAN FRANCISCO IS BURNING: The Untold Story of the 1906 Earthquake and Fires (Viking/On-sale date: September 26, 2005/$25.95/ 288 pages) Smith not only recounts in riveting detail the four days of fires and the incomprehensible loss of 3,000 lives, 28,181 buildings and the 20,000 people left homeless, he also for the first time gives a rich and compelling account of the heroism of the San Francisco firemen and countless San Franciscans determined to save their city.

Though this historic event has been heavily documented, much of what has been written about the fires is incomplete, or has been colored by rumor or fiction. Using archival research Smith illuminates many unknown facts about the events surrounding the earthquake and fire. He examines the contributions to such men as Lieutenant Frederick Newton Freeman, who valiantly fought the critical fires at the waterfront; [and] Frederick Funston, a US Army general who became the [leader] manager of the rescue efforts[:]; and the firefighters of Engine 1 who bravely battled the flames [and] alongside [all] the engine and truck companies of the San Francisco Fire Department. Among the great efforts of heroism and valor, Smith [also] details the many instances of poor planning, bad decisions and corruption on the part of the local government during the ensuing chaos. As Smith says [], "The story of the San Francisco earthquake and fires is a hard story of numbing imbalance, of corruption and virtue, of stupidity and enlightenment, and most of all, of cowardice and courage. It is also a story of peculiar fire-loading conditions and of geological vulnerability that is very dangerous - factors that have proven to be ruinous." Indeed, these factors have not changed much since 1906.

In addition to giving the heroes of the time their due, SAN FRANCISCO IS BURNING chronicles how one city can respond to a massive crisis, how government and civilians deal with disaster, and how ordinary people mobilize in a natural catastrophe. It is a gripping and cautionary tale that recounts one of the most dramatic events of the twentieth century. Smith brings this story vividly to life, in lively, highly readable action packed chapters, documenting as never before the four-day destruction.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dennis Smith, a former New York City firefighter, is the founding editor of Firehouse Magazine and the bestselling author of eleven books, including Report from Ground Zero, Report from Engine Co. 82, and A Song for Mary. He is currently chairman of First Responders Financial Company and lives in New York City.

SAN FRANCISCO IS BURNING
The Untold Story of the 1906 Earthquake and Fires
By Dennis Smith
Viking / On-sale date: September 26, 2005
$25.95 / ISBN 0670034428

For additional information or to schedule an interview with the author please contact: Amity Murray, Publicist/Viking Penguin 212/366-2227 (direct), amity.murray@us.penguingroup.com