Keepers of the flame : the role of fire in American culture, 1775-1925 / Margaret Hindle Hazen and Robert M. Hazen.

Main entry:

Hazen, Margaret Hindle.

Title & Author:

Keepers of the flame : the role of fire in American culture, 1775-1925 / Margaret Hindle Hazen and Robert M. Hazen.

Publication:

Description:

x, 281 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-270) and index.
Ch. 1. Heritage of Flame -- Ch. 2. Good Servant -- Ch. 3. Bad Master -- Ch. 4. Fighting Back -- Ch. 5. Keep the Home Fires Burning: Fire Tending and Maintenance -- Ch. 6. Understanding Fire -- Ch. 7. Perpetuating the Flame -- Ch. 8. Epilogue.

Summary:

"For, Lo! We live in an Iron Age - In the age of Steam and Fire!" wrote a poet mesmerized by the engines that were transforming American transportation, agriculture, and industry during his lifetime. Indeed, by the nineteenth century fire had become America's leitmotif - for good and for ill. "Keeping the flame" was deadly serious: even the slightest lapse of attention could convert a fire from friendly ally to ravaging destroyer. To examine the cultural context of fire in "combustible America," Margaret Hazen and Robert Hazen gather more than one hundred illustrations, most never before published, together with anecdotes and information from hundreds of original sources, including newspapers, diaries, company records, popular fiction, art, and music. The result is an immensely entertaining and encyclopedic history that ranges from stories of the tragic "great fires" of the century to fire imagery in folktales and popular literature. Dealing more with technology than with fire in nature, the book provides a vast amount of information on fire manipulation and prevention in everyday life. Hazen and Hazen discuss the people who worked with fire - or against it. Founders, gaffers, blacksmiths, boilers at saltworks, and housewives knew how to "read" a fire and employ it for their purposes. A few dedicated investigators inquired about the scientific nature of heat and flame. And firefighters gradually progressed from "bucket brigades" to "using fire to fight fire" with the newly invented steam engine. The colorful stories of these Americans - the risks they took and the rewards they received - will intrigue not only social historians but also anyone ever fascinated by the flame.

Resources:
Table of contents
Table of contents
Publisher description

ISBN:

0691048096 (acid-free paper)
9780691048093 (acid-free paper)
0691006245 (pbk.)
9780691006246 (pbk.)

Subject:

Fire Social aspects United States.
Feu Aspect social États-Unis.
Fire Social aspects.
Manners and customs.
Feuer
Zivilisation
Vuur.
Cultuurgeschiedenis (wetenschap)
Geschichte (1775-1925)
United States Social life and customs.
États-Unis Mœurs et coutumes.
United States.
USA.
verbranden
burning
verbranding
combustion
explosieven
explosives
brand
brandstoffen
fuels
geschiedenis
history
sociale wetenschappen
social sciences
thermodynamica
thermodynamics
vs
usa
gebruik
usage
gebruiken
customs
Economic, Social, and Cultural History of North America
Economische, sociale en cultuurgeschiedenis van Noord-Amerika

Added entries:

Hazen, Robert M., 1948-

Holdings:

Location: Library main 110316
Call No.: ID PLS E161.H39; ID:94-B495
Status: Available

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