Strong of Heart

the long version

"Thomas Von Essen, New York City's Thirtieth Fire Commissioner, had seen just about everything during his thirty-one-year career in the fire department: building collapses, raging infernos, heroic rescues, and power struggles. But nothing could have prepared him, or the fire department, for the devastation that occurred on September 11, 2001. In just 102 minutes, the mighty twin towers were reduced to rubble, and the Fire Department of New York had lost 343 men. Many of them were Von Essen's friends and colleagues, men whose exemplary lives had contributed mightily to his love of the department."--BOOK JACKET.