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"The mystery in Monica Hesse's American Fire isn't what happened but why. Using straightforward prose and well-developed historical context, Hesse makes a story in which very little happens feel urgent and relevant." Times Literary Supplement
Shocked by a five-month arson spree that left a Virginia county reeling, reporter Monica Hesse drove to Accomack to cover the trial of Charlie Smith who pled guilty to 67 counts of arson. But Smith wasn't lighting fires alone: his crimes were galvanised by a twisted love story. Hesse uncovered the motives of this troubled addict and his accomplice, Tonya Bundick. In depicting the dangerous shift in their passionate relationship, Hesse brings to life the once-thriving coastal community and its distressed inhabitants, decimated by a punishing economy and increasingly terrified by a string of fires they could not explain. Incorporating this drama into the history of arson in the US, American Fire re-creates the anguished nights of this quiet county lit up in flames, evoking a microcosm of rural America a land gutted before the fires began.
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Review:
"A gripping, fast-paced story with an asset that few true crime books have: no body count. The story of serial arsonists who tore through the economically depressed rural Accomack County, American Fire is more about the good people of the area and the volunteer firefighters working way overtime than it is about the villains--but even then, and with no spoilers, the Freudian motivation of the culprits are fascinating." --"The 25 Best True Crime Books Every Person Should Read", Esquire
About the Author:
Monica Hesse is a feature writer for the Washington Post. Winner of the Edgar Award and a finalist for a Livingston and James Beard Award, she is also the author of Girl in the Blue Coat.
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- PublisherLiveright
- Publication date2018
- ISBN 10 1631494511
- ISBN 13 9781631494512
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages304
- Rating
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Book Description Softcover. Condition: new. A New York Times Notable Book of the YearA Washington Post Notable Book of the YearOne of Amazons 20 Best Books of the YearNamed one of the Best Books of the Year by Buzzfeed, Bustle, NPR, NYLON, and ThrillistFinalist for the Goodreads Book Award (Nonfiction)Finalist for the Edgar Award (Best Fact Crime)A Book of the Month Club SelectionA New York Times Book Review Editors Choice SelectionA brisk, captivating and expertly crafted reconstruction of a community living through a time of fear. Masterful. -Washington PostThe arsons started on a cold November midnight and didnt stop for months. Night after night, the people of Accomack County waited to see which building would burn down next, regarding each other at first with compassion, and later suspicion. Vigilante groups sprang up, patrolling the rural Virginia coast with cameras and camouflage. Volunteer firefighters slept at their stations. The arsonist seemed to target abandoned buildings, but local police were stretched too thin to surveil them all. Accomack was desolate-there were hundreds of abandoned buildings. And by the dozen they were burning.One of the years best and most unusual true-crime books (Christian Science Monitor), American Fire brings to vivid life the reeling county of Accomack. Ace reporter (Entertainment Weekly) Monica Hesse spent years investigating the story, emerging with breathtaking portraits of the arsonists-troubled addict Charlie Smith and his girlfriend, Tonya Bundick. Tracing the shift in their relationship from true love to crime spree, Hesse also conjures the once-thriving coastal community, decimated by a punishing economy and increasingly suspicious of their neighbors as the culprits remained at large. Weaving the story into the history of arson in the United States, the critically acclaimed American Fire re-creates the anguished nights this quiet county lit up in flames, evoking a microcosm of rural America-a land half-gutted before the fires began. 8 pages of illustrations. Seller Inventory # DADAX1631494511
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Shocked by a five-month arson spree that left a Virginia county reeling, reporter Monica Hesse drove to Accomack to cover the trial of Charlie Smith who pled guilty to 67 counts of arson. But Smith wasn't lighting fires alone: his crimes were galvanised by a twisted love story. Hesse uncovered the motives of this troubled addict and his accomplice, Tonya Bundick. In depicting the dangerous shift in their passionate relationship, Hesse brings to life the once-thriving coastal community and its distressed inhabitants, decimated by a punishing economy and increasingly terrified by a string of fires they could not explain. Incorporating this drama into the history of arson in the US, American Fire re-creates the anguished nights of this quiet county lit up in flames, evoking a microcosm of rural Americaa land gutted before the fires began. Combining the reportage of In Cold Blood with the eye-opening insights of Dreamland, American Fire is a new American tragedy for our time. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781631494512
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