*Illustrated with drawings by Clifford Stead, Jr. and with photographs

Fire as man's friend and fire as man's enemy -- from prehistoric times until today

The use of fire was one of the most important discoveries ever made by man. Without fire -- as Raymond Holden makes clear in this book -- we would have no cooking, no heating, no industry, no modern transportation, no space exploration.

But fire can also present terrible dangers. Through vivid accounts of famous fires (in Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and elsewhere), the author shows the wonderful advances we have made in fire-fighting techniques.

All About Fire concludes with an explanation of the sun's great fire. 

From the book