•"Much has been written about firefighters, some of it by people who actually fight fires. Few of the books I have any knowledge of show the mindset of the firefighters with as much insight and candor as this book..." -from the foreword by Hugh Downs•"Every so often a writer of substantive talent appears through the smokey background to perk up our interest in firefighters and firefighting. George Pickett is just such a man.... In The Brave you will come to know him and a valiant group of men as they speed from alarm to alarm in downtown New York, where the buildings are tall and for the most part old, where bums and drug addicts populate the streets, and where the fire companies hardly ever rest. You will begin to feel that you too are a member of Engine 33, Ladder 9, and, after George's promotion to lieutenant, of some of Brooklyn's busiest fire companies. It is an empowering feeling, until you suddenly realize that these are among the very first fire companies who will arrive one fateful day in their future at the World Trade Center, providing our city with more courage, determination, and selflessness that we ever knew we had. You will then thank George Pickett for letting you into their lives."-Dennis Smith, New York Times' bestselling authorGeorge Pickett served for more than four years in the United States Marine Corps prior to joining New York City's Fire Department in 1969. He served in some of the busiest units in FDNY's history, and worked extensively in Manhattan's lower east side. Assignments included working in the ranks of firefighter, engineer, lieutenant, captain, and acting battalion chief. George worked in Engine 17 for a short period when they responded to almost 10,000 calls in one year. He became the captain of Engine 17, located in the "Fort Pitt" fire station, an area that saw tremendous structural fire duty. He was decorated five times for life-saving acts, and was injured over a dozen times during performance of his duties. Since his relocation to Arizona, George has been the fire chief of two departments adjacent to Phoenix. As a fire chief, George served as the president of the Arizona Fire Chiefs Association and as a director for the Western Fire Chiefs Association. His education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in fire science and management from the City University of New York-where he was a Beller Zeller scholar.George lost many friends and associates at the WTC tragedy and flew back to New York to help look for victims at Ground Zero, representing his assigned fire department in Arizona. George has three adult children and lives with his wife in the Phoenix area.