Firefighter's Handbook : Essentials of Firefighting and Emergency Response, 2e

Rating:
Summary: Too Much for one book
Review: The publishers tried to put a lot of information into this book. Unfortunately it didn't work. This book attempted to go beyond firefighting and into Haz Mat, and EMS. Instead of having useful facts and instruction, this book has very basic info. What is in this book isn't really useful to somebody studying for firefighting tests. There are no certification tests that have Firefighting, EMS, and Haz Mat all on the same test. There is a reason why they are broken up as much as they are. This book reveals why other publishers haven't combined all of that info. Let's face it, in this job you need many different books to get your information. No one book will ever be sufficient for the needs of the fire service. Delmar has typically put out good books but I was disappointed with this one. People may like this book because it's an easy read, but this book holds nothing to the 4th Essentials of Firefighting produced by IFSTA.

Rating:
Summary: This is a well thought out book
Review: This is a great improvement over the standard Essentials of Firefighting put out by IFSTA. The writing is better, the graphics are outstanding and there is great background information on each subject.
If you just want a textbook, purchase the IFSTA book. If you are interested in really reading and grasping the essentials then purchase this encyclopedia of knowledge and insight.

Rating:
Summary: Hey guy, buy no other book
Review: This is the best handbook for fire departments to use in training new personnel. This text has more information than the IFSTA book and is much better written and edited. I also like the pictures this one has, especially the ones in the history section (mainly the one from Gettysburg). Go forth and purchase a hundred, no, a thousand copies for your department today!