Account

Company

  Menu
Large Image

Description

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

A Washington Post Notable Book of the Year

One of Amazon's 20 Best Books of the Year

Named one of the Best Books of the Year by Buzzfeed, Bustle, NPR, NYLON, and Thrillist

Finalist for the Goodreads Book Award (Nonfiction)

Finalist for the Edgar Award (Best Fact Crime)

A Book of the Month Club Selection

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Selection

"A brisk, captivating and expertly crafted reconstruction of a community living through a time of fear... Masterful." -- Washington Post

The arsons started on a cold November midnight and didn't 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 year's 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.

Tag This Book

This Book Has Been Tagged
It hasn't. Be the first to tag this book!

Our Recommendation

Track It. This book has been $6.96 within the past year.

Notify Me When The Price...

  • $
  • If I'm already tracking this book...

to track this book on eReaderIQ.

Track These Authors

to track Monica Hesse on eReaderIQ.

  • to be notified each time the price drops on any book by Monica Hesse.
  • to stop tracking Monica Hesse.

Price Summary

  • We started tracking this book on October 21, 2016.
  • This book was $22.73 when we started tracking it.
  • The price of this book has changed 107 times in the past 2,716 days.
  • The current price of this book is $9.99 last checked one day ago.
  • This book is at its lowest price in the past 90 days.
  • This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past six months is $9.12.
  • This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is $6.96.
  • The lowest price to date was $2.99 last reached on October 22, 2020.
  • This book has been $2.99 one time since we started tracking it.
  • The highest price to date was $22.73 last reached on October 21, 2016.
  • This book has been $22.73 one time since we started tracking it.

Genres

Additional Info

  • Text-to-Speech: Disabled
  • Lending: Disabled
  • Print Length: 259 Pages
  • File Size: 7,679 KB

We last verified the price of this book about one day ago. At that time, the price was $9.99. This price is subject to change. The price displayed on the Amazon.com website at the time of purchase is the price you will pay for this book. Please confirm the price before making any purchases.