''Home Fires: An Intimate Portrait of One Middle-Class Family in Postwar America'' is a
narrative nonfiction
Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction or literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contra ...
book by
Don Katz
Donald R. Katz (born January 30, 1952 ITC, recorded 2005-05-09.) is the founder and executive chairman
. Originally published in 1992, it was reissued in 2014 in
ebook
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
and
audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
formats with a new introduction by
Jonathan Alter
Jonathan H. Alter (born October 6, 1957) is a liberal American journalist, best-selling author, Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker and television producer who was a columnist and senior editor for ''Newsweek'' magazine from 1983 until 2011. Alte ...
. The book covers the lives of the Gordons, an American family with many familiar experiences and struggles, including a move from the city to the suburbs, and four rebellious children. One of the grown children, Susan Gordon Lydon, wrote her own memoir in parallel, published the next year: ''Take The Long Way Home: Memoirs Of A Survivor''.
Summary
''Home Fires'' tells the story of the Gordon family – real people, names unchanged - over nearly five decades, from the end of World War II to the early 1990s. The book chronicles the turbulent postwar era, illuminating the interplay between private life and profound cultural changes. Juxtaposing day-to-day family life with landmark public events, ''Home Fires'' is a revealing portrait of the second half of the 20th century in America
Members of the family profiled include composer
Ricky Ian Gordon
Ricky Ian Gordon (born May 15, 1956) is an American composer of art song, opera and musical theatre.
Life
Gordon was born in Oceanside, New York. He was raised by his mother, Eve, and father, Sam, and he grew up on Long Island with his three sist ...
.
Reception
''Home Fires'' received widespread critical acclaim. ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' described it as a "moving, perceptive social history" and "riveting reading." ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called it "mesmerizing, important" and ''
Glamour
Glamour may refer to:
Arts
Film
* ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film
* ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film
* ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film
Writing
* ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women
* ''The Glamour ...
'' called it "a flat-out marvel of reportage." Author
Jonathan Alter
Jonathan H. Alter (born October 6, 1957) is a liberal American journalist, best-selling author, Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker and television producer who was a columnist and senior editor for ''Newsweek'' magazine from 1983 until 2011. Alte ...
, who also wrote the introduction for the 2014 edition, wrote "Katz’s familial lens on recent history belongs on a shelf with classics. There is Balzac here, and Theodore Dreiser, with a touch of John Gunther, John Dos Passos and William Manchester."