As record-size wildfires blaze across the west and workers clear the last pieces of debris from the World Trade Center site, readers with no more courage than it takes to drive to Barnes & Noble are snapping up the many new firefighter books on store shelves and best-seller lists. The current crop precedes what will be a glut of 9/11-anniversary-pegged books this fall, including former New York Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen's memoir and a history of his department. It's clear firefighters are hot. The simmering question: Will enough vicarious heroes buy books to sustain the trend? --By Rebecca Winters
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