In 1998, Recorded Books published an audiocassette reading of The Great Fire by John McDonough. McDonough is a good reader whose well-controlled voice brings the many different figures in the book to life, and in spite of the lack of illustration found in the original book, the scenes and action are still vivid.

Murphy's interest in history was evident early in his writing career in books such as Weird and Wacky Inventions (1978), Baseball's All-Time Stars (1984), and even The Custom Car Book (1985). It was in the 1990s that he began publishing the complex, heavily illustrated histories for which he is best known. The Boys' War:Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk about the Civil War (1990) features the careful interweaving of firsthand testimony from participants in historical events with Murphy's account of the context of the events. This is typical of not only The Great Fire, but The...