In the struggle over affirmative action, no employment setting has seen more friction than urban fire departments. Thirty years of legal and political efforts have opened the doors of this historically white male preserve, but men of color have yet to consolidate their gains, and women's progress has been even more tenuous. In this unique and compelling account of affirmative action at the "street level," Carol Chetkovich explores the ways in which this program has succeeded and failed.

Chetkovich follows the men and women of the Oakland Fire Department Class 1-91 through their academy training and eighteen-month probation. In vivid and sometimes surprising narratives, newcomers tell of their first battle with a full-fledged fire, their reactions to hazing rituals, and their relationships with veterans and fellow trainees. Real Heat explores how the process of becoming a firefighter interacts with the dimensions of race and gender to support some and discourage others. The book examines the implications of these interactions for public policy and social justice.

The observations and stories revealed in this book are seldom heard by the chief administrator in an organization until it is too late. Ms. Chetkovich's book is an inside observation of the work group culture of the urban fire service that can assist the fire professional in focusing in on specific issues of diversity. Real Heat should be required reading for all new recruits and every fire officer involved in training, evaluating, or supervising entry-level and probationary firefighters. - Manuel Navarro (Fire Chief, Colorado Springs, Colorado) Brilliant and deeply honest. A head-on look at race, gender, and work practices that reveal the depth of resistance confronting women of all colors who work in ultra-male environments. The text has the painful but compelling ring of truth; it is an elegant and powerful use of ethnography in the service of social policy research.  - Carol Stack (author of Call to Home and All Our Kin, professor of women's studies, University of California, Berk)

Carol Chetkovich is an assitant professor of public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.