City on Fire

"City on Fire" is a remarkably well written snapshot of the time period when crack cocaine addiction, financial greed, and mayhem ruled the inner city streets of Philadelphia, PA. This selected collection of stories vividly details the struggles people faced from 1980 through 1992. The plague of drugs, fast money, and violent crimes that blanketed the city is brought to life in this three part series of urban variance. The story "Contender," focuses on the Delibeche brothers who juggle their hardcore street life with their gifted abilities as boxers. One brother's solitary pursuit in his professional boxing career becomes a personal conflict with his street life... "Morning Commute," delves into the complicated world of single mother Belinda Jacobson. She tries desperately to keep her only son Malik from being consumed by the ills of street life and peer pressure. His immaturity and poor decision making is put to task after he is arrested and sent to one of the city's harshest boot camps for juveniles'... In the sultry first person story of "Sixxx," the relationship hardships of Troy Akers are on full display. His testosterone driven pursuit to find his "misses right" takes him on a sexual journey with women who introduce him to dark and convoluted places in his soul... Anderson Bernard did what only the best writers can do. He created insightful and poignant stories that reflect a mirror image on an era that left an irreversible effect on all of America.