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| 1. The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan | |
 | Paperback
list price: $15.95 -- our price: $10.85 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0547394608 Publisher: Mariner Books Sales Rank: 2155 Average Customer Review: 
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This book reads like a growing, raging wildfire: it starts out slow, then builds up to a spellbounding climax and finishes with a lengthy cleanup of loss and grief and the realization that the Forest Service is needed.
Timothy Egan is a gifted writer who knows how to keep readers spellbound. I started reading the book yesterday "just to get a feel for it" and a few hours later couldn't put it down. He does a great job of pulling the reader into this subject, introducing the main characters of TR, Gifford Pinchot (first Chief Forest Servicer who met an early demise when Taft took over) and Bill Greeley (District Ranger), and all the wealthy New Yorkers who resented wild lands being put in reserves for future generations. In the background is John Muir, this country's first passionate nature advocate and preservationist. TR created the Forest Service in 1905 and Congress passed the first laws for its agency. With the buffalo, grizzly bear and wolf practically killed off from most lands, the last great fear was the wildfire. History has proven that even in the young United States, a ravaging fire could wipe out entire families, entire towns. After a brutally cold and wet winter in early 1910, the weather warmed up, drying the forests of the eventual burn area by April. Over 1000 smaller fires were already burning by late July. By then Roosevelt was out of the White House and a new man, William Taft, his successor. This book is divided into three parts: 'In on the Creation," which describes the characters who were for and against the creation of the Forest Service and the western lands; the young underpaid progressives who were picked by Pinchot to be the first forest rangers, and all the wealthy senators and businessmen who were opposed to open lands for the public. The first rangers were more than just office administrators (like they are today), but young men who had to endure a two day grueling exam to prove that they could survive in the wilderness, hunt and cook their own food and build thir own cabin. Part II describes in vivid detail the frantic attempt to recruit forest fire fighters among Westerners who were still more interested in logging, mining, hunting and whoring and opposing anyone and anything that would prevent them from doing so. But then those smaller 1000 forest fires bled into one humungous inferno in late August that ravaged so much of eastern Washington, northern Idaho and western Montana in a matter of two days. The actual fire is described starting in the chapter "Men, Men, Men!" on page 110 out of this 297 page book. Part III winds down with the postfire days and months in "What They Saved" with the realization that the Forest Service is a necessary evil for the landowners and corporations that do business from and in the wilderness. The reader sees how the complete story of all the characters falls into place. Egan knows how to make popular history interesting without dragging down the story with too many details. Describing the people involved in this story is no easy feat, yet reading "The Big Burn" is excitingly fast, highly entertaining and most interesting. Egan does an extraordinary job describing the constant tug and pulls that were going on during Roosevelt and Taft's administrations between Congress and especially Senator Weldon Heyburn from Idaho, wealthy railroad owners and businessmen on one side, and the growing young progressives pushing for reform across the country on the other. The reader becomes familiar with all the corruption, crimes, lies and stalls that went on for years in the early 20th century between land owners and land conservationists. (Preserving land for public use was unheard of at a time when large corporations were given it free to exploit for its natural resources.) Add in the popular yellow press at the time and all the many social changes going on in the working class, the final product is a well written social history that deserves to be read, enjoyed and passed on. A reader who enjoys history will gain greater insight into all the behind the scenes bickering that went on not just because of the Big Burn, but in society as a whole. Many of those progressive changes are with us today. This book is Timothy Egan at his best.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Even though Teddy Roosevelt figures prominently in the title of this book, he has left office by the time of the August 1910 wildfire in the Bitterroot Mountains (along the Idaho-Montana border) at the true center of this story.
Roosevelt has left behind Gifford Pinchot to lead the conservation efforts of the nascent US Forest Service. Pinchot's efforts are underfunded and unpopular with influential senators, congressman and powerful industrial figures who want to leverage western timber and mineral reserves to enhance their personal empires. By the time the fire strikes, William Taft is serving ineffectually as president, essentially leaving Pinchot to do the best he can with what he has. Timothy Egan lays out the political and historical scene setting in animated detail, providing well documented insights. He adds life and personality to the central players in the coming conflict between powerful people (with vastly differing agendas) and nature (with just one). He then shifts to the fire itself. In 1910, the towns of the Bitterroots were populated by a diverse group of immigrants with social issues that could have come from today's op-ed pages. Writing about an influx of Italians, Egan says: "The Italian surge, in particular, angered those who felt the country was not recognizable, was overrun by foreigners, had lost its sense of identity. And they hated hearing all these strange languages, spoken in shops, schools and churches." The events of this book take place at the intersection of many disruptive influences in America; railroads, telephone, freed blacks (the Buffalo Soldiers play a prominent role in the firefighting in this book). As we watch western fires threaten lives and property today, challenging even our advantages of aircraft (the US government owned two airplanes in 1910), communications and road transportation, it's hard to imagine the odds faced by those on the front lines in this book. The final third of this book is an emotional look at hard men and women making hard choices in the face of fire fueled by dry timber and spread with hurricane-force Palouser wind. Some were deliberately heroic, others purely self-serving, and some simply met their end as they ran out of options while doing their duty. Egan captures the time and place with honesty and respect, and leaves you in awe of their pioneering spirit and the power of nature over humanity. The next time you see video of a woodland firefighter wielding a "Pulaski Axe", you'll appreciate its history...and know something about the man who gave it its name.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) The "big burn" was definitely big. Just as the U.S.--under Teddy Roosevelt--finally got around to protecting millions of acres of western forest, parts of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming--an area about the size of New England--burned to the ground in what is probably the most devastating forest fire in our history. Well deserving the name "bug burn" it was front page news for a week, caused dozens (and perhaps as many as 200) deaths, and destruction of vast areas of virgin timber--worth millions of dollars if logged. Yet, the story is now largely forgotten.
Timothy Egan (who last focused his writing talents on the dust bowl) does a good job of bringing this important event back alive. The book is (with a few exceptions discussed below) eminently readable, and he tells a good story--describing both the fire itself, and the political context vividly. I do believe that the sub-title is a little overblown--the fire did not "save America", but arguably did save the concept of wilderness protection. That story is really the story of "spin"--the conservationists simply did a better job of selling their story. The narrative of heroic rangers battling a monster fire, despite having been under funded by timber barons for years--leading to wholly unnecessary lose of life. The timber companies had just as plausible story line: if the woods are going to be destroyed by fire anyway, doesn't it make sense to harvest the lumber in an economically productive manner? But did a terrible job of selling it. My reservation is that the book is a little disorganized. The same story is told twice--in almost identical words--in the introduction, and then again in its chronological "place" in the story. Also, the book really doesn't come alive until the fire starts. All in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the development of our system of national parks and forests.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) In "The Big Burn", author Timothy Egan skillfully weaves the story of a massive August 1910 forest fire in Idaho and Montana into the histories of the U.S. Forest Service and the conservation movement. The book begins with its two leading characters, Theodore Roosevelt and his close friend, forester Gifford Pinchot. The reader who is unfamiliar with either of these two will receive a superficial biography which enables him or her to understand their roles in the forestry and conservation contribution to the Progressive Era. TR was the outdoorsman who strove to preserve natural resources and wilderness areas for future generations. Pinchot was the wealthy heir who invented the forestry profession and made it the cause of his life. It was Pinchot who taught TR how to protect virgin timber from the lumber industry. This book illustrates the forces and personalities which contended over the issues concerning the preservation or utilization of America's timber resources. Among those opposing TR and Pinchot were President William Howard Taft and timber interest defenders, Montana Senator William Clark and Idaho Senator Weldon Heyburn. The conservationists' disputes were not all fought against industrialists. Pinchot, who favored wise use of the forests, would even clash with his mentor, John Muir, who preferred uncompromising preservation.
After laying out the tale of the conservation efforts, Egan switches to stories of the settlers and Forest Rangers who fought against and live through or died in the Big Burn. These are stories of heroism and tragedy, survival and death. The title says that this is about "Teddy Roosevelt & The Fire That Saved America." As I was reading about the fire, I wondered how he was going to tie this back into the saving of America. Egan brings the preservation of the Forest Service into the story by pointing out that the Big Burn made heroes of the Rangers, thereby increasing public support for funding and defeating the efforts of the industry and its political agents to destroy the Service which stood in the way of unfettered exploitation of the timber lands. The writing is excellent. This narrative moves seamlessly from one story to another. You will always be longing for the next page. Whether you are a devotee of the history of the Idaho-Montana region, Theodore Roosevelt, the Conservation Movement or the Progressive Era, this is a valuable addition to your library. Among my interests are Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Era. Although I already knew much about those subjects before I began this book, I learned many new things and deepened my understanding. However familiar you are with these topics, you will learn much from this work.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Timothy Egan, the author of The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and The Fire That Saved America, became one of my "must read" authors after the publication of his excellent book on the Dust Bowl, The Worst Hard Time. In The Big Burn, Egan turns his attention and exceptional research and storytelling skills to an event and individuals unknown to most Americans; a wildfire that, in August 1910, consumed more that 3 million acres, five towns, and about 100 lives. All in the span of two days. To give you an idea the size of 3 millions acres, Egan tells you it would be as if the entire state of Connecticut was burned to the ground over the weekend.
Contents: Prologue Part I - In on the Creation Part II - What They Lost Part III - What They Saved Notes on Sources Acknowledgements Index The Prologue sets up what will happen in Part II - What They Lost. It is a section of the book that fills the reader with dread. To reduce your anxiety, Egan inserts "In on the Creation," a slow build to what will come. In this section of the book, he takes his time introducing the individuals; President Teddy Roosevelt, a very progressive President that was instrumental in the creation of National Parks as well as National Forests, Gifford Pinchot, the first head of the newly formed Forest Service and a very strange person, John Muir, the corrupt members of the Senate, at odds with the President and his idea of protecting vast tracts of virgin forest, and the early Forest Service Rangers, charged with protecting the forests and upholding the laws in a very lawless area of the United States. After racing through the Prologue, it will take some time to adapt to the pace of "In on the Creation." However, the payoff is the thrill ride that is "What They Lost," made more tragic by the knowledge that regardless of the heroics, nothing prepared the Forest Service Rangers, the US government, or the remote towns for the fast, intense (temperatures were estimated in some parts to be 2000 degrees) fire sweeping through the states of Idaho, Montana, and Washington. Fire jumping from tree top to tree top. Trees exploding as their sap boiled. Hurricane force winds knocking down giant trees. Heat so intense that it melted glass and metal and fire that moved so fast that neither man nor beast could out run it. Taking the lessons of this wildfire, Egan then investigates the aftermath, some lessons have remained to this day, while others are forgotten, doomed to repeat. Finally, Egan doesn't keep the reader wondering about the major players after the fire, he relates their stories, some heartbreaking, others uplifting. The result is a powerful story of early America and a forest fire that shaped our views of nature. I never thought that Egan could equal The Worst Hard Time, but I was wrong. The Big Burn is every bit as good as that excellent book; made better by the conflict between early conservationists and the people that wanted the land to further improve their bank accounts, the idealistic, young Forest Rangers, the incredible lawlessness of some early settlements, and the common men and women that rose to greatness in the face of nature at her worst. Egan has penned another masterpiece concerning early America, one that hits hardest when you become emotionally attached to several individuals. The one that will live with me for a long time is Ed Pulaski, whose invention is still used today by the Forest Service and fire fighters the world over, the "Pulaski tool."
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) When you think of the extraordinary life and accomplishments of Theodore Roosevelt, all too often the establishment of the National Forest Service is near the bottom of the list but in The Big Burn, Egan brings it to the fore and details its creation and near extermination by both politics and natural disaster.
In the first third of the book Egan details how the service was created by Roosevelt as a part of his fight against the Trusts that were dominating politics and the economy, then how under the weak willed Taft these same Trusts were able to all but gut the system by cutting off funding. It is a picture of the corruption and influence of big business in the early 20th century and the efforts made to try and defeat them and their response. Having set the scene the rest of the book details how the Rangers of the Forest Service were suddenly confronted with the biggest forest fire in history. This was not just the sort of burn we see today on the evening news. This was a confluence of conditions that would create what a later generation would call `the perfect storm' but not in rain and wind, but in fire, a firestorm whipped by hurricane force winds. Fire that didn't just burn national forests, but railroads, bridges roads and wiped entire towns off the map. In exploring this oft overlooked element of American History in a fairly small space Egan brilliantly balances rich detail without overloading the reader with needless detail. He has a positive talent for choosing how to give a vivid description of people, their appearance, life and motivations within a few pages. Mostly this is spent on the Rangers who were on the forefront of the fight, against corruption and fire, as well as the politicians who champions and despised them, but also he gives insight into some of the men who took up a shovel for the cause. Naturally the rangers are the heroes. The professionals who, though underpaid, under trained and virtually unsupplied who all the same did not shirk in their duties to face down a particularly horrible death. The book also details enough people, an Irish cook, Italian miners, a former Texas Ranger spring to mind, that you feel you really know the people who risked and in some cases gave, their lives for the conflict. Egan's writing style flows effortlessly and you're scarcely aware of the pages turning in your hands. For anyone with an interest in American History, Conservation or just a love of the wilderness this book is an amazing read, being entertaining and educating at once.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) As a child of the sixties I was brought up on the image of Smokey and Bear and the admonition, "Only YOU can prevent forest fires," placing responsibility for preservation of our national forests squarely on every American's shoulders. I learned while a Boy Scout to build fires properly, to control their burning, and to ensure that it was doused before leaving the campsite. I did not learn the history of forest fires in the American West and how they destroyed both property and natural resources. Timothy Egan's "The Big Burn" is a useful addition to that earlier knowledge, telling as it does some of this history in a graceful, conversational manner.
Egan narrates in this book the story of an August 1910 forest fire in the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho and Montana. He recites how this fire, the largest forest fire in American history and perhaps in the history of the world, devastated 3 million acres of timberland and 13.5 million dollars in property. Fueled by a superdry year and powerful winds, it took out some 8 billion board feet of wood. Before it was over, the fire had killed 78 firefighters and 8 civilians. Some bodies could not be identified because of the intensity of the flames. This one moved faster and caused more damage than virtually another other forest fire. This was in no small part because on August 20, immense winds of hurricane force (more than 75 m.p.h.) fanned the flames. By August 23, when rains finally came to help bring the fire under control, the extent of its destruction had only begun to be perceived. More than a third of Wallace, Idaho, had been incinerated, but other towns like Grand Forks, DeBorgia, Taft, and Haugen were completely wiped out. Sailors as far away as the Pacific Northwest reported seeing smoke from the fire. Dense smoke from the Idaho fire could also be seen as far southeast as Denver, Colorado. It is hard to overstate the power of this forest fire. It is also hard to overstate the lessons its destruction seared into the psyches of those who experienced it. Something had to be done to curb this threat, and Egan spends considerable time talking about the response to it. National fire policy turned from then on as the Forest Service began suppressing fires with full-time, trained crews. They also developed a system of fire lookout posts and orchestrated media campaigns to prevent fires. Smokey the Bear was born out of these efforts to ensure that "everyone" worked to prevent forest fires. "The Big Burn" is a well-written account of a turning point in the history of forestry in the United States. Like so many such turning points, unfortunately, the changes resulted from a deadly and devastating natural disaster.
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list price: $24.99 -- our price: $16.49 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0446506699 Publisher: Wellness Central Sales Rank: 5594 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review Firefighting is stressful on both firefighters and their families. The Fireman’s Bible is designedspecifically for these who serve us all in this high risk role. It contains devotions, prayers, andsuggested Scripture readings for a wide variety of occasions. This is a perfect gift for a firemanfrom family or from churches who want to stand with these who are called to risk so much. | |
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Editorial Review Market-leading text for Fire Fighter I and Firefighter II training. Completely updated to meet NFPA 1001 objectives, the new 5e has been redesigned offering both students and instructors the most comprehensive package available. Reviews
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Editorial Review They come from all walks of life but are united in their courage and selflessness. They routinely face the most destructive elements as they battle to save lives and property. Armed with little more than water and protective gear, they are called on to fight a multitude of disasters, from urban blazes to forest fires. They act quickly and with compassion, regularly risking their lives to rescue strangers. They are firefighters-the men and women caught up in daily dramas that are both larger than life and intensely personal. Firefighters 2011 pays tribute to their altruistic work and heroic actions, with descriptive captions offering insight into their world. | |
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Editorial Review “Pitilessly compelling, the sort of saga devoured in one horrified sitting.”—National Geographic Adventure The Thirtymile Fire in the North Cascade Range near the Canadian border of Washington began as a simple mop-up operation; in a few hours, a series of catastrophic errors led to the entrapment and deaths of four members of the fire crew—two teenage girls and two young men. Each had brought order and meaning to their lives by joining the firefighting world. Then the very flames they pursued turned on them, extinguishing their lives. Weaving together the astonishing stories told by the fire’s witnesses and, later, the victims’ family members and the response to the official reports, John N. Maclean creates a riveting account of the deadly Thirtymile Fire and the controversy and recriminations that raged in its aftermath. Reviews
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| 1-20 of 100 1 2 3 4 5 Next 20 |
A Questionable Work, August 3, 2010