Stacy F. (stacyf) reviewed A Season of Fire : Four Months on the Firelines of America's Forests on + 3 more book reviews
Four months on the firelines of America's forests
Cassian W. reviewed A Season of Fire : Four Months on the Firelines of America's Forests on + 47 more book reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this thoroughly engaging and thought-provoking book, Gantenbein, a writer for Sports Illustrated and Outside magazines, traveled from state to state covering major fires during the summer of 2001 to show "the strengths and weaknesses of how wildland fire is fought in the Western United States." Gantenbein has the knack for presenting complex material in a direct and exciting style, and as he explains the intricate differences among fires in Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park and Montana, he conveys an amazing amount of material related to fires and firefighting: the use of Pulaskis, "the combination hoe and pick that is the essential tool in the firefighting arsenal"; why the Ponderosa pine is more dangerous than the Douglas fir; and the key differences between the physically exhausting work of smokejumpers and the elite hotshots, who dig the fireline. Gantenbein's detailed observations about both the science and the economics of fires and firefighting help him forcefully demonstrate that "the continuing war on forest fires is a waste of time, money and lives," and that new approaches to thinking about fires are needed to "get beyond the current poisoned atmosphere between environmentalists, the Forest Service, and the logging industry."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Gantenbein follows the forest fire season of summer 2001, but in the process he also examines the evolution of firefighting techniques and the history of forests. Today's American forests, owing largely to changes in logging procedures and decades of you-can-prevent-forest-fires safety messages, are thicker than ever before. "Cycle fires," small fires that would periodically thin the forests and ultimately protect them from the bigger blazes that could wipe them out, have been substantially eliminated. Forests are crowded, and a crowded forest is one that can burn quickly and devastatingly, making firefighting an ever more dangerous occupation. Nicely connecting the historical material to the contemporary survey, Gantenbein examines some of summer 2001's most spectacular fires, including the Washington State blaze that took the lives of four firefighters. This is both a fascinating, detailed look at the men and women who risk their lives to protect the forests and a provocative call to action, stressing that our countryside might be in a lot more danger than we ever suspected. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
In this thoroughly engaging and thought-provoking book, Gantenbein, a writer for Sports Illustrated and Outside magazines, traveled from state to state covering major fires during the summer of 2001 to show "the strengths and weaknesses of how wildland fire is fought in the Western United States." Gantenbein has the knack for presenting complex material in a direct and exciting style, and as he explains the intricate differences among fires in Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park and Montana, he conveys an amazing amount of material related to fires and firefighting: the use of Pulaskis, "the combination hoe and pick that is the essential tool in the firefighting arsenal"; why the Ponderosa pine is more dangerous than the Douglas fir; and the key differences between the physically exhausting work of smokejumpers and the elite hotshots, who dig the fireline. Gantenbein's detailed observations about both the science and the economics of fires and firefighting help him forcefully demonstrate that "the continuing war on forest fires is a waste of time, money and lives," and that new approaches to thinking about fires are needed to "get beyond the current poisoned atmosphere between environmentalists, the Forest Service, and the logging industry."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Gantenbein follows the forest fire season of summer 2001, but in the process he also examines the evolution of firefighting techniques and the history of forests. Today's American forests, owing largely to changes in logging procedures and decades of you-can-prevent-forest-fires safety messages, are thicker than ever before. "Cycle fires," small fires that would periodically thin the forests and ultimately protect them from the bigger blazes that could wipe them out, have been substantially eliminated. Forests are crowded, and a crowded forest is one that can burn quickly and devastatingly, making firefighting an ever more dangerous occupation. Nicely connecting the historical material to the contemporary survey, Gantenbein examines some of summer 2001's most spectacular fires, including the Washington State blaze that took the lives of four firefighters. This is both a fascinating, detailed look at the men and women who risk their lives to protect the forests and a provocative call to action, stressing that our countryside might be in a lot more danger than we ever suspected. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Awful. Maybe if the author would have actually spent 4 months on the fire lines ( as it says on the cover) it would be worth reading. But probably not.
