A Season of Fire: Four Months on the Firelines in the American West

by Douglas Gantenbein

Book Overview

On July 10, 2001, in northern Washington state, a rain of burning embers trapped two civilians and thirteen firefighters in a steeply walled canyon. With a roar heard thirty miles away, flames and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585421766
• ISBN13: 9781585421763
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Tarcher
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 1.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Superb and balanced

The author, whose writing style is smart yet easy to follow, gives a balanced and thoughtful examination of fires in the West. His descriptions of the fires puts the reader in the forest with the fire fighters and at the same time gives the perspectives of all involved. With no pat or political answers, Gantenbein shows real depth and understanding for such a complex and fascinating issue. Great summer read.

Great read!

This book is an entertaining read as well as being quite informative. It grabs your attention in its personal detail about various forest fires in the West, putting it in a different perspective than the sound bites of television news. You feel like you're really there, and what the firefighters may have been feeling. The explanation of the logistics and costs of firefighting were eye-opening. It also gives a good discussion about policy and how we got where we are today, with bigger and hotter fires. I highly recommend this book to anyone who lives in the West, in particular, to discover how our forests have evolved with human intervention and how different they are from area to area, which requires different firefighting efforts. A must-read!

Thought for myself, and enjoyed it.

These campaigns to discredit an author often have an unintended side effect - What does this person have to say that so many people are afraid I might hear? I had to find out.Mr. Gantenbein's Slate editorial challenged the popular perception of firefighters as unconditional heroes. One predictable result was a stream of vitriolic responses from firefighters who have had their post-September 11th meteoric elevation in the public conscience questioned.Despite numerous counterfeit reviews intended only to "strike back" at the author, as urged in discussion forums related to the controversial editorial, this book remains a fascinating and engrossing look at forest fires and how they're fought. Read and decide for yourself.

Excellent book - ignore these dishonest 1-star reviews!

This is a fascinating, well-researched book that provides a wealth of (clearly explained) information on the science and politics of firefighting. It's too bad that some previous "reviewers" who have clearly not read this book are attempting to lower its overall rating because they were offended by a Nov. 2003 Slate.com editorial Gantenbein wrote. These "reviewers" are rating the editorial, not the book. Rather petty and dishonest. Write to Slate to express your unhappiness with the editorial, don't do it here!

A Wonderful, Thought Provoking Wildfire Book

Years ago I read and greatly enjoyed Norman Maclean's book, Young Men and Fire, about the Mann Gulch fire of 1949. It is a classic work on the study of wildfires and I have re-read it many times. Recently a new book on forest fires was released and based on reviews I purchased it. After reading A Season of Fire by Douglas Gantenbein in one sitting, it is my opinion that a new standard text has been added to the literature. I learned more from this book about the inner workings of the fire fighting teams and what it is like to be on the front line of an inferno than almost any other book. Mr. Gantenbein also covers in great detail the political considerations of fighting wildfires and the many special interests involved. I heartily recommend A Season of Fire to any reader interested in the outdoors. It will challenge you and you will learn from it.