Fire and Ashes, John N. Maclean, 2004
Subtitled "On the Front Lines Battling Wildfires", this book is an expert's report on why wildland fires keep getting hotter, bigger, and more dangerous to the men and women who fight them.
Are wilderness fires now a tragic and enduring feature of the American landscape? John N. Maclean, author of the acclaimed Fire on the Mountain, offers a view from the front lines, combining action-packed storytelling with moving insights about firefighters and informed analysis of firefighting strategy past and present.
Beginning with a riveting account of the worst case of arson in wildfire history - the 1953 Rattlesnake Fire in Mendocino National Forest, which claimed the lives of fifteen firefighters, Maclean explains the mysterious dynamics of fire, and the courage and techniques required to combat it.
Dennis Smith, author of Report From Engine Co. 82 and Report from Ground Zero says of this book: "Fire and Ashes explains the mystifying and unpredictable power of forest fires and the rugged personalities of the men and women who seem destined to fight them. Maclean's vivid prose and deep understanding of nature transported me to places I have never been, leaving me with the feeling that I had run side by side with these remarkable Americans. John Maclean is a natural storyteller and a gifted reporter. I could not put this book down."—
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
John N. Maclean was a writer, reporter, and editor for the Chicago Tribune for thirty years. His first book, Fire on the Mountain, was the MPBA best nonfiction title of 1999. A longtime student of wildfire, he assisted in the posthumous publication of Young Men and Fire, which was written by his father, Norman Maclean. He divides his time between Washington, D.C., and Montana.
5 1/2" x 8 1/4", 239 pages, 30 B&W photos, softbound, ISBN: 0-8050-7591-7, BF3553 / $14.00
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