Rick B. (bup) -
Helpful Score: 3
I can only imagine that higher-ups added the subtitle to this book, because of the rule that all nonfiction books must have subtitles, but Teddy Roosevelt is the star of this book in the same way that Jack Nicholson is the star of Little Shop of Horrors. And the thesis that the subtitle promises is only investigated as one of a few theses of the last fifty pages, where the author looks at the fire's consequences. "Fire that Saved America's *Forests*" might be more accurate, and better anyway, because it's all the more paradoxical.
So. I really enjoyed the book. He captures the confusion and hugeness of the living fire itself, the petulant whims of who it killed and passed by, and the designed unequipedness of the very young forest service to fight it. It has heroes, villains, and a great plot. It makes me seriously consider a trip to Montana and Idaho just to see the Coeur d'Alene forest and the enormity of what happened there, and the fossils and ghosts that remain.
So. I really enjoyed the book. He captures the confusion and hugeness of the living fire itself, the petulant whims of who it killed and passed by, and the designed unequipedness of the very young forest service to fight it. It has heroes, villains, and a great plot. It makes me seriously consider a trip to Montana and Idaho just to see the Coeur d'Alene forest and the enormity of what happened there, and the fossils and ghosts that remain.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was highly informative, but took a long time to really start. There is a lot of information leading up to the major event, The Big Burn, which takes a while to get through. It really starts to pick up in the last hundred and fifty pages. That said this book is great to start and pick up when you have the time to get through it.
John O. (buzzby) -
Very Eganesque, I couldn't get into it, although this is a not-every-often-told story. The map is a joke, he and the editors should have worked harder to find one.
Thomas F. (hardtack) -
An interesting story of the birth of the U.S. Forest Service, the men who fought for it and the corrupt politicians who fought against it for personal gain. Makes you wonder if anything has changed in all these years. Especially, when you consider the fires ravaging the West in the summer of 2018. Have we really learned anything?
While earning a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries, I took a forestry course called "Forest Fire as a Management Tool." It was an interesting course despite the fact that all the basics you had to know, I didn't, as all the other students in the class were Forestry majors who had taken the basic courses. Despite that I did well and learned a lot. The course gave me the knowledge to 'manage the four acres of dense woodland adjoining the land my house sits on.
Today, the forestry services of the U.S. and the 50 states understand periodic controlled, and uncontrolled, burns are good for a forest. They even joke "Sparky the Owl" is now the forest service mascot and not "Smokey the bear."
To properly manage our forests we need to listen to the experts and not the bureaucratic politicians appointed to run (and rape?) them.
While earning a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries, I took a forestry course called "Forest Fire as a Management Tool." It was an interesting course despite the fact that all the basics you had to know, I didn't, as all the other students in the class were Forestry majors who had taken the basic courses. Despite that I did well and learned a lot. The course gave me the knowledge to 'manage the four acres of dense woodland adjoining the land my house sits on.
Today, the forestry services of the U.S. and the 50 states understand periodic controlled, and uncontrolled, burns are good for a forest. They even joke "Sparky the Owl" is now the forest service mascot and not "Smokey the bear."
To properly manage our forests we need to listen to the experts and not the bureaucratic politicians appointed to run (and rape?) them.
Eric B. (arok) reviewed The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America on + 2 more book reviews
I enjoyed it
jjares reviewed The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America on + 3299 more book reviews
From the beginning, this is a story of out-sized characters and immense events that had a profound effect on the US, both in the immediate aftermath and the long-term. It is the story of Teddy Roosevelt and his chief forester, Gifford Pinchot; how they carved out millions of acres to protect for our posterity and how a raging inferno (that burned over 3 million acres) got the attention of the populace to protect that which remained.
This is Teddy and Gifford's story of how they outsmarted the lumber conglomerates, wealthy industrialists and crooked Senators to create millions of acres for all Americans, instead of a few rich men earning more profits. Their goal was to create a renewable resource for the ages through conservation. Some may see this first third of the book as slow; I feel it was critical information about how the vision of 2 men has given us a treasure beyond value. The political scene at the time of the beginning of the forestry service is important to understand.
When Teddy retired from the presidency, the special interests waged war against the forestry service and their employees. The crooked senators and their allies cut and belittled the service until little more than the "little GP's" (Gifford Pinchot's specially selected and trained foresters) remained. Then the crippled agency was ordered to put out wildfires! No additional money was offered to do this; 'little GP's' usually gave out of their own nearly-empty pockets to hire firefighters and buy more supplies and food.
Egan's prose drives the reader faster-and-faster through the horror of the raging fires. Whether people lived or died was capricious; the stories of heroism under fire (pun intended) were amazing. The Buffalo Soldiers of the Army's 25th Infantry served their country proudly under appalling conditions. The foresters and the Infantry created their own miracles because neither President Taft nor Congress lifted a finger to help.
During the last third of the book, I had to read in measured doses; my blood pressure stayed in the stratosphere. The only downside with listening to a talking book was the fact that the photos were not available. I'll have to check out a copy of the text to see the photos accompanying this remarkable story.
This is Teddy and Gifford's story of how they outsmarted the lumber conglomerates, wealthy industrialists and crooked Senators to create millions of acres for all Americans, instead of a few rich men earning more profits. Their goal was to create a renewable resource for the ages through conservation. Some may see this first third of the book as slow; I feel it was critical information about how the vision of 2 men has given us a treasure beyond value. The political scene at the time of the beginning of the forestry service is important to understand.
When Teddy retired from the presidency, the special interests waged war against the forestry service and their employees. The crooked senators and their allies cut and belittled the service until little more than the "little GP's" (Gifford Pinchot's specially selected and trained foresters) remained. Then the crippled agency was ordered to put out wildfires! No additional money was offered to do this; 'little GP's' usually gave out of their own nearly-empty pockets to hire firefighters and buy more supplies and food.
Egan's prose drives the reader faster-and-faster through the horror of the raging fires. Whether people lived or died was capricious; the stories of heroism under fire (pun intended) were amazing. The Buffalo Soldiers of the Army's 25th Infantry served their country proudly under appalling conditions. The foresters and the Infantry created their own miracles because neither President Taft nor Congress lifted a finger to help.
During the last third of the book, I had to read in measured doses; my blood pressure stayed in the stratosphere. The only downside with listening to a talking book was the fact that the photos were not available. I'll have to check out a copy of the text to see the photos accompanying this remarkable story.
