$15.99
Kindle Edition
“At first I’m calm as the trees fall. But suddenly a rat’s nest of wood, bent horizontal and cribbed into the trees above us, comes down in a rush of a hundred machine gun snaps. Trees caught in the nest flail around before hitting the ground. Our eyes dart everywhere, trying to keep track of every moment. Trees break free and swing themselves like catapults. Splintered chunks of wood slash through the air like propellers… Falling trees is the most dangerous job in North America.”
–Aaron Williams
British Columbia’s weather and geography–hot dry summers, steep terrain, and population density in forested areas–make it one of the most difficult places in the world to fight forest fires.
Chasing Smoke is an enthralling insider-account of how a fire season unfolds. Experienced firefighter Aaron Williams offers a tangible window into the intensely physical, high-adrenalin lifestyle shared by his crew of eccentrics, all eager to be on the front line. Williams shares what it’s like to work sixteen-hour days in an apocalyptic landscape, where the smoke is so thick your snot runs black and you need to drink ten litres of water a day. What it’s like to make a stupid mistake and singe your beard in front of your crew, or spend hours hosing a spot the size of a queen mattress and still not extinguish the burn. What it’s like to hear a tree fall, a co-worker’s shout, and imagine the worst.
From the “curated gauntlet of abuse” that makes up rookie week, until the last length of hose is rolled up at the end of the burn season, Williams chronicles the seasonal existence of a firefighter, all while examining the wider world of firefighting–interweaving the history, mechanics and politics–as well as the micro-world of the small crew who willingly put their lives on the line.
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Hardcover – June 2, 2003
by John N. Maclean (Author)
An expert’s report from the front lines where wildland fires keep getting hotter, bigger, and more dangerous to the men and women who fight them In 2002, more than seven million acres were burned at a fire-fighting cost of over a billion dollars. 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. One such mystery underlines the life- threatening 1999 Sadler Fire in Nevada when a line of flames suddenly blew up, trapping six firefighters mistakenly placed in harm’s way. For the final story Maclean returns to Mann Gulch, the site of his father’s classic Young Men and Fire, to interview the last survivor of the worst disaster in the history of smoke jumping. From it we understand why fatal fires burn for generations. Offering a prescient view of the inevitable conflict between people, property, and nature, Fire and Ashes presents a riveting and emotional story, one that in many ways John Maclean was destined to tell.
Kindle Edition
by David Weber (Author), Jane Lindskold (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
Second entry in a new young adult series by New York Times best seller David Weber, and the prequel to the hugely popular Honor Harrington adult science fiction saga. Fire in the forest—and a cry for help from a trapped and desperate alien mother! Unfortunately, this is one cry no human can hear. Stephanie Harrington, precocious fourteen-year-old Provisional Forest Ranger on the planet Sphinx, knows something is wrong from the uneasy emotion that is flooding into her from her treecat friend, Climbs Quickly. But though Stephanie's alien comrade shares a tight bond with his two legs, he cannot communicate directly to her the anguished call from one of his people. Still, their strong and direct bond of feeling may be enough. Stephanie and fellow ranger Karl Zivonik respond to Climbs Quickly's rising waves of distress. Fire season on the pioneer world of Sphinx has begun. But there are those who want to use the natural cycle of the planet for personal gain—and to get rid of the one obstacle that stands in the way of acquiring even greater land and power on Sphinx: the native treecats. Now it's up to Stephanie and Climbs Quickly, along with their friends, family, and allies to prevent disaster and injustice from befalling a treecat clan. But in the process Stephanie must be certain to preserve the greatest secret of all. It is the knowledge that the treecats of Sphinx are not merely pets or servants, but are highly intelligent in their own right—that they are a species fully deserving of rights, respect, and freedom. And keeping the secret that will allow the treecats time to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with humankind. It all begins with the friendship of a girl and her treecat. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Lexile Score: 1000 A lifetime military history buff, David Weber has carried his interest in history into his fiction. In the New York Times best selling Honor Harrington series, the spirit of both C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and history's Admiral Nelson are evident. With over five million copies of his books in print, David Weber is the fastest rising star in the Science Fiction universe. His Honor Harrington series boasts over 3 million copies in print, and Weber has had over thirteen of his titles on The New York Times Best Seller List. War of Honor, book 10 in the series appeared on over twelve Best Seller lists, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA TODAY. While he is best known for his spirited, modern-minded space operas, he has also developed a fantasy series, of which two books have been published: Oath of Swords and The War God's Own. David's solo work also includes three novels of the "Dahak" series, and the stand alone novels: Path of the Fury and The Excalibur Alternative. Weber's first published novels grew out of his work as a war game designer for the Task Force game Starfire. With collaborator Steve White, Weber has written four novels set in that universe: Insurrection, Crusade, In Death Ground, and The Shiva Option. Recent bestsellers in planetary adventures also include the teamwork of John Ringo in the best selling Empire of Man series where the titles March Upcountry, March to the Sea, March to the Stars and We Few have made appearances on The New York Times List. Weber's proliferation continues with author Eric Flint, where they joined forces in the Best Selling "Ring of Fire" alternate history series, for 1634: The Baltic War, coming in May. A popular guest at science fiction conventions, Weber makes his home in South Carolina with his wife Sharon, three children and a passel of dogs.
Hardcover – April 1, 1979
by Robb White (Author)
A ranger tracking a young arsonist finds himself trapped in a raging forest fire along with his prey, causing the rivals to become partners against an even greater foe
Kindle Edition
by Jerry Mathes II (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
Veteran wildland firefighter Jerry Mathes II takes readers into the heart of wildfires from the forests of Idaho to the deserts of the Mexican border and reveals the camaraderie of men and women bonded by the terror and beauty and hardship of life on the fireline. He makes us live through thunderstorms scattering lightning and hail, endure the high summer heat and shivering nights where bears prowl through wilderness spike camps, and the quiet days of reflection waiting for what may come next. With a poets lyricism he tells of the life and death of friends, negotiating the bureaucracy of the federal fire service, the rivalry of competing agencies, and carrying the weight of absence from his daughters as they grow and the desperate feeling he is failing even as he seems to be succeeding. Readers live alongside him as he grows from a stunned rookie trembling under flames arcing hundreds of feet into the air to a seasoned member of the training cadre, bringing full circle his life on fire by fusing hard won field experience with the classroom to give his students the tools to work and survive in the chaotic fire world so that they can slay the dragon and the dragon does not slay them.
Hardcover – January 1, 1964
Hardcover – March 1, 2006
by Erich Krauss (Author), RCFD Deputy Chief Mike Bell (Foreword)
A dramatic look from the front lines at the most devastating fire siege in California history With over seven miles of urban/wildland interface unburned for thirty years and beautiful homes lacing in and out of its picturesque hilly terrain, Rancho Cucamonga was a powder keg--one that finally exploded in October 2003 with a ferocity no one could have expected. Now, Erich Krauss brings you to the ever-shifting front lines of the battle against the catastrophic inferno, the rugged terrain, and the ferocious winds, where municipal and wildland firefighters joined forces to save thousands of homes and lives. Wall of Flame recalls the unprecedented events surrounding the Grand Prix Fire, revealing the moments of apparent indecision, the lack of coordination, and even how local, state, and federal firefighters--each with missions that at times opposed one another--put their differences aside for the greater good in order to save Southern California. With each passing hour, the fire grew larger and their task more immense. Mistakes were made. Plans collapsed. Even the most seasoned firefighters felt the world close in. But they persevered. After all, it was their city, their homes, and their loved ones they were entrusted to protect. Their community was counting on them to save their homes and all the history they had wrapped up in them. This was a battle they could not afford to lose.
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