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When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World
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About This Book
A hotshot firefighter's gripping firsthand account of a record-setting fire season Eighteen of California's largest wildfires on record have burned in the past two decades. Scientists recently invented the term "megafire" to describe wildfires that behave in ways that would have been impossible just a generation ago, burning through winter, exploding in the night, and devastating landscapes historically impervious to incendiary destruction. In When It All Burns, wildland firefighter and anthropologist Jordan Thomas recounts a single, brutal six-month fire season with the Los Padres Hotshots—the special forces of America's firefighters. Being a hotshot is among the most difficult jobs on earth. Thomas viscerally renders his crew's attempts to battle flames that are often too destructive to contain. He uncovers the hidden cultural history of megafires, revealing how humanity's symbiotic relationship with wildfire became a war—and what can be done to change it back. Thomas weaves ecology and the history of Indigenous peoples' oppression, federal forestry, and the growth of the fire industrial complex into a riveting narrative about a new phase in the climate crisis. It's an immersive story of community in the most perilous of circumstances, told with humor, humility, and affection.
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Reviews
"Thomas' visceral, crystalline prose only adds fuel to the fire."
"[Thomas] shares his vivid reflections of the arduous and terrifying work."
"The writing is powerful enough that the book does not sacrifice the more embodied intensity of the front lines for its meticulous research and intellectual analysis, instead managing to hold multiple realities taut."
"An essential meditation on fire's role on a warming planet ..."
"Interspersed between accounts of his training exercises and deployment, Thomas gives us crisp histories of national and global fire policies."
"Suitable for academic and general audiences interested in firefighter culture, Indigenous history, and ecological and climate issues."
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