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Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America
Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America | Timothy Egan
In THE WORST HARD TIME, Timothy Egan put the environmental disaster of the Dust Bowl at the center of a rich history, told through characters he brought to indelible life. Now he performs the same alchemy with the Big Burn, the largest-ever forest fire in America and the tragedy that cemented Teddy Roosevelt's legacy in the land. On the afternoon of August 20, 1910, a battering ram of wind moved through the drought-stricken national forests of Washington, Idaho, Montana, whipping the hundreds of small blazes burning across the forest floor into a roaring inferno that jumped from treetop to ridge as it raged, destroying towns and timber in an eyeblink. Forest rangers had assembled nearly ten thousand men-- college boys, day-workers, immigrants from mining camps-- to fight the fires. But no living person had seen anything like those flames, and neither the rangers nor anyone else knew how to subdue them. Egan narrates the struggles of the overmatched rangers against the implacable fire with unstoppable dramatic force, through the eyes of the people who lived it. Equally dramatic, though, is the larger story he tells of outsized president Teddy Roosevelt and his chief forester Gifford Pinchot. Pioneering the notion of conservation, Roosevelt and Pinchot did nothing less than create the idea of public land as our national treasure, owned by every citizen. The robber barons fought him and the rangers charged with protecting the reserves, but even as TR's national forests were smoldering they were saved: The heroism shown by those same rangers turned public opinion permanently in favor of the forests, though it changed the mission of the forest service with consequences felt in the fires of today. THE BIG BURN tells an epic story, paints a moving portrait of the people who lived it, and offers a critical cautionary tale for our time. "
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Bookwormjillk
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Pickpick

This is a fascinating book about the beginnings of the US Forest Service and our relationship with public lands. The scenes that describe the 1910 wildfire in Idaho are fast paced, and the background information about forestry is interesting.

forestandcrow I have wanted to read this as its in the area i live. Love my home because of all the history. 11mo
ChaoticMissAdventures I have seen this floating around the bookstores for years and always thought it sounded interesting! 11mo
AvidReader25 This one was heartbreaking! 11mo
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swynn
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It's an engaging, sometimes horrifying, account of the founding of the National Forest Service and its losing fight against the Great Fire of 1910, which burned over 3 million acres of timber. There is nothing not to like here, from fascinating history that throws light on current policies, powerful personalities in conflict, and extreme peril. Recommended.

Suet624 Sounds great. Stacked! 3y
swynn @Suet624 Hope you like it as well as I did! 3y
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AvidReader25
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Teddy Roosevelt, national parks, wild fires, this nonfiction book offers a fascinating glimpse into America at the beginning of the 20th century. A huge wild fire in Idaho changed the nation‘s view on protecting our country‘s beautiful landscapes. Roosevelt and a man named Pinchot were the driving force behind the change.

Amandajoy I will stack anything with Teddy Roosevelt 😉 6y
AvidReader25 @Amandajoy I want to read something else on him now. Any recommendations? 6y
Amandajoy Yes! Edmund Morris‘s books are great but it‘s a long, three-book commitment. The Wilderness Warrior is also good & looks at his presidency from a conservation standpoint. River of Doubt is all about his excursion down the Amazon River & was a different perspective. I‘ll tag these below. There are a few more that I‘ve heard good things about but haven‘t read. 6y
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AvidReader25 @Amandajoy Thank you! Those look amazing! 6y
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PlantyLibrarian

Pinchot, a “confidential forest agent”, a “spy with a green eye”. What a job!

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Howseldomtheydo
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#TBR and to be watched pic from PBS documentary #burn #HeatofJuly

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MrBook
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#TBRtemptation post 1! In 1910, a forest fire that consumed part Washington, Idaho, and Montana--and the efforts of 10,000 people to stop it--helped to turn public opinion toward the idea of conservation. Teddy Roosevelt and his chief forester, Gifford Pinchot, would work to make the opinion change permanent. This is the story of that harrowing fire and its consequences. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

Lcsmcat Sounds fascinating! 7y
Bookwormjillk This is a really good book! Also his book The Worst Hard Time is amazing 7y
trueisa4letterword This was on a display I made! 7y
81 likes5 stack adds3 comments
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Aim-eeToothpaste

Laura's other book...

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Lola
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Thank you so much to my fantastic Cupid @wonga ! I love EVERYTHING! The note cards are perfect for me-Princess is a moniker I've been known to use 😛I can't wait to dive into these books and use all of these wonderful bookmarks and bookplates . And the key and heart trinkets are so cute! Oh! I had a dog named Enzo! This is really quite magical as none of this would be found on Litsy or GR. #CupidGoesPostal #ValentinesExchange @BookishMarginalia

Reviewsbylola That's a great gift. 😍 8y
wonga yay! i'm glad you liked what I sent. honestly, it was hard to find something that you hadn't read already :) hope you have a great V-day! 8y
Lola @wonga My friends have the same problem 😛You did an amazing job! Enjoy your ❤Day as well! 8y
70 likes3 comments