The Big Burn
Book description
On the afternoon of August 20, 1910, a battering ram of wind moved through the drought-stricken national forests of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, whipping the hundreds of small blazes burning across the forest floor into a roaring inferno. Forest rangers had assembled nearly ten thousand men - college boys, day…
Why read it?
2 authors picked The Big Burn as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Tim Egan is a great storyteller, and this book is a captivating account of the 1910 forest fires in the Pacific Northwest. I know of these places and have seen the burned trees that are still standing. I love how the book keeps returning to Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot.
From Greg's list on environmental history and who speaks for the trees.
I regularly reread this book because, in blazing prose, Egan tells a history of our public lands via President Theodore Roosevelt's historic partnership with Gifford Pinchot.
Pinchot, the peculiar first chief of the U.S. Forest Service, defined conservation as: "the greatest good to the greatest number for the longest time." I learned not only that definition of conservation but also Roosevelt and Pinchot's epic challenge: To save land, wildlife, and democratic opportunity while standing up to the political power of wealthy Robber Barons and the elemental force of fire.
From Nate's list on public lands and conservation.
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