Customer Reviews:
Mamo on the mountain.......2002-05-01
I thought this story was very intresting,It used a lot of adjectives,which would help children a lot with thier school work.I liked the part when the rich man was insulted and was shouting"How dare any-one in my village isult me!".But I didn't like the beging because it didn't catch my attention that much!
Mamo on the mountain.......2002-05-01
I thought this story was very intresting,It used a lot of adjectives,which would help children a lot with thier school work.I liked the part when the rich man was insulted and was shouting"How dare any-one in my village isult me!".But I didn't like the beging because it didn't catch my attention that much!
Mamo on the mountain.......2002-05-01
I think Mamo on the mountain was a good story because the rich man learned his lesson and there were lots of detail in it and finally it was a happy ending and I love happy endings. In school we have been doing some work on Mamo on the mountain and I have enjoyed it. We have been writing stories and been doing differences and similarities. Example in Ethiopia they have the same animals that we do like cows and sheep. Ethiopia is the place where they lived. Well anyway the story is brilliant.
Mamo on the mountain.......2002-05-01
I think Mamo on the mountain was a good story because the rich man learned his lesson and there were lots of detail in it and finally it was a happy ending and I love happy endings. In school we have been doing some work on Mamo on the mountain and I have enjoyed it. We have been writing stories and been doing differences and similarities. Example in Ethiopia they have the same animals that we do like cows and sheep. Ethiopia is the place where they lived. Well anyway the story is brilliant.
Mamo on the mountain.......2002-05-01
I think Mamo on the mountain was a good story because the rich man learned his lesson and there were lots of detail in it and finally it was a happy ending and I love happy endings. In school we have been doing some work on Mamo on the mountain and I have enjoyed it. We have been writing stories and been doing differences and similarities. Example in Ethiopia they have the same animals that we do like cows and sheep. Ethiopia is the place where they lived. Well anyway the story is brilliant.
Amazon.com
Colorado and its neighboring states battle thousands of wildfires every year, scrub and sagebrush blazes often ignited by lightning strikes in the dry, hot days of summer. A vast, intertwined firefighting infrastructure combining local resources with agencies like the Forest Service and the BLM, reacts to these flare-ups as if going to war--and in theory, the coordination and communication ensures that fires are fought in the most efficient and safe manner possible. But while most wildfires in Colorado end up costing just over $60,000 on average with no loss of life, the catastrophic South Canyon fire of 1994 burned for 10 days, at the ultimate cost of $4.5 million and the lives of 14 firefighters. OSHA would later describe the coordinated action flatly as a "management failure," and concurrent investigations would reveal a tangled web of jealous rivalries, bureaucratic bungling, and severe morale problems. (One of the early on-scene supervisors would later tell investigators, "Leadership in this state sucks.")
John Maclean (son of Norman Maclean, who wrote both A River Runs Through It and an award-winning account of Montana's deadly 1949 Mann Gulch fire) skillfully unfolds that summer's foreboding blow-by-blow. Fire on the Mountain weaves together a tense narrative of almost cinematic action, starring ballsy cowboy smokejumpers, frustrated federal middle managers, seasoned "hotshots" flown in like commandos, pissed-off tanker pilots, and well-intentioned but spin-wary politicians. Maclean's well-sketched personalities bring the action on the ground convincingly to life--and knowing up front that many of his main characters won't survive South Canyon makes this tragic tale that much more compelling. --Paul Hughes
Book Description
THE DRAMATIC TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE SOUTH CANYON
FIRE -- THE DEVASTATING FOREST FIRE THAT TOOK THE
LIVES OF FOURTEEN FIREFIGHTERS
In this acclaimed bestseller of investigative journalism, John N. Maclean chronicles the deadly 1994 Colorado forest fire that was wrongly identified at the outset as occurring in South Canyon. This misidentification was the first in a string of seemingly minor human errors that would be compounded into one of the greatest tragedies in the annals of firefighting as fourteen men and women firefighters -- experts in their field -- lost their lives battling the South Canyon blaze.
This stunning reconstruction of the fire and its aftermath, drawn from Maclean's exhaustive research and countless interviews, reveals fascinating insights into what went wrong, and how so many top-notch firefighters fell victim to nature at its most unforgiving. A page-turning adventure narrative brimming with action and intensity, Fire on the Mountain offers a powerful and indelible profile of a special breed of people who put their lives on the line as part of their daily jobs.
Customer Reviews:
Blowout!.......2005-02-03
It started with dry lightning storm starting 40 new fires in the Grand Junction District with 5000 lightning strikes on Storm King Mountain before the fire and a total of 9,000 strikes total.
The BLM case is that other fires threatening homes required resource immediately and the South Canyon fire was not number one on the priority list; furthermore, BLM relied on County Helicopter support and availability from Western Slope Fire Coordination Center. The author tells about a tactic used by Blume where Blume would travel to Western Slope Fire Coordination Center identified which helicopters were on the pad, return to office, and place a call for the resource; the resource could not be denyed; games people play. What was needed to prevent such games was a join network of State and Fed with a central command hierarchy that could give stronger coordination during a crisis.
Therefore, it is logically that criticism would surface directing its anger at unclear procedures between state and federal agencies delayed deployment and usage of firefighting resources like failure to by the state too put out the fire because it had not cross its zone. Furthermore, criticism centers on these delays causing the small Storm King fire to expand from 30 acres to 50 acres to a crisis. When the smoke jumpers arrived at the fire scene they were startled at the size of the fire, however their "can do" attitude may have contributed to this underestimation of the problem. Brains are critical to fire survival and not just brawn. Smoke jumper could not be expected to back down from their jobs. Therefore, management must be held accountable for the disaster and their failure to recognized a crisis emerging and don't point the finger at the smoke jumpers. The reviewing commission says, "Twelve of the 18 Watch Out Situations were not recognized, or proper action was not taken" indicating that the firefighting crew was careless.
The smoke jumpers, BLM/Forrest service misjudgment could have been avoided by putting out the fire sooner. Immediate plane drops of retardant and helicopter support could have contributed significantly. Red mud retard was delivered by plane too late. The difficult wind currents made flyovers difficult caused by sudden drops in air pressure threatening to put the plane wing into the mountain.
Lack of immediate support delayed blue hat crews from arriving at the fire sight. Good black areas were too far from the fighting crews and super human efforts by the blue hats was not enough; the second group were able to power out to I-70 into safety.
"On July of 1994 had been a drought year and a time of low humidity. The fuels were extremely dry and susceptible to rapid and explosive spread. None of the groups recognized the dense oak spread as a potential for a blowup. A blow up is the perfect combination of fuel, high winds, and specific terrain topology. Cucou was monitoring the weather conditions on July 6: he predicted a cold front with winds of 45 mph passing through the fire zone around 3:30-4:00 pm. The weather information came in advance but did not trigger and evacuation. "A major blowup did occur on July 6 beginning at 4:00 p.m. Maximum rates of spread of 18 mph and flames as high as 200 to 300 feet made escape by firefighters extremely difficult."
On the west side the fire crossed the original fireline so BLM/Forest service started a second fireline further downhill on the east side of the ridge.
"At 3:20 p.m. a dry cold front moved into the fire area. As winds and fire activity increased, the fire made several rapid runs with 100-flame lengths within the existing burn. At 4:00 p.m. the fire crossed the bottom of the west drainage and spread up the drainage on the west side. It soon spotted back across the drainage to the east side beneath the firefighters and moved onto steep slopes and into dense, highly flammable Gambel oak. Within seconds a wall of flame raced up the hill toward the firefighters on the west flank fireline. Failing to outrun the flames, 12 firefighters perished. Two helitack crew-members on top of the ridge also died when they tried to outrun the fire to the northwest. The remaining 35 firefighters survived by escaping out the east drainage or seeking a safety area and deploying their fire shelters."
The smoke jumper elite were burned, a forbidden taboo; their story shows their incredible determination to survive; they lived their on the edge and lives with each other represented a close family bonds; the Storm King blowup was similar to the Mann Gulch blowup and no correlation translated to warn against a repeat occurrence; McKay was a hero; the escape routes were too long and steep with the worst part of the path achieving a 55 degree incline as the blue hat pace dropped to 1 per hour as the fire increased its velocity to 5 miles per hour; "the Prineville Interagency Hotshot Crew (out-of state-blue hats) was not briefed on local conditions, fuels, or fire weather forecasts before being sent to the South Canyon fire."; carry tools and equipment on the escape route reduced the pace and every second made the difference between reaching the ridge and death.
The book is captivating.
Still Learning.......2004-07-31
Great reporting, decent literature although granted, few of us will ever match his father.
I know/knew many of the principals on this stage and what struck me was how well he captured them. Over and over, I'd read of another friend and easily picture them saying or doing what was in print, but now became very real.
I'm amazed by how much I missed after the official report and talking with some of those that were there. Mr. MacLean's book has rounded my education well. My oldest started fire fighting four years ago and I required reading of the report and this book so that he would understand the multiple levels that mistakes are made at.
To those that complain about faultfinding; how much fault has been found with "Fire on the Mountain"? Have there been any lawsuits, settlements or retractions? If none, then please list flaws so we can judge the validity of disputed items.
The only major flaw I saw in this book was failure to deal aggressively with the two jumpers who were not carrying fire shelters. Should have been at least a few pages devoted to that.
There is a huge reason for this book. The failing of management to report on and effectively deal with management's errors. This book fills part of that void.
Mr. MacLean, would you please do a book on Los Alamos and the Cerro Grande Fire? I was there for a couple weeks. The mistakes of the prescribed burn that got away would only be an appetizer to leads us to the corruption/incompetence of the Lab. That Lab is a far more important issue than wildland fire safety.
Whatever else, thank you for this book.
Resubtitle : One of the Versions of the Storm King Fire.......2004-01-19
Gee -- this isnt the fire I remember fighting!! How eloquent and backbiting a report from someone who wasnt even there and who, while researching this book, appears to have devoted most of his time to the federal offices groups. To spend so much energy on the inability of politicos to get along when a fire is truly fought on the ground... And the truly amazing players, the local fire officers and firefighters who stepped up to the plate after the firestorm (prior to the arrival of the overhead team)and saved homes and each other -well, John you missed it, you missed most uplifting part of the story. So this isn't the "true" story of Storm King; it is one version, by someone who wasnt even there.
A disservice to the memory of his father and firefighters.......2003-09-12
Norman Maclean, himself a former firefighter and woodsman, wrote an excellent account of the Mann Gulch fire. His work was tempered by the distance of time, benefit of age, and experience in the woods. This is obvious through his interaction with the survivors and his search for what happened on that hill.
In contrast, John Maclean's account of the South Canyon fire is riddled with accusations, contradicitions of his own statements and interpretations, and a generally muckraking tone. There is searching for truth and then there is searching for animus. I wish he had left this story to those with a little more time in boots than in Chicago.
Punctuation seemed OK - 1 star is generous.
We hiked Storm King..........2002-11-20
It was the hardest hike I have ever done for a few reasons. The book very accurately depicts the conditions of the mountain and the fire fighters working the fire. It's such a moving story about those that were lost on Storm King and their last day. Have Kleenex handy, but definitely read this book.
Download Description
Beloved's adventure with her friends continues as they journey through the snow-covered Perilous Pass toward the Formidable Mountain Range. Fraught with dangers and assaults from satan and his demons, they are always under the invisible, but ever-watchful eye of Master Potter. Aided by Holy Spirit and the angelic hosts mobilized by their prayers, they press on to the Mountain of Fire.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Sequel to Master Potter!!!.......2005-11-09
You will be begging to read this if you have read Master Potter.
These are books that I could easily re-read to enjoy and grasp more revelation from.
Book Description
A volcano could be called a sleeping mountain--that is, until it wakes up! What is it like to witness the eruption of one of nature's majestic time bombs? Young readers can learn what makes volcanoes "tick," and read about some of the most famous eruptions in history.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing book ... cross curricular!.......2006-08-14
This book is great to use in a center when teaching a unit on landforms and is also great for those kids who are aching to know more about the science rhelm of volcanoes. It's age appropriate and children at the Step 4 reading level will be challenged enough with it. :)
volcanoes mountains of fire.......2003-10-02
I think that this is a good book and I know that this is a good book. The part I like about it is when the volcano erupts.The part I don't like about it is when people died.I
would recommend this to a 4th grade reader and I would have preferred for it to have more pages. I give it a 5 stars because it has nice pictures and I learned new information about volcanoes.
Average customer rating:
- The escape
- the best bok
- One of the Best Adventures!
- Wesley's review
- Never Go Downstream Alone
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Escape from Fire Mountain (World of Adventure)
Gary Paulsen
Manufacturer: Yearling
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ASIN: 0440410258
Release Date: 1995-01-01 |
Customer Reviews:
The escape.......2007-03-30
Theres little girl named Nikki that convinced her mom and dad that she could stay home alone so her parents could go see her Uncle Joe in the hospital.Now theres also these to ohter kids take their grandpas canoe and they end up at Dead Mans Drop.Nikki Heres somebody on her dads CB radio.When she gets it and goes to respond she heres theirs a fire and no one responds.So she takes her horse Goblin to ride out there.She got so far then she had to ride in the canoe that the horse drag.When she got there the to kids looked like they where hurt.Nikki carried one of the kids.Theyraninto some poachers
the best bok.......2007-03-27
Escape from the fire mountain by Gary Paulsen is about 3 kids that ask there parents if they can go hiking. When they took the horse they got stuck in a fire. They got kidnapped by two guys in black they had guns and swords. I think that the theme is that you should never give up. Because they really never gave up escaping. One way they tried to escape was by running away from the place but then they got caught by the kidnappers. When they did escape with a four wheeler they ran out of gas. then they had to run the the oldest girls house. I really liked this book. I liked this book because Gary [the author] really gets me excited. The part that got me most excited was when they got kidnapped. I just wanted to keep reading because that part got my attention and it was exiting to read this book.
One of the Best Adventures!.......2006-02-14
This was the first book I read in WORLD OF ADVENTURE. I read it during a vacation to my cousins' home! It had me hooked from start to finish. The action is good and there are several suspenseful moments as three kids try to escape a ruthless forest fire AND evil poachers at the same time. Read it!!
Wesley's review.......2005-02-11
Nikki's mom and dad left to go to town which was very far away. She was home alone for a long time. One day she took a horse ride to a field to look at the rams. Then she heard a gun shot and saw one of the rams fall dead, the poachers came up, got the ram's head and left not knowing they had been watched. She tried to call the sheriff on the C.B. raido. She didnt reach him, but instead heard a little boy crying for help. She went down stream to where boy had described. She found him and his little sister who had a borken leg from the fall. Then the poachers found them and were going to kill them, but she got out of the poacher's tent and messed up their gun and took their only four wheeler.
But you have to be careful you never know what could hapopen next.........
Never Go Downstream Alone.......2004-12-15
(1) The 10 year old girl,Nikki feeds her horse and heads off to the mountains. She ran up on some poachers and she went back home to call the warden. The phone was down so she tried the CB radio but heard nothing. then she heard someone saying help. She got the location and went to find them. Tere was a fire on the way and she has to escape it.(2) I really enjoyed this book because I like the Outdoors. It takes place in the outdoors. It made me feel like I was in a fire in a forest.(3)I had a connection with this because I have been in a situation where I had to escape a forest fire. I know how she felt.(4) I Think that if you like the outdoors and realistic fiction books you will not be able to put it down. It has a five star rating from me how about you.
Book Description
The worst hard-rock mining disaster in American history began a half hour before midnight on June 8, 1917, when fire broke out in the North Butte Mining Companys Granite Mountain shaft. Sparked more than two thousand feet below ground, the fire spewed flames, smoke, and poisonous gas through a labyrinth of underground tunnels. Within an hour, more than four hundred men would be locked in a battle to survive. Within three days, one hundred and sixty-four of them would be dead. Fire and Brimstone recounts the remarkable stories of both the men below ground and their families above, focusing on two groups of miners who made the incredible decision to entomb themselves to escape the gas. While the disaster is compelling in its own right, Fire and Brimstone also tells a far broader storystriking in its contemporary relevance. Butte, Montana, on the eve of the North Butte disaster, was a volatile jumble of antiwar protest, an abusive corporate master, seething labor unrest, divisive ethnic tension, and radicalism both left and right. It was a powder keg lacking only a spark, and the mine fire would ignite strikes, murder, ethnic and political witch hunts, occupation by federal troops, and ultimately a battle over presidential power.
Customer Reviews:
Compelling Read.......2007-03-12
Michael Punke has an incredible ability to make the story jump off the page. Too many non-fiction writers are turgid; Punke is anything but. I highly recommend it.
Quite the page turner.......2007-02-28
I agree with what the other reviewers have said. I'd like to add that I picked this book up on a whim from the library and could not put it down. While it is a heartbreaking page turner, it is also reads like a love letter to a hardscrabble city. The book jacket says that Punke currently lives in Montana. I am not sure if he is a Butte native, but he has served the city well within the pages of this enthralling read.
Recommended.......2007-01-03
If you have any ties to Montana, or like history. This is a great telling of the events that happened at this time.
An enjoyable book.
Compelling read of an amazing place...........2006-12-07
Michael Punke does an excellent job of weaving the history of the time with the story of the North Butte mining disaster. I don't read alot of history, but found this one of the most interesting, hard-to-put-down books I've read of any non-fiction genre. You can smell the smoke, feel the panic and appreciate the courage of the men and women of Butte. To get a real sense of this history, visit Butte, Montana. It's one of the most fascinating and strong communities on the planet.
Excellent Book.......2006-11-10
This book was based on the history of the incident and politics of the day. The author did an excellent job bringing it all together for a look back at that era.
Product Description
The recent volcanic activity at Mount St. Helens is a continuing reminder of the explosive power of our western volcanoes. Fire Mountains of the West: The Cascade and Mono Lake Volcanoes is Stephen Harris s completely revised, thoroughly researched account of the volatile history and deadly potential of volcanoes spanning the West from California to southwestern British Columbia. Fire Mountains of the West is intended for the general reader with an interest in the geologic forces that shape our western mountainscape. It begins with an introduction to volcanoes, the processes that create them, and the glaciers that sculpt them. The heart of the book is a fascinating biography of each of the major volcanoes of the West. From the subterranean lava tube caves of the Medicine Lake volcano to the fire-and-ice formation of Mount Garibaldi, from the cataclysmic collapse of Crater Lake to the incinerating blast of modern Mount St. Helens, and from deadly volcanic gas presently killing trees at Mammoth Mountain to massive mudflows waiting to burst from Mount Rainier, Stephen Harris brings to life in dynamic, crystal-clear language the geologic story behind each of the major volcanoes of the Cascade Range and Mono Lake area. Dramatic photos and illuminating maps and diagrams graphically illustrate the features of these magnificent mountains. A brief section at the end of each chapter gives directions and descriptions for those visiting the volcano. Harris also offers a careful appraisal of the prospects of each for future eruptions some of which may be more devastating to human life and property that any in the past. The book ends with a hypothetical account of a future eruption at Mount Shasta. With a rare ability to describe geologic processes in layperson s terms and elegant prose, Harris inspires in readers great respect and awe for the rugged beauty as well as the violent potential of these majestic fire mountains.
Customer Reviews:
Fire Mountains of the West, 3rd Edition is excellent!.......2007-06-17
Anyone interested in the history and inner workings of each of the Cascade volcanoes will find this book rewarding. Like its predecessors, the 3rd edition is well organized and clearly written. But the new edition is greatly expanded with many more (and carefully documented) technical details. The introductory chapters on volcano formation and glaciers provide a nice overview. Chapters on the individual land forms (from the 'shield' Newberry Volcano to Crater Lake and Mt. Rainier) portray a range in vulcanism. Descriptions for visitors will enhance a trip to any of the sites.
A fascinating geologic history.......2003-11-09
Stephen Harris' Fire Mountains Of The West provides a fascinating geologic history of the Cascade and Mono Lake volcanoes of California. One might anticipate a technical discourse involving many geological facts: think again: this title provides an unusually lively, engaging dialogue which assumes no prior scientific background. From specific hazards of volcanoes to keys to viewing inactive volcanoes, this is an important guide.
This book is awesome........2003-08-06
Dr. Harris has provided an outstanding guide to the Cascades here. He provides wonderful detail on all the big Cascade volcanoes from Garibaldi to Lassen, and covers Mono Lake/Long Valley, a geologically unstable area that deserves far more attention, as a bonus. Especially welcome is his information on Glacier Peak and Newberry, two of the most overlooked volcanoes of the Northwest. The geological detail is mid-range; Harris explains the chemical composition of different types of lava but does not overwhelm readers with charts and graphs.
Harris sometimes crosses over into the realm of tour guide, as he provides basic instructions on how to visit and climb the Cascade volcanoes, and he provides welcome information about the prehistoric and modern histories of the mountains, including the stories about how they got their many names (the story behind Mount Adams is great). Also included is a wealth of information about glaciers and the conflict between 'fire and ice.' However, this book is primarily designed to be a lesson about the nature of the 'fire mountains,' and there Harris succeeds on every level.
If you are remotely interested in geology, like to hike or climb in the Pacific Northwest, or simply live there yourself, you ought to know the story and potential of Rainier, Hood, St. Helens, and their kin. This is especially true if you have Hood or Rainier as a neighbor! Highest possible reccomendation.
Great book for nongeologists!.......2003-08-05
For those of us with an interest in geology, but no degree in the field, this is a well written, easy to read and understand treatment of the subject of Cascades volcanos. It was a thoroughly enjoyable adventure into the world of vulcanism. Well worth reading.
A useful, accurate guide to a beautiful, exciting region.......2002-03-07
Stephen Harris may be one of the last non-specialist authors. He doesn't confound the reader with copious scientific jargon. Insstead he conveys his love for what may be one of the last wild regions in the United States. In addition to excellent, understandable discussions of each volcano's potential danger and past history, Harris' technique enables the reader to use his book and a simple road map to plot the reader's own choice of which delightful scenic areas to visit.We visited the Oregon and southern Washington Cascades, as well as Mount Shasta, last September, and without Harris' well-planned guidebook, we would have missed many sights, such as Mount Newberry, and would have failed to fully appreciate others, such as the Columbia Gorge.
Harris' doesn't overwhelm the reader with propaganda about environmental spoliation by logging companies, but simply lets the facts speak for themselves. The book is an absolute must for anyone planning a vacation, in whole or in part, in the Cascades or Mono Lake region.
Average customer rating:
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On Call Back Mountain
Eve Bunting
Manufacturer: Scholastic
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- The desert between covers
- New Mexico, Edward Abbey style
- The Truth as we're told
- A story of strength and simplicity
- The truth of New Mexico
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Fire on the Mountain
Edward Abbey
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 0380714604
Release Date: 1992-04-01 |
Book Description
Fire on the Mountain
Grandfather John Vogelin's land is his life -- a barren stretch of New Mexican wilderness, mercifully bypassed by civilization. Then the government moves in. And suddenly the elderly, mule-stubborn rancher is confronting the combined land-grabbing greed of the County Sheriff, the Department of the Interior, the Atomic Energy Commission and the U.S. Air Force. But a tough old man is like a mountain lion: if you back hom into a conner, he'll come out fighting.
Customer Reviews:
The desert between covers.......2006-03-31
This was the very first book of Edward Abbey's I ever read, back when I was a seventeen year old college freshman.
And it wasn't the last.
It was my last year of college though, and I have to blame, at least in part, this book's author. Edward Abbey loved the desert. He loved the West, with a jealous, protective, sincere love, a love that spills from every page of his books, and that seeps into his readers. Read one Abbey novel, and the odds are, you'll read more. Read more, and the odds are, you'll start to listen to what he has to say about the desert, and about the outdoors. Somehow I went from going to classes, to reading books like this, to living out of a canoe in southern Utah. It's that kind of a read. Abbey's writing is just good enough to motivate a person to get out into he desert himself--but it can't replace the experience of the desrt itself (like Cormac McCarthy sometimes almost does)--and maybe he was never going for that anyway.
In this book, Abbey's terse, playful, anarchistic style and philosophy is still emerging, not yet crystalized into the clearer sentiments of "Desert Solitaire," but--on the positive side--not yet twisted into the cranky diatribes and caricatures of "Hayduke Lives."
The book is the story of a boy visiting his grandfather in New Mexico, at the same time that his grandfather is about to be evicted from his property so that the government can turn the family ranch into additional acreage for White Sands Missile Range. The characters are convincing, the natural descriptions are minimal yet evocative, and the gentle desert tone--with the exception of a few rough spots where Abbey's strident rants overwhelm the voice of the story's supposedly innocent, supposedly naive, child narrator--is spot on.
This is a book I would be proud to have written. It's a chance to see Edward Abbey's voice and style in its earliest stages, and a lovely portrayal of west Texas and southern New Mexico. At times, it's also very funny.
Read this. Take it with you camping. If you like the desert and distrust the government, you'll probably like this book. If you only read one Abbey novel in your life, read...something else. But if you love Abbey's writing, or would like to, then really, pick up this one. Give it a shot.
New Mexico, Edward Abbey style.......2006-03-13
Being one of the 1.5 million people who live in New Mexico, (yes it is a state in the United States) I really enjoyed this book. My brother actually went through something like what had happened in this story, and the reference to certain NM landmarks made me feel at home as soon as read the first few pages. I have actually camped in several of the places mentioned in this book! VERY COOL! Typical Ed Abbey style, he describes breathtaking sunsets, desert stillness, and other New Mexico feelings with ease and passion. It is a quick reader and is hard to put down. GREAT BOOK!
The Truth as we're told.......2005-11-10
The book and the movie are as close to the true story as Mr. Abbey and the public could ever get. I am the main character's great grandson, in real life. If a reader wants to get a feel for eminent domain and how your life's work can be taken away, this novel will put things into perspective. A truly fine piece for Mr. Abbey!
A story of strength and simplicity.......2003-09-17
Fire on the Mountain is an inspiring story about a rancher in New Mexico who is trying to prevent the US gov't from laying claim to his land. Thru the voice of a 12yo grandson who is visiting for the summer, the novel comes vividly alive with desert descriptions of cottonwoods, riverbeds, and sunsets. The beautiful and emerging give-and-take relationship betw grandfather and grandson lends force to an already strong tale.
Abbey is known as the father of the environmental movement, a label he didn't much like. He preferred to call himself 'an agrarian anarchist.' If you like his other books and his exquisite writing style, don't miss this one.
The truth of New Mexico.......2003-06-19
Fire on the Mountain very vividly describes the actual landscapes and realities of New Mexico. The characters enviroment plays an effective role regulating how the family responds to their hardships and obstacles. The book is very well written and based off a true story that is heroic in its own way. I highly recommend this book to a person who likes a book based on reality yet offers adventure while describing such desolate areas and making them come to life.
Book Description
"A splendid introduction to geology and paleontology for the lay reader. To compress Earth's history into a single, lucidly written volume is a major achievement."--Publishers Weekly, starred review.
"Few people have both the knowledge and the writing ability to capture such a long and varied history in a compelling manner. In A Short History of Planet Earth, J.D. Macdougal demonstrates that he is one of the few."--Earth.
This exhilarating survey of the four and half billion years of Earth's history charts both the geological and biological history of the planet. It moves from the origin of the earth's iron core to the formation of today's seven continents, and from the primordial building blocks of life to the evolution of the human form.
J.D. MACDOUGALL (San Diego, California) is a professor of earth science at the Scripps Oceanographic Institute of the University of California, San Diego, the premier center for earth science research in the U.S. His work has appeared in Scientific American and the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology.
Customer Reviews:
Not what I expected.......2006-03-10
I expected this book to be about its title, but it was only half that. The other half was explaining geological techniques- something I couldn't have cared less about while I was reading this book. I was and am still interested in the geologic and evolutionary history of earth. When I bought this book that's what I thought I was getting. Instead, about half the pages were taken up with geologic tools, such as carbon dating. I wasn't interested in how you determined the age of a rock, but only the age of the rock and what that implied.
Also, at the end (the last chapter) he talked about the disasters that are about to occur, unless all of our money is funnelled into geologists pockets, so they can tell us what to be afraid of.
Overall, the book was okay because it delivered on at least part of what I wanted to know, but spent too much time on saying "look at all the cool things I can do". Just tell me about earth's history, not how you determined it.
Natural History in a Nutshell.......2006-01-17
The general reader can hardly do better than J.D. Macdougall's concise history of our planet. Helpfully organized in chronological order, this work synthesizes the best current thinking by scientists in an easily understood fashion regarding our geological past. The time charts at the beginning of each eon discription keep the reader oriented to the events relationships. The use and choice of charts & graphs prove helpful without being overdone. The author's detour into the techincal aspects of dating rocks and plate techtonics could be a bit boring to the general reader, but are situated in the text so that they can be skipped easily.The author brings you right up to the present day and delivers some thoughts as to how the cycles of the past may effect our future. I feel the author is very impartial when addressing "hotbutton" issues such as global warming, etc. There is also a helpful glossary in the back and suggestions for further reading for those whose appetite on this subject is wetted.
A Good Popular Book on Earth History and Geology.......2005-12-23
Ok - as a geologist myself, I love to read books on geology even if they cover a lot of material I already know. But this book surprised me in being very thorough on earth history including many very recent scientific discoveries and developments that I have only seen in scientific journals. He does a very nice job of covering the breath of earth history without being overly technical for the lay person, but yet engrossing enough for the professional geologist. Hey even we cannot know everything in the geology world - thus the reason I read this.
MacDougall does a good job of providing the reader with both the rock history but also the history of life on earth, from the earliest bacterial forms through the amazing trilobites, dinosaurs and trees and grasses and such. He also does a good job of relating many of the geologic features around the US and the world to plate tectonics and the interplay of the environment that produces the rocks and features we see today
For those budding young rock hounds or the adult wanting to brush up on an area that you could use more info on, or perhaps a geologist who wants to brush up on their earth history, I whole-heartedly recommend this book.
clear, comprehensive and concise.......2005-06-13
This book is not only a great way for the layman to get an understanding of the history of our planet, it's also a testament to the way science works. MacDougall writes clearly, avoids jargon, and doesn't hesitate to explain the reasoning behind statements about events in geological history. He doesn't leave loose ends nor does he make unsupported statements. He draws together different threads of evidence, allowing the reader to see how ideas come together to reinforce a statement about what happened millions or billions of years ago. He seems to anticipate questions a reader might ask and answers them. Far from a boring account, you could get excited not only about geology but about science in general from this book. I've read it twice and keep it on the shelf for future reference. Many drawings give clarity to the written account. There is no attempt to entertain the reader with gratuitous humor, so common in explanatory books these days. This isn't "for dummies" or "an idiot's guide." Instead, your intelligence, curiosity and scepticism are assumed. It isn't easy for creatures who live less than 100 years to grasp events that occur over millions of years but I found this book allowed me to conceptualize the earth's 4.5 billion year story in a very satisfying way.
Well organized, well written! Heir to Carl Sagan?.......1999-01-30
My title above pretty much says it all! There is a good flow to the way one paragraph flows into another. I am a layman with an interest in the integrated "big systems" of science--how processes studied by several disciplines come together and attempt to explain how our planet works. This book does that to the point I may want to go on to more specialized, in-depth works. Chapter Ten, "Global Catastrophes" is the clearest account I have ever read of mass extinction theories. I had not realized that the now very famous K-T boundary event of 65 million years ago (the dinosaur killer) is the only extinction event uncovered in the last 600 million years where the "smoking gun" of extraterrestrial iridium can be found in enough abundence to point to a comet or asteroid impact. I had thought that there was evidence to show that there were incoming impactors every 26 million years or so and that this had caused other mass extinctions including the biggest one at the Permian-Triassic boundary some 250 million years ago. These other mass extinctions may very well have come about because of purely earth-bound processes such as plate tectonics and rising and falling sea levels. Fascinating stuff to say the least! Drawings and diagrams are well done and to the point also. I recommend MacDougall as heir apparent to the Late, Great Carl Sagan as a popularizer of the great realm of science! Enjoy!
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- Freshwater Fishes of Mexico
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- Green Living: The E Magazine Handbook for Living Lightly on the Earth
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- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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