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More than 300 species of trees are found in the United States and Canada west of the Rocky Mountains, some introduced from other continents but many native to the region. This handsome guidebook covers them all, with photographs that enable identification by easily discernible characteristics: by, for example, the shape of the leaf or needle, by the fruit, or by the flower or cone. The photographs are linked to texts that describe a tree's physical characteristics, habitat, and range. Some of the trees covered in this volume are exceedingly rare, such as the Monterey pine; others are locally abundant but limited in range, such as the Joshua tree; still others, such as the quaking aspen, are widespread. This guidebook is an essential addition to any western outdoor enthusiast's collection. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
All 933 identification pictures are full-color photos of significant details of virtually all native trees and many cultivated species as you see them in their natural habitat.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book !!!.......2006-11-03
These Audubon books are the best ones for learning about the subject matter, ie: trees. Colored pictures are a MUST and these books have pictures that allow you to identify your tree easily. I have purchased a number of them over the years and will do so in the future.
North American trees, West........2004-12-14
If your going to be stuffing your field guide into your pocket, glove box, daypack or backpack, the "turtleback" binding used by Audubon is perfect. Personally, I don't use it that way. When I encounter a species I cannot identify, I take notes (usually of the mental variety) -- leaf characteristics, bark characteristics, size, form, habitat, seeds, flowers, etc. -- and identify it when I return home. The photos and drawings in this volume are generally excellent. So far as I can recall, the Audubon guide has yet to fail me. It doesn't include very many introduced (non-native) trees, that's not it's purpose, of course, so it may not help you identify the trees that have been planted in your yard. The Sunset Western Garden Book, or perhaps your local nurseryman, will fit that niche.
Could the book be better? Well, the obvious answer is always yes, I suppose, but I don't know how. Would some kind of a 'flow-chart' for identifying specimens improve this edition? Well, there is one, created quiet simply in the way the book is organized; refer to the "How to Use this Guide" section in the front. I won't claim to be a connoisseur of guidebooks, but this one has worked very nicely for me for several years and I recommend it without hesitation.
Dissappointing: Very hard to identify unknown trees.......2004-11-29
I spent $20 on this at a local bookstore (that was a mistake: it is only $14 here on Amazon) and got it home and went into my backyard. An hour later, I was only able to identify one of the three trees in the yard.
I got the book because it had the Audobon name, and it included some sharp color photos. I should have got the Peterson guide instead.
What the Audobon book is missing is an algorithm or process to identify an unknown tree (they call this "differential diagnosis" in medicine). I was expecting something like: "If it has 5 needles per cluster turn to page 45, if it has grey bark turn to page 64, etc" until you pinpoint your tree.
I would even be happy if it had some illustrations like Silbeys bird book ... with arrows pointing to the discriminating features that distinguish the tree from similar trees.
But in the Audobon book, the reader is expected to browse thru dozens of photos and try to match your tree to the photo. But SURPRISE, the photos of similar trees all look alike and what then? You are expected to browse the the dense textual (!) descriptions and flip back and forth reading minutae like "two white strips on the undersides of the needles"
How about some color illustrations? How about a list of similar trees a given tree is often confused with? How about a handful of distinguishing characteristics of each tree?
Try Petersons book instead!
Quite reliable for outdoor travellers........2004-07-11
The Audubon Guide to Western Trees will prove a long lasting reference for outdoor lovers and tree finders. This easily equals the excellent Eastern Region guide in quality, detail, number of species listed, and beautiful photographs. However, if you want a heavy duty instant identification tool, hold off on this and purchase the Peterson Guides to Trees. However, if you love to marvel at trees and identify them in any amount of time at all, buy this along with the Eastern Guide. The quality binding of this newly updated edition is nice quality, and easy to carry. The earlier, out of print, hardback Economy Press edition was bulky, but contained more species listings. Still that difference is hardly noticeable, and buy this edition at good costs. This guide, (compared to the Petersons) will please a patient outdoor searcher attempting to identify any tree they find. Though the Peterson Guide to Trees should be bought prior to this, it is still an excellent and reliable addition to your collection.
Nice guide for at home or the field........2002-03-26
This book offers excellent photographs and very extensive information on trees. I use it often and have had great success identifying trees that otherwise I wouldn't know what they were. nicely organized and easy to use. The compact size is awesome for travelling and taking it hiking. Another great Audobon guide.
Book Description
This newly designed field guide features detailed descriptions of 387 species, arranged in six major groups by visual similarity. The 47 color plates and 5 text drawings show distinctive details needed for identification. Color photographs and 295 color range maps accompany the species descriptions.
Customer Reviews:
Explore a New World.......2006-11-06
I am a birder but always wanted to ID the trees that the birds were perched in. I first took this book out in the field to the Arboretums in San Francisco and Berkeley. I found the book easy to use for IDing native trees. I also took this book with me on a trip to the eastern Sierras and trees that I have previously looked at as "pines" turned into Lodgepole, Mountain Hemlock, Whitebark, Red and White Fir, and Jerrery Pine. It really opened up a new world for me. And naming nature is one way to understanding the wonderfully diverse tree species of the west.
learning at the max.......2000-09-13
this tree book is amazing.while i hate science, this book got me into it. its still not my favorite subject, but now i like it.
Average customer rating:
- My favorite part
- MY BOY LOVES READING IT
- Cool!
- Recommended by this reading specialist
- I love this book
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Ghost Town at Sundown (Magic Tree House)
Mary Pope Osborne
Manufacturer: Random House Books for Young Readers
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ASIN: 0679883398
Release Date: 1997-09-16 |
Book Description
The saga and success of The Magic Tree House continues! The tenth adventure, Ghost Town at Sundown, is filled with the excitement, action, and fun facts always found in Magic Tree House books.
Morgan le Fay has promised to make Jack and Annie masters of the tree house if they can solve four riddles. In Ghost Town at Sundown, the Magic Tree House whisks Jack and Annie back to a ghost town in the Wild West of the 1880s. There, they meet a mustang herder named Slim as they search for the answer to the second riddle.
Customer Reviews:
My favorite part.......2007-03-23
My favorite part was when Jack and Annie figured out that the book they had was written by Slim Cooley.
This was a very great book, because it was a good story.
MY BOY LOVES READING IT.......2007-01-07
My 1st grader hates to put it down, he would rather read Magic Tree House books, than play video games. He even reads them to his class and explains the story for show and tell. In his kindergarten class the teacher would also let him read the Magic Tree House books out loud, not to give her a break, but to promote reading out loud. Great books!
Cool!.......2005-12-09
The book where Jack and Annie are warped in Wild West and sees a ghost!
Recommended by this reading specialist.......2005-02-17
I'm a children's reading specialist and author (Teaching Kids To Read for Dummies). I use these books with kids who are really starting to take off with their reading and consistently get great feedback. Kids love the Magic Tree House series so if you're looking for great gifts or a bunch of books to keep your reader hooked, buy the lot.
I love this book.......2004-03-22
Annie & Jack find out that there's a rattlesnake in a ghost town and they have to hide from some people. And they find a piano that's playing all by itself. And we don't know what ...was playing it. It's a surprise for you, because you might find out. And I might find out too, because I have it at home. I have a lot of Magic Tree House books at my house. ...
Book Description
Afforestation of former arable land is currently a common change in land use in many European countries. In addition to wood production, the new forests will provide a variety of environmental services, such as carbon sequestration or improved water quality. At the same time there may be negative impacts, such as reduced groundwater recharge. The contents of the book aims at developed techniques to estimate the environmental impacts, and guidelines and decision support systems (DSS) to enable national and international policy makers, but also forest managers, to maximize the benefits and minimize the adverse effects of afforestation. This book will describe afforestation research and shows the application of the developed decision support system. The results should be applicable throughout northwest Europe and could be extended elsewhere. This book considers three of the most important environmental issues - carbon sequestration in soils and biomass, water surplus and nitrate leaching. The book describes the research to quantify these effects in the field and model them into the future. It will explain how the more detailed models were reduced to "metamodels" suitable for implementation within a real-time management system.
Book Description
Long before Bonaventure was called "The Prince of Mystics" by Leo XIII or "The Seraphic Doctor" by John Gerson, he was known throughout the Christian world as "The Devout Teacher." Professor Ewert Cousins says in his introduction, "In the history of Western Spirituality, Bonaventure holds a central and pivotal position. The 13th century friar, professor at the University of Paris, minister general of the Franciscan Order, cardinal and advisor to popes, played a major role in the spiritual ferment of the high Middle Ages…when Islamic, Jewish and Christian spirituality were flourishing-he produced one of the richest syntheses of Christian spirituality. Although cosmic in its scope, it was distinctively Christian in its content, grounded in the doctrine of the Trinity and devotion to the humanity of Christ. Within Christianity he achieved a striking integration of Eastern and Western elements." The three works contained in this volume offer the core of his vision. In The Soul's Journey into God, considered Bonaventure's masterpiece, he takes the six-winged Seraph as the symbol for the six stages of contemplation in which the created world is seen as a reflection of God. The Tree of Life is a simple meditation on the life of Jesus, "based on the Gospel accounts" in which "Christ is seen as the Tree of Life on whose branches blossom such virtues as humility, piety, patience, constancy and justice." The Life of St. Francis was the official biography commissioned by the Franciscan Order in 1260. The editor of this volume, Dr. Ewert Cousins, is Professor of Theology, Fordham University and Visiting Professor, Columbia University. He is Director of the Spirituality Graduate Program at Fordham. Ignatius Brady, O.F.M., who wrote the preface to this volume, is one of the world's leading authorities on Bonaventure and early Franciscan spirituality. He is Prefect of the Theology Section of the Franciscan research center, Collegio S. Bonaventura at Grottaferrata near Rome.
Customer Reviews:
Key medieval mystic.......2006-11-17
St Bonaventure was one of the greatest mystics of the medieval period. This edition includes his classic work 'The Journey of the Soul into God', the 'Tree of Life', and 'the Life of St Francis.'
Bonaventure was a Franciscan mystic and theologian. He had a very positive view of the material cosmos and the figure of the cosmic christ occurs strongly through his mysticism. For Bonaventure, there are two ways we know God; the book of nature, and the book of scriptures. Through these two paths and then by looking inwards into ourselves at our image created by God, we encounter God's prescence at the heart of our very being, a journey which is deeply Augustinian in its origins.
The Tree of Life is an examination of the logos of Christ, in both his passion and his cosmic role. The Life of St Francis is a work of hagiography on that great saint who was the founder of Bonaventure's order.
Bonaventure is very much an aesthetic theologian. He is deeply appreciative of the beauty of the world, of Christ, and of God. He sees the world and ourselves as 'God's work of art', to be cherished and loved for what they are, God's good creations. Such a positive view should be welcomed by any Christian spirituality today, when our world is faced with environmental problems of considerable magnitude.
The Vision of God in Jesus Christ.......2006-03-13
This book is a spiritual gold mine for all people seeking to see God in Jesus Christ as well as those from any and every background who seek the Truth.
St Bonaventure (1217 - 1274) is a doctor of the Catholic Church, lover of Christ, mystic and near contemporary of his spiritual father, St Francis of Assisi.
The book's first work, "The Soul's Journey into God", is an account of how to encounter God through creation, the soul, and reflecting on God's attributes of Perfect Being and Perfect Goodness. These encounters are treated in 6 steps leading us to the 7th and final step of the soul's spiritual rapture into the Holy Trinity.
Bonaventure cries out to us to leave behind all thoughts and desires and abandon our lives to Christ. Progressing through love, prayer and gazing on God we will see and know The Persons of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in this life and in the life to come.
The second work, "The Tree of Life", is a spiritual account of the central events of Jesus' Life: His Hidden Life, Ministry, Passion, Death, Resurrection, Ascencion and Glorification. It is a profoundly beautiful and poetic work. Bonaventure calls us to be crucified in Christ and to live anew in Him through sharing in His Virtues.
The final work, "The Life of St Francis", is a spiritual biography of the little poor man of Christ. St Francis encounters us and bids us leave all to follow and love Christ. Bonaventure shows us that we must, like St Francis, die in Christ and reproduce His Virtues in our own lives. It is a dynamic and powerful work.
This book will appeal to all people especially those pursuing the vision of God in Jesus Christ. It is a spiritual treasure for all. For Catholics, Bonaventure will provide great wisdom from the depths of the Church's Tradition regarding the soul's mystical marriage to Jesus Christ. It will be a great blessing for Orthodox Christians as Bonaventure, following St Dionysius and the Eastern Church Fathers, shows us how to ascend to God in spiritual darkness through the Vision of Divine Light. It will greatly bless Protestants as it is a profound account of God's Justifying and Sanctifying Grace.
Finally, it will powerfully speak to all Charismatics and Pentecostals who have experienced the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. St Bonaventure is a man filled with the Holy Spirit who has produced a practical guide of great wisdom on how to see, know and intimately love the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
All in all, a great spiritual treasure at a very affordable price. Highly Recommended for all people.
An Ascent to Radical Grace.......2005-01-14
In surveying Christian mystics through the medieval period, Bonaventure's The Soul's Journey into God reappropriates a radical spirituality that is best articulated as wisdom theology.
This investigation of Bonaventure's spirituality demonstrates Bonaventure's meaning of God, the human person, and how the God-human relationship is integrated with themes of creation theology and Trinitarian love mysticism.
From these understandings, it becomes clear how Bonaventure empowers personal spirituality through what can be experienced as a power of radical contradictions - a recurring theme in Bonaventure's theology that communicates the authentic paradox, the parabolic experience, and the radical irony that inspires faith.
Beautiful Classic of Christian Spirituality!.......2004-11-06
This book touched me deeply and led me to a greater understanding of God's grace through Jesus Christ. I found myself unable to put it down even when I was very tired! A true classic!
A Classic.......2003-11-04
FOr anyone trying to rediscover their faith, read this book! A true trilogy of Grace.
Book Description
"When the Tree Flowered is John Neihardt's mature and reflective inter-pretation of the old Sioux way of life. He served as a translator of the Sioux past whose audience has proved not to be limited by space or time. Through his writings, Black Elk, Eagle Elk, and other old men who were of that last generation of Sioux to have participated in the old buffalo-hunting life and disorienting period of strife with the U.S. army found a literary voice. What they said chronicles a dramatic transition in the life of the Plains Indians; the record of their thoughts, interpreted by Neihardt, is a legacy preserved for the future. It transcends the specifics of this one tragic case of cultural misunderstanding and conflict and speaks to universal human concerns. It is a story worth contemplating both for itself and for the lessons it teaches all humanity."-Raymond J. DeMallie, editor of The Sixth Grandfather: Black Elk's Teachings Given to John G. Neihardt. "A warm and often moving piece of literature which can be appreciated for its literary value and for its insights into Sioux culture."-Richard N. Ellis, Rocky Mountain Social Science Journal. For more information on John G. Neihardt, visit www.neihardt.com
Customer Reviews:
Soulfull Search.......2000-11-08
This book was recommended by my sister-in-law, who is 1/2 Lakota Sioux. I wanted to understand more about the culture, the language, the inner feelings of the Sioux. This depiction, from a Lakota who went through the changes from freedom to confinement in his formative years, was sobering. I happened to find a 1951 version at a library and am now ordering the updated version to keep. I will be reading it again. I cried when I realized what my ancestors had done.
Book Description
Native orchid expert and author Paul Martin Brown continues his successful series on the wild orchids of North America with Wild Orchids of the Pacific Northwest and Canadian Rockies. Whether beginner or professional, curious orchid hunters will be able to locate the nearly 50 species to be found in a wide variety of this region's local habitat—from seashore to temperate rain forest to alpine meadow. Brown reveals the best spots to find the orchids he describes and offers expert advice on how to plan and execute an enjoyable (and environmentally responsible) outing. As with Brown's other guides, all information is presented in a simple, straightforward style and with ample illustration so that proper identification is a snap.
Geographical coverage includes:
· Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, Idaho, western Montana, and western Alberta
· 10 detailed area treatments: The Siskyous, Columbia River, The Cascades, Olympic Peninsula, Vancouver Island, Glacier National Park, Cypress Hills, Kodiak Island, Downtown Anchorage, Denali National Park
· 47 species, 1 subspecies, 10 varieties, 5 hybrids, and 62 forms
Book Description
The Western Writer's of America ranked these four stories as the best short stories of the 20th century, but they have never been collected in one book until now. This edition is destined to earn a place in every western library!
Customer Reviews:
is these all of the short stories.......2006-03-14
From the time I was is Junior High the series of Short Stories in the book "A Man Called Horse" was among my favorite things to read and it remains so today. One thing I would take from the site is that it does not directly reference which short stories are included.
About the author I think that her character development fits more with the style of a Jack London than others who are referenced. To my mind she is among the top three of the story tellers in American Literature.
DESERVED RECOGNITION:.......2006-01-16
This reprint of several of the great stories of Dorothy Johnston is an invaluable reminder of a great and unlikely talent in the Western genre. I have to confess I'd no idea that two of the classic Western movies, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and A Man Called Horse, were not only based on source material by the same author but a woman to boot. Reading the stories together here it becomes obvious that, though seemingly dissimilar, the tales are linked--as is in particular--by the theme of people trying to sculpt personal characters that they can be proud of, or at least live with. The man called Horse, for instance, has come West, despite being of a good family in New England, because he wanted to "live among his equals--people who were no better than he and no worse either." But when he is captured by the Crow Indians he is made a slave, little better than a horse. However, when he finds himself fighting with dogs for a chunk of meat he resolves that while he may be no better than a horse he is above the dogs, and so he begins to establish the boundaries of an acceptable persona and by the end of the story becomes a decent enough man that he makes a surprising self-sacrifice. Similarly, the tale of Ransome Foster, in Liberty Valance, resolves to a simple determination: "When I die, sometime today, he thought, they won't say I'm a coward." Indeed, the great strength of Ms Johnson as a story-teller, something lost in the epic film versions, is that she stripped away all clutter to get to the essentials of these characters.
As it turns out, Ms Johnson was quite a character in her own right--Dorothy M. Johnson: Taleteller was everyman's interpreter and guide to Montana and the West (JEFF HERMAN, The Missoulian)--and it's a wonderful thing to see her get the recognition she deserves.
Genius Rediscovered in New Publication.......2005-08-06
`The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' is a republication of some of the best stories of Dorothy Johnson, America's most unrecognized genius of short fiction. Two of these four stories are taken from `Indian Country' (later published as `Man Called Horse'), a brilliant collection of Western tales that deserves to be back in print. Three of them were made into successful movies. All four of these tales show the mark of genius that was typical of Johnson's work.
Time Magazine compared Dorothy Johnson's work to Bret Harte and Mark Twain, and this was no hyperbole. As works of literature, her Western short stories are nearly without peer, and they are often better than many histories in accurately portraying the detail and nuance of Native, frontier, and Mountain Man cultures.
The first of the four stories in this volume, `A Man Called Horse', is a tale of a young man raised in a wealthy Eastern family who went West, was captured by Crow Indians, and spent several years living among them. It details the ways in which he changed to adapt and survive, and the lessons that he learned from the experience. This theme of whites living with Indians and the effect the dramatic change of culture could have was one of Johnson's favorites, and one she captured better in her writing than anyone else. This story was made into a movie in 1970, starring Richard Harris.
In `The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance', we see another of Johnson's recurring themes - the less than noble truth that often was concealed by the heroic legends that grew out of the West. It is the story of a young greenhorn who rose to fame and fortune on the back of a legend that was a lie. This story was made into the classic 1962 movie, the last by the great director John Ford, and starred John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart.
`Lost Sister' returns to the theme of whites living among the Indians, but this time we see it from the perspective of a family being reunited with a sister who had lived as a native for thirty years after being captured as a child. Nowhere is the clash of cultures better shown than in this story of the painful attempt to re-integrate this family member who had gone completely native over the years, and who only desired to return to the life and place she knew as home.
The final story in this collection, `The Hanging Tree', is actually a novella. It is an expertly told tale of the tangled lives and fates of three people in a rough gold mining camp. It explores how those who went west often were cut completely loose from their past, freely re-invented themselves, and lived lives where the personal myths or nightmares that they created for themselves often had more power than reality. This story was made into the 1959 movie starring Gary Cooper (in his final role), Karl Malden, and a young George C. Scott.
Anyone with an interest in the American West should be thrilled by this collection and left hungry and searching for more of the brilliant writings of Dorothy Johnson. I give it my highest recommendation.
Theo Logos
Book Description
North America is replete with beautiful aplines, and this guide is equally useful to the traveler or the gardener for its identification, propagation, and cultivation information.
Book Description
In 1988, forest fires raged in Yellowstone National Park, destroying more than a million acres. As the nation watched the land around Old Faithful burn, a longstanding conflict over fire management reached a fever pitch. Should the U.S. Park and Forest Services suppress fires immediately or allow some to run their natural course? When should firefighters be sent to battle the flames and at what cost?
In Scorched Earth, Barker, an environmental reporter who was on the ground and in the smoke during the 1988 fires, shows us that many of today's arguments over fire and the nature of public land began to take shape soon after the Civil War. As Barker explains, how the government responded to early fires in Yellowstone and to private investors in the region led ultimately to the protection of 600 million acres of public lands in the United States. Barker uses his considerable narrative talents to bring to life a fascinating, but often neglected, piece of American history. Scorched Earth lays a new foundation for examining current fire and environmental policies in America and the world.
Our story begins when the West was yet to be won, with a colorful cast of characters: a civil war general and his soldiers, America's first investment banker, railroad men, naturalists, and fire-fighters-all of whom left their mark on Yellowstone. As the truth behind the creation of America's first national park is revealed, we discover the remarkable role the U.S. Army played in protecting Yellowstone and shaping public lands in the West. And we see the developing efforts of conservation's great figures as they struggled to preserve our heritage. With vivid descriptions of the famous fires that have raged in Yellowstone, the heroes who have tried to protect it, and the strategies that evolved as a result, Barker draws us into the very heart of a debate over our attempts to control nature and people.
This entertaining and timely book challenges the traditional views both of those who arrogantly seek full control of nature and those who naively believe we can leave it unaltered. And it demonstrates how much of our broader environmental history was shaped in the lands of Yellowstone.
Customer Reviews:
A balanced look at fire policy in specific and natural area management in general.......2006-10-18
A clash of cultures hit Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 1988. New National Park Service ideas on using fire as a tool, and giving natural fires great latitude to burn -- an attitude held in part even my the U.S. Forest Service and other federal outdoors agencies -- ran head-on into the general public's Smokey the Bear says put fires out attitude.
The NPS came under a lot of flak after much of Yellowstone was scorched that summer. Then, in 1989 and thereafter, much of the media spun the story of the Phoenix -- the "rebirth" of Yellowstone.
Barker says the rebirth, at least as normally written up, is a myth, one of many still attached to the fires of 1988.
The biggest myth, still held by many people in various federal outdoors agencies, is that nature in general can be isolated, in wilderness areas, in a state of "reality." The second biggest myth is that fires, no matter the size and spread, can be managed or controlled.
The burn policy at Yellowstone and other national parks, as well as in other federal land agencies has only become more and more a political football between environmentalists and "wise use" types of the West.
Barker, though his sympathies are clearly not with the old-style U.S. Forest Service, makes clear that the modern USFS shouldn't be as demonized as it is by some environmentalists.
The one regret I have with this book is that Barker sounds knowledgeable enough to be more prescriptive about a future course for fire management. Other than citing the obvious lessons from Yellowstone, such as clearing brush further away from buildings in wild and "natural" areas, he doesn't go beyond that with ideas for future generations.
Interested in Fire Policy... Read this book.......2006-02-18
Rocky Barker uncovers a lot information about US fire policy. When I got this book for X-mas I thought it might be another one of the same old song fire books. Once I started reading it I became "fired up" again about US fire policy.
Those that have worked in the wildland fire service should really enjoy reading how people in the Forest Service and conservation movement recognized early in the last century that suppression policy was a mistake that would lead to the problems we are having today.
Well written and researched. Any fire managers out there ought to buy a copy for the office.
Good Overview Which Should Make The Fire Community Think!.......2006-01-24
Rocky Barker's Scorched Earth is clear well written history of wildland fire. The work clearly stands on the shoulders of previous chroniclers of wildland fire, particularly Stephen Pyne, and ties the work of pioneers in fire ecology to today's prescribed fire programs. It does leave the question of how prescribed fire as practiced by government agencies can ever really work to lessen the urban interface danger open. Particularly since very near the end of the book (pp 235) Rocky states that Randal O' Tool found that only 7 million acres in the west have a high to medium likely hood of fires that threaten structures and of those acres only 8% are federal. This well hidden tidbit should be the core of Rocky's next book. Why should the federal government be involved in prescribed fire?
Scorched Earth.......2006-01-24
This is one of the best books available on the history and practice of fire control in the United states. The author's personal experience in Yellowstone Park during the fires of 1988 provides a perfect background for the story of how we got to where we are today. He documents the military beginnings of control efforts that greatly influenced how fire control is done. He also documents the recent history of letting fires burn for management purposes. The important lesson here is that forest fires are unmanageable under the most extreme conditions and little can be done to stop them.
Fire management is a complex socio/political problem that suffers from policy based on mythology and poorly informed public opinion. The Yellowstone fires changed the National awareness of wildfire and subsequent efforts to improve performance of the fire services have met with mixed results. Barker's dscussion of events following 1988 provides a widow in to how the fire services have responded to the Public's heightened interest.The paramilitary nature of these services delivers strong, disciplined responses to fire threats but we still seem to suffer from the expectation that extreme fires can be controlled.
This is a good potential text for introductory courses in Forestry and Conservation. The book is well written and very informative, I liked it very much.
Excellent overview of fire history.......2005-12-02
This is a great book that offers insights into the many turning points of U.S. wildland fire history, starting with the first efforts by the U.S. Army to fight fire in Yellowstone. The focus on Yellowstone is deceptive, as much of what Barker says is relevant for the entire western U.S.
While Stephen Pyne's books are unparalleled for their in-depth histories of fire, Barker's book is far more readable and really covers the highlights of wildland fire management. A chapter on John Wesley Powell suggests that this history could have been far different if McKinley had not been assassinated, making Roosevelt president and giving Gifford Pinchot the upper hand in fire bureaucracy. Powell's understanding of fire was far better than Pinchot's.
In more recent history, Barker's explanations of how the Yellowstone and Storm King fires changed fire management and fire suppression strategies are critical to understanding what is going on today. Barker highlights experts who question the conventional wisdom that "a century of fire suppression has made forests more vulnerable to fires." In fact, the large fires of the last few years are more the result of drought and policy changes that trade off more acres burned for increased firefighter safety.
Everyone concerned with federal land management, which more than anything else is about wildfire management, should read this book.
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