Young Men & Fire
- ISBN-10
- 0816157340
- ISBN-13
- 9780816157341
- Category
- Forest fires
- Pages
- 434
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1993
- Publisher
- Macmillan Reference USA
- Author
- Norman Maclean
Description
On August 5, 1949, a crew of fifteen of the United States Forest Service's elite airborne firefighters, the Smokejumpers, stepped into the sky above a remote forest fire in the Montana wilderness. Two hours after their jump, all but three of these men were dead or mortally burned. Haunted by these deaths for forty years, Norman Maclean puts back together the scattered pieces of the Mann Gulch tragedy. Young Men and Fire won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1992. "A magnificent drama of writing, a tragedy that pays tribute to the dead and offers rescue to the living.... Maclean's search for the truth, which becomes an exploration of his own mortality, is more compelling even than his journey into the heart of the fire. His description of the conflagration terrifies, but it is his battle with words, his effort to turn the story of the 13 men into tragedy that makes this book a classic."--from New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice, Best Books of 1992 "A treasure: part detective story, part western, part tragedy, part elegy and wholly eloquent ghost story in which the dead and the living join ranks cheerfully, if sometimes eerily, in a search for truth and the rest it brings."--Joseph Coates, Chicago Tribune "An astonishing book. In compelling language, both homely and elegant, Young Men and Fire miraculously combines a fascinating primer on fires and firefighting, a powerful, breathtakingly real reconstruction of a tragedy, and a meditation on writing, grief and human character.... Maclean's last book will stir your heart and haunt your memory."--Timothy Foote, USA Today "Beautiful.... A dark American idyll of which the language can be proud."--Robert M. Adams, The New York Review of Books "Young Men and Fire is redolent of Melville. Just as the reader of Moby Dick comes to comprehend the monstrous entirety of the great white whale, so the reader of Young Men and Fire goes into the heart of the great red fire and comes out thoroughly informed. Don't hesitate to take the plunge."--Dennis Drabelle, Washington Post Book World "Young Men and Fire is a somber and poetic retelling of a tragic event. It is the pinnacle of smokejumping literature and a classic work of 20th-century nonfiction."--John Holkeboer, The Wall Street Journal "Maclean is always with the brave young dead. . . . They could not have found a storyteller with a better claim to represent their honor. . . . A great book."--James R. Kincaid, New York Times Book Review
Get the book
Similar books
-
Bushfires
By Margaret McPheeHow a bushfire starts and spreads - Damage and cost - Reducing damage - Policy debate - Bushfire research - Firefighters and their tools - Australia's worst fires - Times of greatest danger.
-
Forest Fire, Hinckley, Minnesota, 1894
By Kathleen Duey, Karen A. BaleIn 1894, Daniel and Carrie fight to survive as an uncontrollable forest fire threatens to destroy their small Minnesota mill town.
-
Shelley Peters and the Bushfire Mystery
By Ellen BosworthShelley Peters and the Bushfire Mystery
-
Olympic Champions: A Tale of the 2000 Olympians
By John Foster, John O'Connor, Mary HooperCollins Soundbites is a series of readers for Key Stage 3 students with poor literacy skills. It contains three levels of graded, progressive readers, on cross-curricular topics that are particularly...
-
Prediction of Firefighting Resources for Suppression Operations in Victoria's Parks and Forests
By Gregory J. McCarthyPrediction of Firefighting Resources for Suppression Operations in Victoria's Parks and Forests
-
Fire Storm: The Rodeo-Chediski Fire
By T. A.Fire Storm: The Rodeo-Chediski Fire
-
Fire Storm: A Novel
By Robb WhiteA raging forest fire in the National Parks area of the Sierras traps a forest ranger and a young boy he suspects is an arsonist.
-
Wildfire
By Taylor MorrisonEvery summer, wildfires spread through the forests of the western United States, threatening homes and entire communities in their paths. Hundreds of firefighters work tirelessly to control this extremely powerful...
-
Memorias Del Tercer Simposio Internacional Sobre Políticas, Planificación Y Economía de Los Incendios Forestales
By Armando González Cabán2004. Effects of invasive alien plants on fire regimes. BioScience 54(7): 677-688. Brown, J. K. 1995. Fire regimes and their relevance to ... Pp. 171-178 in Proceedings of Society of American Foresters National Convention; 1994 Sept.
-
A Literature Review on the Economic, Social and Environmental Impacts of Severe Bushfires in South-eastern Australia
By Catherine StephensonA Literature Review on the Economic, Social and Environmental Impacts of Severe Bushfires in South-eastern Australia