The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America

This book is very well written and is a must read for those interested in conservation in the U.S. The reaction to this fire was to establish the 10 a.m. policy, a policy that all fires had to be suppressed fully suppressed by 10 a.m. the day following a fire's discovery. The resulting buildup of fuels and unnatural increase in the density of forests created a fire hazard that had not existed before. The natural cycle of fire, often called the "fire regime," was interrupted and the results are huge (100,000 + acres) that burn hot enough to destroy the organic layer of the soil to the tops of the tallest trees and everything in between., a so called "stand replacement fire." This type of fire was rare in nature as periodic natural fire prevented fuels from building up and excessive tree density establishing. The danger of this trend was predicted by scientific research as early as the 1950's, which resulted in the prediction that by the end of the century "stand replacement fires of 100,000 acres would become commonplace. The Forest Service and other public land management agencies are now attempting to reestablish a more natural fire regime by thinning the smaller trees, treating other ground fuels and conducting prescribed burns. In some remote areas in the right circumstances naturally ignited fires are allowed to burn within pre-established management units. I am retired from the U.S. Forest Service and had no idea that the "Big Burn" was used to defend the National Forest System, justify the establishment of the U.S. Forest Service five years prior and provided the support to add additional acreage to existing National Forests and establish new ones. Ironically, the protection of forest land that resulted from the Big Burn created the unnatural and destructive conditions the agency is now working hard to eliminate. A "Catch 22" situation. The author blends the stories of dozens of characters and portions of this huge fire in a way that keeps you wanting to turn the pages and not quit. I am a retired Forest Service employee who was assigned to 108 wildland fires during my career. The author does a great job putting the reader into a "boots on the ground" view of the fires. It is hard to imagine being on such a large fire without radio communications, aviation resources and a command structure. The results were dozens of fatalities and unchecked growth to a size beyond the current large fire size in more volatile conditions. This is a great read for firefighters, those interested in Forest Service history and those interested in a landmark event in the management of wildlands. The author earns my praise for telling this story so well.

I must confess that I had my doubts about this book when I bought it, as I was uncertain how a book about a wildfire would be engaging enough for 300 pages of reading. I was pleasantly surprised at how accessible and interesting this book really is. The characters, specifically Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot are very well described and analyzed. Of course, as I discovered the book was not so much about the wildfire itself as about the struggles and triumphs of the conservationist movement. Egan's mastery of the material demonstrates how meticulously researched it was; his skill at taking all that material, reining it in so he could make a cohesive and gripping narrative is commendable. As a young historian I can appreciate his ability to really bring history to life. Here are a few thoughts about this book which hopefully will assist you in deciding whether to buy this work or not. As one reviewer said, this book starts slow and increases in speed and velocity. Through most of the book it moves at a good clip. The story has some dry moments, some of which were due more to the material than the writer. There were also a few moments I was not sure what was happening because as it picks up it becomes more labored to keep track of various characters and their role in the great fire of 1910. One cannot read this haphazardly as it requires a full-on engagement when the story reaches the "big burn." At times it reads like a novel in that the characters are so well developed one can get the feeling that they are coming to know these people. While I am no expert on Teddy Roosevelt, the little I do know of him from history classes was adequately portrayed in Egan's book. Pinchot was someone who I am relatively unfamiliar with but found to be an exceptional character in this story and in real life, as he served as the backbone of the book and the movement. What can one expect to learn when reading this work? First of all, one might expect to learn the origins of the conservation movement as Teddy and Gifford fought to get western lands out of the hands of wealthy tychoons in order to preserve it for the next generation. This great love for the outdoors and the west served as a compass to direct these men to defy political foes in order to save as much land as possible for the future. Both men were easterners by birth but considered themselves to be western due to the amount of time they spent there. Teddy said, "I am as much a westerner and as an easterner." This vision these two and John Muir hatched in the Governor's mansion became a call for preservation and these progressive ideals fostered a thought that the government could control nature and stop every calamity. The forestry service blossomed under Teddy and Gifford's watchful eye as everyone who knows anything about Teddy knows that he was never one to think that something could not be done. It was Taft's administration that threatened to bring an end to all they have accomplished. Another thing one might expect is that there are many characters along the way to show that it is not just the "big man" that moves history. These characters each come with a unique back story that endears them to the reader before the start of the fire. Even during the fire there are small asides to introduce new characters who come into play during the great catastrophe. It does not leave you disappointed as each person's outcome is traced all the way to end in order to see what comes of them. Some of these brave rangers went on to lead successful and productive lives while others came to their end in less splendid ways. These men truly loved the forestry service while others, new recruits were generally good decent men who did their job and tried to save as many lives and trees as possible. The forestry service in many ways appeared to be a dismal failure but it was Gifford Pinchot's lectures on its necessity that caught the attention of another Roosevelt that tried to pick up where the first one left off. A third thing that one might pick up from this book is the individual accounts of people who were there. It is no doubt that Egan interacted well with the sources and used a great many primary ones. This was part of the allure of this book in that the author let people who saw it tell their perspective of the story. He tells it in an almost "novelistic" manner so that it does not seem like you are reading history. Everything is told so naturally and you can really get a great picture as to what it must have been like to be trapped in the forest with a raging fire chasing you. It is a horrifying experience that he brought to life in a tasteful and gripping way. After reading the book I looked over his sources and I felt that he had put together a strong bibliography although it didn't seem that he spent much time pulling from secondary sources. However, it worked for him so I won't complain. As previously mentioned, I thought there were some slow spots and some areas where the information becomes thick and difficult to manage. However, it was a very original book about a subject that is rarely spoken of. The men that lost their lives in this endeavor deserve the right to have their story told; no one could possibly tell it more passionately than Timothy Egan did. It opens up questions about the role of government in safe-keeping the environment and about what the role of the government is in dealing with natural disasters. I suspect that historians will be writing similar books about "hurricane katrina" as this would be a comparable event. The difference of course being the nature and extent of the damage caused to humans. The big burn killed some but it's main damage was done to the environment. Katrina on the other hand had a much higher death toll as the area was more densely populated. The point is that the "big burn" was the "katrina" of 1910 in a way. This is a great book and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in exploring this topic.

used - good condition ex public library Very good book if you can get hold of a copy

Thank you Mr Egan for writing this book to preserve the history of how the wildernesses was saved by two men who had the foresight to create conservation. To save the beautiful nature of the wild forests for future generations. Well done!

Well written, well organized and went well beyond my expectation with clear detail of the fire, the history of the forest service and many of the people and politicians behind the American national parks. I highly recommend this book and Tim Egan.

Excellent book. I read this because I heard Ken Burns during an NPR interview mention that it was a source of research for his Roosevelt's series. I learned so much about TR, conservation and the start of the US Forest Service. I highly recommend this book.

Excellent book and very engaging.