Egan has used vivid and detailed descriptions of the calamitous fire of 1910 to provide a lens through which to understand the inception and growth of the conservation movement and the National Forest Service. The subtitle is a little misleading (Teddy Roosevelt was not directly involved with the fire... And I did not make the leap to how the fire saved America), and I would have appreciated a bit more explanation of the evolution of the conservation movement to current NFS and NPS standards. Nonetheless this was an interesting and informative read. Egan has done a great job of interfacing personality quirks with a watershed event. Wow, this was a story of the Big Burn fire in 1910 and it happened not far from where I currently live. I knew nothing about it. It's always fascinating to read a book that takes place right around where I live. Having said that, this book is full of the politics of the day, which it should be, but that part dragged for me. And, I just have to say, not too much has changed in how politics runs today. Conservation was a gleam in a few men's eyes and the Forestry Service and national parks were in their infancy stage. Again, I am thankful for book clubs as they branch me out into books I would not have chosen on my own.
Just one of those nonfiction books I picked up off the shelves. I learned about how Teddy Roosevelt started the whole conservation/national forest/park lands so keep it protected from loggers. Lots of people weren't real happy about that, but I am. :) There was also a really big fire (hence the name) in the Wallace/Coeur d'Alene area where I've biked and visited, so helped keep my interest a little, but mostly it wandered. A lot.
—charlee
Just one of those nonfiction books I picked up off the shelves. I learned about how Teddy Roosevelt started the whole conservation/national forest/park lands so keep it protected from loggers. Lots of people weren't real happy about that, but I am. :) There was also a really big fire (hence the name) in the Wallace/Coeur d'Alene area where I've biked and visited, so helped keep my interest a little, but mostly it wandered. A lot.
—Bdub
One of the best non-fiction books I've ever read
—Meowmeowkitty
A must read
—Upasna
