Marrin, Albert. When Forests Burn: The Story of Wildfire in America. Knopf, 03/2024. 256pp. Nonfiction. Trade $24.99. 978-0-5931-2173-3. GRADES 8–12. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
You might think a book about wildfire would start with flames, and it does, but before the story gets going our conversational narrator gifts readers vast swaths of background knowledge essential to understanding how, despite superior tools and more resources, today wildfires are destroying more American acres, endangering more lives, and costing ever-increasing billions. Well-researched chapters establish the use of fire as a land management tool by Native Americans, the despoiling of the natural environment that led to the conservation movement and thus the disastrous modern suppression of fire and enshrinement of nature as something untouched by humans. A chapter specific to the Golden State sharpens the focus on human responsibility for a triple threat of climate change, unnatural forests full of a hundred years of tinder, and human encroachment into fire-prone forests, all of which have led to our recent disastrous fires. Dramatic chapters filled with horrific accounts of massive fires and heroic efforts to save lives enliven the narrative. A failure to mention Herbert L. Stoddard, the father of science-based American fire ecology, feels like an oversight and the swapping of turpentine in place of kerosene as the fuel that saved the whales is not borne out by the source cited. Budding environmentalists, report writers, and concerned smoke-breathers will find a wealth of valuable information. Back matter includes extensive source notes, bibliography, picture credits, and index. Includes California-specific content.
Melissa McAvoy—Retired