World Fire
Subtitle
The Culture of Fire on Earth
Essays that sample fires from around the world, including a special section on the American fire scene.
Bio
Pyne is a Regents' Professor at Arizona State University where he has worked since 1985. He's taught courses in fire, the history of exploration, environmental history, and nonfiction writing. He's published more than 30 books on fire, Antarctica, the Grand Canyon, the Voyager mission and one with his oldest daughter on the Pleistocene.
Praise for this book
Pyne considers the evolution of fire in such diverse regions as Australia, Africa, Brazil, Sweden, Greece, Iberia, Russia, and India and then ponders Antarctica, the land without fire. As he examines changing techniques for and attitudes toward fire control, Pyne challenges our concepts of nature and wilderness and explains why the study and management of fire have tremendous environmental, cultural, and political implications.
Booklist University of Washington Press
"Stephen J. Pyne writes about fire as if he were on fire, with searing, consuming heat and light. When he looks at fire he sees not biological catastrophe but social illumination and natural renewal ... This book will change the way you view fire--and the way you see us routinely fighting it."
Seattle Times Amazon
