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Title: Fire on the Mountain: The True Story of the South Canyon Fire
ISBN: 0743410386
Author:
John N. Maclean
Publicate Date: 2000-09-01
Publish: 2000-09-01
List Price: $14.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $7.15
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $2.34
Amazon Merchant Price: $11.20
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Outstanding Book
This book is the best book I have ever read!! It's emotional, exciting, terrifying, sad and devastating all at once. It made me laugh and it made me cry.
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2: Contemporary Firefighting Manual
This book is a modern version of the firefighting lessons that the industry by culture refuses to learn. McClean gives us another well investigated and remarkable example of the consequences of not following the rules that were established by a multitude of past accidents and deaths, The book is an unbelievably accurate account of firefighting tactics, emotions, and culture within the industry that leads to problems every time. Having not been a professional firefighter himself the book is written with accuracy and no "over the top" explanations of the accident. It should be included in every fire school as mandatory reading.
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3: Fire on the Mountain
I found the book compelling and I believe factual. I am sorry that this sacrefice did not stop another incident, the Thirty Mile Fire, where more were sacreficed. I was a fireman for a number of years and felt the power of an inferno that blistered my hands through my gloves but never faced anything like this. These are heros and special people who would trust and risk their lives to protect life and property of others. Circumstances through management decisions such as first not attempting to put the fire out when it was still not serious. I have climbed all over those mountains and it could have been done. Bad leadership decisions have taken thousands and thousands and continue to take more and more of our finest and brightest. When will they ever learn?
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4: Great Book!!! Great Writing!!! Very Easy To Read!!!
I found this book like so many others hard to put down. The author is very descriptive but very easy to read. I like this book because it is written so anyone can easily follow the events and description. I like books that are straight and to the point without all the fluff. This book has no fluff, just a good investigation into a difficult series of events.
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5: Gripping
Norman Maclean's son does an okay job of telling the tragic story. Many of the events described are fragmented making the story jagged in places, but overall he gets the point across. Dedicated, hard working folks making the ultimate sacrifice. There are so many names tossed in and out of this book that you'll find yourself flipping back and forth trying to piece it together. John could have done a better job transitioning between events and making a stronger connection to the people in the book.
You'd like to think that this should never happen to firefighters, but the sad reality is that it does because it is dangerous work. As a firefighter, I found that John painted a very vivid picture of the events: 'The blood pounding in your head as you race up the hill', the lack of sleep the jumpers endure from their overnight 'coyote' the first night, etc. draws the reader's senses into the story for a gripping journey.
It's unfortunate to learn in Maclean's book that the crosses on Mann Gulch were nearly replaced with obelisks. Looking at the recent pictures of the Mann Gulch crosses in other sources - they appear at least to me that they are still in good shape. Today, the obelisks stand right beside the Mann Gulch crosses. Obelisks? What does that even signify? The crosses placed on Mann Gulch were how the 13 jumpers were first honored - let the original memorials stay! If this is about religion and separation of church and state, then I am totally disheartened to learn that smokejumping, one of the last decent traditions in our American work history, has gone PC. I hope that's not the case.
Anyway, this book should be read by all firefighters and those considering the job, especially the overhead.
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