Overview

A hotshot firefighter’s gripping firsthand account of a record-setting fire season Eighteen of California’s largest wildfires on record have burned in the past two decades. Scientists recently invented the term “megafire” to describe wildfires that behave in ways that would have been nearly impossible just a generation ago, burning through winter, exploding in the night, and devastating landscapes historically impervious to incendiary destruction. In When It All Burns, wildland firefighter and anthropologist Jordan Thomas recounts a single, brutal six-month fire season with the Los Padres Hotshots—the special forces of America’s firefighters. Being a hotshot is among the most difficult jobs on earth. Thomas viscerally renders his crew’s attempts to battle flames that are often too destructive to contain. He uncovers the hidden cultural history of megafires, revealing how humanity’s symbiotic relationship with wildfire became a war—and what can be done to change it back. Thomas weaves ecology and the history of Indigenous peoples' oppression, federal forestry, and the growth of the fire industrial complex into a riveting narrative about a new phase in the climate crisis. It's an immersive story of community in the most perilous of circumstances, told with humor, humility, and affection.

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9780593544822

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Reviews

“Writing with exceptional verve, Thomas captures the furious intensity of working on the fire line. . . . Narrative nonfiction doesn’t get better than this.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Profoundly relevant. . . . Thomas, in this spellbinding account, shows how thoughtful forestry management can begin to address the megafires now touching all of our lives.” —Booklist (starred review) “It is rare and wonderful when an author emerges perfectly matched to a subject and a book that also captures the spirit of the times. This gripping, deeply perceptive first-hand encounter with the devastating ferocity of 21st Century Fire reads like the Kitchen Confidential of elite wildfire fighting.” —John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather ""A fascinating account of life as a hotshot—but also an insightful and nuanced take on how we might learn to coexist a little more sensibly with the flames we've unleashed on this earth. Reading this is a little akin to having an escape plan from your house: useful preparation."" —Bill McKibben, author The End of Nature “Jordan Thomas draws on his experience as a hotshot to tell a story that's as scary and exciting as a wildfire. When It All Burns manages to be at once deeply personal and far-reaching in scope.” —Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Under a White Sky and The Sixth Extinction

Author Information

Jordan Thomas is an anthropologist and former Los Padres hotshot wildland firefighter. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Seattle Times, and The Drift. Thomas is a Marshall Scholar with graduate degrees from the University of Cambridge and Durham University. He is currently a Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of California. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.

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