The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America ― A NYT Bestselling US History Book on Gifford Pinchot and the 1910 Inferno

Commonly called The Great Fire of 1910 this devastating natural disaster burned over 3 million acres of public and private land and is considered one of the biggest, if not the biggest, forest fire in US history. The other contender is the 1825 Miramichi Blaze that also consumed over 3 million acres in both Maine and New Brunswick, Canada. In his thrilling book "The Big Burn" journalist Timothy Egan documents the 1910 fire that torched the Bitterroot Mountains along the border between Montana and Idaho. In the early 20th Century President Teddy Roosevelt and his chief forester Gifford Pinchot went toe to toe with Private Lumber Companies, the Railroad Industry and the US Congress to protect million of acres of virgin wilderness from the dangers of uncontrolled logging and wasteful land use by wealthy industrialist and the greedy politicians that they supported. Above all Roosevelt and Gifford wanted our forests and grasslands to be treated as a Renewable Resource and preserved for future generations to use and enjoy. The first part of the book provides vital back ground information on the industrial and political climate of the early 1900s when Roosevelt's Presidency was coming to an end and William H. Taft's term in office was just beginning. Turned out that Taft was no fighter and, while TR was off hunting in Africa, he mostly caved in to the pressure from Big Business and their Congressional Cronies. Moving on to the fire itself "The Big Burn" takes the reader on a speeding roller coaster ride through the Gates of Hell to face this devastating wildfire. Egan's prose are fast moving and exciting, giving the reader a taste of what it was like for these forest rangers battling this terrifying enemy, only to be abandoned, scorned and largely forgotten by their own government. With no support from Congress, or the President, they were left to face the Bitterroots Inferno on their own. The author's research was extensive, and comprehensive, as indicated by his Acknowledgments and the Notes on Sources. The book is illustrated with several archival photographs of the people and places in the text, there is also an excellent map of the area involved (kinda small on the Kindle but just right on my iPad). As the fire became increasingly "out of control", Taft and Congress finally stepped in and assigned the US Army to assist the Forest Rangers in fighting the blaze and evacuating the homesteaders and townspeople. Many people would be evacuated by way of the local train services or, in some cases; on horseback, by wagon, or just by walking. Either way, it was not always clear that their escape route was any safer than just staying put. Most of the Army's work seems to have been done by the 25th Infantry's famous "negro soldiers" who went by their adopted name "The Buffalo Soldiers" and who were instrumental in keeping order while saving many, many, lives. All in all this book is a fast paced, exciting read on how people, from all walks of life, would face, and overcome, this flaming apocalypse. You will also get an in depth look at early 20th Century Politics and the Corporate Giants who controlled it all, for better or for worse. I had no downloading or technical problems with this Kindle Edition. Last Ranger

I must confess that I had my doubts about this book when I bought it, as I was uncertain how a book about a wildfire would be engaging enough for 300 pages of reading. I was pleasantly surprised at how accessible and interesting this book really is. The characters, specifically Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot are very well described and analyzed. Of course, as I discovered the book was not so much about the wildfire itself as about the struggles and triumphs of the conservationist movement. Egan's mastery of the material demonstrates how meticulously researched it was; his skill at taking all that material, reining it in so he could make a cohesive and gripping narrative is commendable. As a young historian I can appreciate his ability to really bring history to life. Here are a few thoughts about this book which hopefully will assist you in deciding whether to buy this work or not. As one reviewer said, this book starts slow and increases in speed and velocity. Through most of the book it moves at a good clip. The story has some dry moments, some of which were due more to the material than the writer. There were also a few moments I was not sure what was happening because as it picks up it becomes more labored to keep track of various characters and their role in the great fire of 1910. One cannot read this haphazardly as it requires a full-on engagement when the story reaches the "big burn." At times it reads like a novel in that the characters are so well developed one can get the feeling that they are coming to know these people. While I am no expert on Teddy Roosevelt, the little I do know of him from history classes was adequately portrayed in Egan's book. Pinchot was someone who I am relatively unfamiliar with but found to be an exceptional character in this story and in real life, as he served as the backbone of the book and the movement. What can one expect to learn when reading this work? First of all, one might expect to learn the origins of the conservation movement as Teddy and Gifford fought to get western lands out of the hands of wealthy tychoons in order to preserve it for the next generation. This great love for the outdoors and the west served as a compass to direct these men to defy political foes in order to save as much land as possible for the future. Both men were easterners by birth but considered themselves to be western due to the amount of time they spent there. Teddy said, "I am as much a westerner and as an easterner." This vision these two and John Muir hatched in the Governor's mansion became a call for preservation and these progressive ideals fostered a thought that the government could control nature and stop every calamity. The forestry service blossomed under Teddy and Gifford's watchful eye as everyone who knows anything about Teddy knows that he was never one to think that something could not be done. It was Taft's administration that threatened to bring an end to all they have accomplished. Another thing one might expect is that there are many characters along the way to show that it is not just the "big man" that moves history. These characters each come with a unique back story that endears them to the reader before the start of the fire. Even during the fire there are small asides to introduce new characters who come into play during the great catastrophe. It does not leave you disappointed as each person's outcome is traced all the way to end in order to see what comes of them. Some of these brave rangers went on to lead successful and productive lives while others came to their end in less splendid ways. These men truly loved the forestry service while others, new recruits were generally good decent men who did their job and tried to save as many lives and trees as possible. The forestry service in many ways appeared to be a dismal failure but it was Gifford Pinchot's lectures on its necessity that caught the attention of another Roosevelt that tried to pick up where the first one left off. A third thing that one might pick up from this book is the individual accounts of people who were there. It is no doubt that Egan interacted well with the sources and used a great many primary ones. This was part of the allure of this book in that the author let people who saw it tell their perspective of the story. He tells it in an almost "novelistic" manner so that it does not seem like you are reading history. Everything is told so naturally and you can really get a great picture as to what it must have been like to be trapped in the forest with a raging fire chasing you. It is a horrifying experience that he brought to life in a tasteful and gripping way. After reading the book I looked over his sources and I felt that he had put together a strong bibliography although it didn't seem that he spent much time pulling from secondary sources. However, it worked for him so I won't complain. As previously mentioned, I thought there were some slow spots and some areas where the information becomes thick and difficult to manage. However, it was a very original book about a subject that is rarely spoken of. The men that lost their lives in this endeavor deserve the right to have their story told; no one could possibly tell it more passionately than Timothy Egan did. It opens up questions about the role of government in safe-keeping the environment and about what the role of the government is in dealing with natural disasters. I suspect that historians will be writing similar books about "hurricane katrina" as this would be a comparable event. The difference of course being the nature and extent of the damage caused to humans. The big burn killed some but it's main damage was done to the environment. Katrina on the other hand had a much higher death toll as the area was more densely populated. The point is that the "big burn" was the "katrina" of 1910 in a way. This is a great book and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in exploring this topic.

Had to read this book for a class, but ended up loving it. A beautiful insight into Teddy Roosevelt’s legacy in the creation of the forest service intertwined with a heartbreaking portrayal of one of the largest wildfires in American history. I definitely recommend this book to anyone curious about history, fire, or just looking for something different!

This 283-page book tells two interesting stories. First, it tells of the working relationship between Gifford Pinchot and President Theodore Roosevelt in the creation of the U. S. Forest Service. Second, it tells of a massive wildfire that devastated a large area of northern Idaho and western Montana in August 1910. The book is written in an exciting, easy to read style, without excessive detail or footnotes. For many readers it is likely to be their introduction to Gifford Pinchot, who is often referred to as the “Great Conservationist,” and who was elected to two non-consecutive terms as Governor of Pennsylvania in 1923 and 1931. The fire was a firestorm, driven across the Rocky Mountains by winds in excess of 80-miles-per-hour. Fighting the blaze was the country’s fledgling Forest Service, supplemented by as many laborers as could be hired under those circumstances. The fire story is told from the vantage point of a dozen or so survivors who were scattered throughout the area consumed by the fire. It is a story well told. Although the fire was caused largely because of the extremely dry condition of the forest, and its devastation enhanced by atmospheric conditions, there is a villain in the story. The villain is the large lumber companies, transcontinental railroads and the politicians who opposed conservation and management of woodlands by the Forest Service. Some of their actions were outrageous. It is a very interesting book, but it could have used a bit more detail. In particular, the author seems to have been unaware of the achievements of Gifford Pinchot during his terms as governor, and his continued influence in Washington during the Second World War. Those details would have shed more light on the leadership qualities and initiative of Pinchot.

This book is very well written and is a must read for those interested in conservation in the U.S. The reaction to this fire was to establish the 10 a.m. policy, a policy that all fires had to be suppressed fully suppressed by 10 a.m. the day following a fire's discovery. The resulting buildup of fuels and unnatural increase in the density of forests created a fire hazard that had not existed before. The natural cycle of fire, often called the "fire regime," was interrupted and the results are huge (100,000 + acres) that burn hot enough to destroy the organic layer of the soil to the tops of the tallest trees and everything in between., a so called "stand replacement fire." This type of fire was rare in nature as periodic natural fire prevented fuels from building up and excessive tree density establishing. The danger of this trend was predicted by scientific research as early as the 1950's, which resulted in the prediction that by the end of the century "stand replacement fires of 100,000 acres would become commonplace. The Forest Service and other public land management agencies are now attempting to reestablish a more natural fire regime by thinning the smaller trees, treating other ground fuels and conducting prescribed burns. In some remote areas in the right circumstances naturally ignited fires are allowed to burn within pre-established management units. I am retired from the U.S. Forest Service and had no idea that the "Big Burn" was used to defend the National Forest System, justify the establishment of the U.S. Forest Service five years prior and provided the support to add additional acreage to existing National Forests and establish new ones. Ironically, the protection of forest land that resulted from the Big Burn created the unnatural and destructive conditions the agency is now working hard to eliminate. A "Catch 22" situation. The author blends the stories of dozens of characters and portions of this huge fire in a way that keeps you wanting to turn the pages and not quit. I am a retired Forest Service employee who was assigned to 108 wildland fires during my career. The author does a great job putting the reader into a "boots on the ground" view of the fires. It is hard to imagine being on such a large fire without radio communications, aviation resources and a command structure. The results were dozens of fatalities and unchecked growth to a size beyond the current large fire size in more volatile conditions. This is a great read for firefighters, those interested in Forest Service history and those interested in a landmark event in the management of wildlands. The author earns my praise for telling this story so well.

When a president and a forester love each other very much, they create a national forest system unlike anything in the world... This is actually two stories, so if you are here for the part where the world catches fire, and all the politics are tedious to you, skip ahead. If you find them interesting, as I did, you can use the Forest Service to track TR from his days as a governor, to his time in the Dakotas, and his deep understanding that he only had this small window in history to save America's beauty from the robber barons of his time. He and Pinchot and Muir were like the three musketeers of conservation, and the backroom politicking and back-and-forthing is pretty awesomely described. Taft does not show up well, if one is a Taft apologist. Is anyone a Taft apologist? Poor soul. I picked it up because I grew up literally in eyesight of Gifford Pinchot Forest. It's the glue that stuck together between the national parks, the place you went camping when you actually wanted a campfire. But I didn't really know where the name came from. As it happens, it came from one of Teddy Roosevelt's best buddies, who was the first formally-trained forester in the country, and became the first Forest Ranger. He and T.R. spent a ton of time together, camping, politicking, and remaking the face of the American West. In the fire sections of the book, we have another name that rings in my ears -- Ed Pulaski. The Pulaski, as I know it, is a, no THE backwoods firefighting tool. It is an ungainly amalgam of a hoe and a hatchet, and with those two tools, you can change a lot about a fire's course. What I didn't know was the story of Wallace, Idaho, or the man who invented the Pulaski. It is a heartbreaking story, one of those in which the hero dies in near-poverty and obscurity and is only celebrated afterwards. The fire descriptions themselves are more lyrical than meticulous, as you can imagine from the sparse population and scope. We're not talking about 40 or 100 square miles, but hundreds. No one could know what the exact progression was, although it feels like the author has done a pretty thorough job piecing together what happened. Lyrical: The skin of that land is lovely, stroked by easy breezes and nourished by soft rains in the spring. But the Palouse is one of those curious places in the West where a weather system can form benign and transform into something ferocious long after it has left the cradle of its creation. On one side is a desert, a high plateau that gets less rain than Phoenix in some years. On the other side are the well-watered forests of Idaho and Montana, with cooler air and steady moisture. When caught between the two extremes, the air over the Palouse can be volatile, or violent. So it was on the Saturday afternoon of August 20, when atmospheric conditions gave birth to a Palouser that lifted the red dirt of the hills and slammed into the forests-- not as a gust or an episodic blow, but as a battering ram of forced air. Meticulous: More than once, the slow-moving locomotive put on its brakes as it climbed the Bitterroots, and Koch and his men jumped out to remove flaming branches or downed trees from the road that took them upward. He worried, as did everyone, about the deep ravines they had to cross on wood trestles that had been treated with oil as a preservative. They wouldn't know whether one of these bridges was afire or had been weakened or fractured until they were actually upon it. Nor did Koch know the fate of the towns ahead: that Taft had fallen, that the woods outside Saltese had caught fire, followed by Haugan, or that a fourth village, DeBorgia, was next. I have 34 highlights in this book, far above my average. I suspect part of that is because I tend to highlight things I didn't already know. Like the use of Buffalo soldiers for fire fighting, or that there had been a test of a bicycle corps riding two wheelers from Fort Missoula to St. Louis (can you imagine?!). Did you know that J.P. Morgan fervently hoped that Roosevelt would get eaten by a lion while he was in Africa? That the phrase "a square deal" was part of a thank you for a gift black miners in Butte bestowed on him? I really appreciated how much history I didn't know and got through this book. If you are looking for exclusively fire reconstruction, this is not it. If you are looking for a book where one event is researched back and forward in time to say things about the time it happened in, then this is aces. Note: This book is 24% bibliography. I am suitably impressed. Well-played, research nerd author. Well-played. Read if: You would like to read more about the formation of the notion of wilderness conservation, the Forest Service, and the relationship between men sharing a big dream. Skip if: You want a sympathetic view of President Taft. You are looking for a step-by-step account of historical fire suppression methods. Your heart will be broken forever by the government's shoddy treatment of heroes. Also read: The Battle over Hetch Hetchy: America's Most Controversial Dam and the Birth of Modern Environmentalism (which I haven't personally read, but covers some things that went into the same environment as the Big Burn) Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 (P.S.) (Ditto, and explains why people were so fearful about forest fires)

FIVE STAR REVIEW - With smoke from wildfires inundating the summer in the American West (again - 2017), this work is both timely and a historical treasure. In the late summer of 2017, with some 2 million acres currently in flames - it is difficult to wrap your head around the magnitude of the 1910 Big Burn that converged to torch a total of 3.2 million acres in the American West. Nobody can weave history and story like Timothy Egan. PERIOD! If you want to understand the genesis of the conservation movement in the U.S., the destructive capacity of wildfire, the history of the largest wildfire in U.S. history (3.2 million acres torched in 1910), the founding of the U.S. Forest Service, the conflict between business interests that those responsible for preserving public lands, the role of Gifford Pinchot and the leadership of Teddy Roosevelt - this book is for you. This book is also distinctly about human behavior in the midst of impending disaster - both unsung heroes and the innumerable villains. The description of the dynamics of firestorm, what people did to save themselves and attempt to save their homes and villages, and the aftermath of this tragedy - this book is for you. You cannot put this book down after you begin. Nobody but nobody can effectively treat a tragedy like this - in all its dimensions - except Timothy Egan. There is so much in this book (set in 1910) that remains pertinent today: Funding for the U.S. Forest Service, wildfire prevention, conservation, environmentalism, management and suppression, politics, and the ongoing war of ideas. Yet, it is Egan's ability to bring to life the people who experienced this unimaginable, life altering and life ending episode that truly made this work magnificent - and resonate so profoundly with the reader. After having visited Glacier National Park, Yellowstone and Grand Teton this summer, I cannot help but wonder, as one recent article asked: "Are we loving our National Parks to death?" Egan's treatment of the nuances and multi-dimensional facets of this story is simply spellbinding. Just one of the BEST books I have EVER Devoured. 5 Star Review. PERIOD!

I read a magazine review about this book that praised it to the skies. Unfortunately, it was nowhere near my expectations after reading that review. The book covered an amazingly interesting era in American history--the Roosevelt years. However, in my opinion the book was a little bit too one-sided regarding Roosevelt himself (and I am an admirer of his). All of the writing related to Roosevelt seemed very one-dimensional. I get it: Roosevelt was good, Taft was bad. Moving on, the description of the fire was repetitive and at times confusing. The story of the fire was told from several different locations in the forest(s), but unfortunately the characters that were supposed to demarcate the stories were not compelling enough for me to differentiate between the forest locations or even the characters themselves. Therefore, the scenes from the fire seemed to drag on far too long. I believe that if an editor would've cut about 100 pages from this book it would have been eminently more readable. I give it three stars because it does deliver useful information about the beginnings of the forest service; however, I was not impressed with the story-telling at all. With all of the luminous and eccentric characters of the time, the book had the potential to be far more compelling than it was.

used - good condition ex public library Very good book if you can get hold of a copy

Thank you Mr Egan for writing this book to preserve the history of how the wildernesses was saved by two men who had the foresight to create conservation. To save the beautiful nature of the wild forests for future generations. Well done!

Well written, well organized and went well beyond my expectation with clear detail of the fire, the history of the forest service and many of the people and politicians behind the American national parks. I highly recommend this book and Tim Egan.

Excellent book. I read this because I heard Ken Burns during an NPR interview mention that it was a source of research for his Roosevelt's series. I learned so much about TR, conservation and the start of the US Forest Service. I highly recommend this book.

Excellent book and very engaging.