The Big Burn

Just finished The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America. Excellent book about a 1910 forest fire in Montana and Idaho that was the SIZE OF CONNECTICUT. Written by Timothy Egan, Pulitzer winning writer and frequent columnist for NYT.

The book retells the captivating drama and hardship of the great fire of 1910, and the bravery of the of the newly formed U.S. Forest Service and its rangers who fought it. In an ironic turn of events, because this fire was so devastating and gained national attention, it played a key role in our country's decision to keep a National Forest System. What was loss turned into great gain for conservation, in general. At the time, Congress had been plotting to destroy the U.S. Forest Service.

Highly recommended, especially if interested in Theodore Roosevelt's role in creating ground-breaking conservation policy, Gifford Pinchot's background as the first Chief of the Forest Service, and the politics of general land use dilemmas at the turn of the 20th century (i.e. timber harvesting/mining/railroads v. conservation).