Land on Fire is a very basic introduction to wildland fire, geared toward aspiring firefighters or those with an interest in broad coverage of the subject. The focus is on contemporary human responses to wildland fire. The work commences with a geographic perspective, focused primarily on the US Northern Rockies to the Pacific Coast. There is a broad review of how, in recent decades, western fires are increasing in size and complexity. The book introduces the basic scientific, philosophical, and policy changes leading to current conditions. The author explains fire from the perspective of firefighters and offers a primer into the language, tools, practices, and experiences of wildland firefighters. He then explores how larger, more intense fires cause change at the landscape and large-scale plot level. Fire management practices to reduce combustible fuels and techniques available to communities and homeowners to reduce risk are presented. The work's concluding chapter is a brief introduction to how climate influences intensive fires. The breadth of coverage is substantial, but each topic receives little development. It is important to highlight the fact that wildland fire is a dynamic field—unfortunately, some of the work's forecasts have passed. Summing Up: Optional. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers.

--E. J. Delaney, National Park Service

Edward J. Delaney

National Park Service