Fire in America
A Cultural History of Wildland and Rural Fire
 
 
 

University of Washington Press, 1997
 
 

First published: Princeton University Press, 1982
Received Book Award from Forest History Society
Named by Choice as among Best 100 Academic Books of 1982
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Table of Contents

Prologue: The Smoke of Time

1.  Nature's Fire
    Electrical Fire: A Natural History of Lightning Fire
    The Fire Environment: Principles of Fire Behavior
    Fire and Life: Principles of Fire Ecology
    The Burned-Over Districts: A Fire History of the Northeast

2.  The Fire from Asia
    Our Grandfather Fire: Fire and the American Indian
    These Conflagrated Prairies: A Fire History of the Grasslands
    Paiute Forestry: A History of the Light-burning Controversy

3.  The Fire from Europe
    Prometheus Bound: Fire and Europe
    Our Pappies Burned the Woods: A Fire History of the South
    Fire Wolves and Smokey Bears: A History of Fire Prevention

4.  The Great Barbecue
    The Dragon Devastation: Fire and the Counterreclamation
    Sky of Brass, Earth of Ash: A Fire History of the Lake States
    From Fire and Axe: Private and Early Government Fire Protection

5. The Heroic Age
    1910: A Fire History of the Northern Rockies
    The Forester'es Policy: A History of Fire Policy in the U.S. Forest Service
    A Moral and Legal Charge: A History of Fire Policy in the Department of the Interior and Interagency Organizations

6.  A Continental Experiment
    Fire and Water: A Fire History of the Northwest
    Cross Fire: Fire Protection by the States
    Under Fire: A History of Manpower in Fire Control

7.  The Cold War on Fire
    Firepower: Fire and Warfare
    A Burned-Out Case: A Fire History of Southern California
    The Best Tools: A History of Fire Equipment
    The Red Menace: A History of Rural Fire Defense

8.  Fields of Fire
    The Thermal Pulse: A History of Wildland Fire Research
    Fire and Frost: A Fire History of Alaska
    Fire on the Mountain: A Fire History of the Southwest

Epilogue: The Forbidden Flame

Notes

Bibliographic Essay