Young Men & Fire | 
 enlarge | Author: Norman Maclean
Category: Book
Buy New: $44.09
New (3) from $44.09
Avg. Customer Rating:  79 reviews
Sales Rank: 150550
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Audio Cassette
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 4
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.4
ASIN: B0009R0RQ6
Publication Date: November 6, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
A work that consumed 14 years of Maclean's life, and earned a 1992 National Book Critics Circle Award, Young Men and Fire tells the story of a Rocky Mountain forest fire that that claimed the lives of 13 young smoke jumpers on August 5, 1949, at Mann Gulch, Montana. The firefighters perished in a "blowup"--an explosive, 2,000-degree firestorm 300 feet deep and 200 feet tall. The excruciating detail of this book makes for a sobering reading experience. Maclean--a former University of Chicago English professor and avid fisherman--also wrote A River Runs Through It and Other Stories, which is set along the Missouri River, one gulch downstream from Mann.
Product Description
On August 5, 1949, a crew of fifteen of the United States Forest Service's elite airborne firefighters, the Smokejumpers, stepped into the sky above a remote forest fire in the Montana wilderness. Two hours after their jump, all but three of these men were dead or mortally burned. Haunted by these deaths for forty years, Norman Maclean puts back together the scattered pieces of the Mann Gulch tragedy.
Young Men and Fire won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1992.
"A magnificent drama of writing, a tragedy that pays tribute to the dead and offers rescue to the living.... Maclean's search for the truth, which becomes an exploration of his own mortality, is more compelling even than his journey into the heart of the fire. His description of the conflagration terrifies, but it is his battle with words, his effort to turn the story of the 13 men into tragedy that makes this book a classic."—from New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice, Best Books of 1992
"A treasure: part detective story, part western, part tragedy, part elegy and wholly eloquent ghost story in which the dead and the living join ranks cheerfully, if sometimes eerily, in a search for truth and the rest it brings."—Joseph Coates, Chicago Tribune
"An astonishing book. In compelling language, both homely and elegant, Young Men and Fire miraculously combines a fascinating primer on fires and firefighting, a powerful, breathtakingly real reconstruction of a tragedy, and a meditation on writing, grief and human character.... Maclean's last book will stir your heart and haunt your memory."—Timothy Foote, USA Today
"Beautiful.... A dark American idyll of which the language can be proud."—Robert M. Adams, The New York Review of Books
"Young Men and Fire is redolent of Melville. Just as the reader of Moby Dick comes to comprehend the monstrous entirety of the great white whale, so the reader of Young Men and Fire goes into the heart of the great red fire and comes out thoroughly informed. Don't hesitate to take the plunge."—Dennis Drabelle, Washington Post Book World
"Young Men and Fire is a somber and poetic retelling of a tragic event. It is the pinnacle of smokejumping literature and a classic work of 20th-century nonfiction."—John Holkeboer, The Wall Street Journal
"Maclean is always with the brave young dead. . . . They could not have found a storyteller with a better claim to represent their honor. . . . A great book."—James R. Kincaid, New York Times Book Review
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| Customer Reviews: Read 74 more reviews...
 A brilliant book about a legendary forest fire September 18, 2008
This is Mr. Maclean's last book and it is a brilliantly written and thoroughly researched, illuminating and fascinating work of literary art. He gently and lovingly caresses lanquage, turning the story of an otherwise horrifying, murderous forest fire into epic poetry in a study of human failure, frailty and triumph.
It is a book that will be thoroughly enjoyable to anyone interested in the state of Montana and the power that nature holds over humanity. The Mann Gulch fire, which killed 13 young "Smokejumpers" in 1949, was one of the most famous- and ferocious- forest fires in history and was perhaps the most significant learning experience for the Forest Service in how to fight forest fires.
A great story August 28, 2008
I loved this book. The detail and analysis resulted from decades of research and Maclean is a terrific writer. I love the piece-by-piece, methodical dissection of the story. I find this method of story telling and anaylsis similar to John Krakauer's "Into the Wild". I would like to see more maps and photos, but those that are included in the book are sufficient by most measures.
A Must Have July 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the quintessential non-fiction account of Mann Gulch. It creates the foundation of our study of wild fire behavior. I could not turn the pages fast enough. Many quotable descriptions and observations about the firefighting industry is timelessly captured in this book.
Young Men and Fire July 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a book written about a fire that took place in Montana back in the 1940's during which a group of smoke jumpers lost their lives. It is so well written that I found it difficult to put down. This was the beginning of the study of "fire", and all it's elements, as a science. Fascinating. This particular book is being used as required reading in our local "California Department of Fire" CDF. I read it as an adjunct to the Search and Rescue Team to which I belong. I recommend this to anyone, especially those living in a possible fire danger area.
Great book February 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Any book that I spend a great deal of time checking maps and names, to see who survived, has hooked me. This did. The horror has caused much thought. Check out the song "Cold Missouri Water"
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