Teddy Roosevelt and the Big Burn: How a Devastating Fire Helped to Shape America

Amazon Customer: So much more history than just the fire. Great insight into the times, politics, and sociology. Couldn’t put it down

United States on Jan 03, 2024

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

United Kingdom on Jan 16, 2018

Terry Bone: sometimes it gets into more detail than the narrative warrants but this perhaps adds to the authority of the accuracy of the story - i.e. due to the evident abundance of research

Canada on Nov 05, 2016

AltaBerg: Excellent book and very engaging.

Canada on Oct 19, 2016

Roger: 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.

Canada on Jul 30, 2016

Mary Pitchford: 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.

Canada on Oct 09, 2014

J. Hughes: 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...

United States on Jan 06, 2013

Hyytekk: Perhaps the most profound value in reviewing history is to see that while the background scenery may change, the basic themes and struggles remain the same. Thomas Carlyle wrote in the 1840's that, "The history of the world is but the biography of great men." In his book The Big Burn ..." author Timothy Egan reviews the vision of Teddy Roosevelt, with the aid of Gifford Pinchot in preserving huge areas of American forests, wilderness and stages of profound beauty, for the American people in perpetuity for future generations. As such, though a Republican president, he railed against his own party and the unbridled development of natural resources for the benefit of mainly a few super wealthy captains of industry who controlled fortunes that made Bill Gates' pale by comparison. Before National Parks existed or the government agency that controls them, huge tracts of land were given to commercial concerns like the railroads, as incentives to build the rail system that would develop and unite a growing nation that was largely disconnected. "In an eyeblink, the great bounty had been exhausted; more than a billion acres had been given away to corporations, states or private landowners...

United States on Feb 17, 2011