Customer Reviews

Fire Line: Summer Battles of the West

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Mike Thoele is one of the few humans truly qualified to write a book that accurately portrays the culture and the people of wildland fire. And he has done a spectacular job of it with this fine book.

Since the major rager fires of 1910, Americans have fought wildfires in the forests and grasslands and deserts of the West. The summer warriors who take on these battles are a breed apart, and Thoele explains why. He shows us, with an impressive collection of photos, and tells us, with well-crafted stories, who they are and what they do. From tanker pilot Laddie Lash's breath-taking canyon dives, to exhausted firefighters sleeping in a pile in the dirt, to the "generals" plotting strategy in the command center of the war on wildfire, Thoele takes us there.

If you've made a 20-year career of it, or if you know nothing of wildfire and have not even seen a wilderness fire camp, you will learn from this book what it's all about. Thoele portrays the people who are bitten by the fire bug, the men and women who go back, year after year, to do battle with the dragon of fire, both accurately and dramatically. Every bit of this impressive book is right-on and readable, even for those who have but a passing interest in wildfire.

Perhaps the best reviews, though -- or the most credible reviews -- are those of the firefighters themselves, and I have heard from dozens of them what they think of this book. They call it a masterpiece.

When I first picked up a copy of Michael Thoele's Fire Line, I was quite skeptical, having served 5 years in the late 1990's as a Region One Firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service in Montana while working my way through college to earn an engineering degree at Montana State University. All too often, Books, Documentaries, and movies leave much to be desired when it comes to correctly describing the world of Wildland Firefighting and the characters that inhabit that world. After having read the work completely, I must say that I am very impressed. I have read it now more than a few times, and still return to it when I feel the need to keep alive all the wonderful memories of the unique people that I met and the experiences that we shared.

Having started out as an "Engine Slug" on the Gallatin National Forest, and having worked my way up and around the fire eschelons-- serving as a helitack crew member, eventually earning my quals as an Incident Commander, and serving my time as a Rookie Smokejumper in Missoula, I have seen and done much that Mr. Thoele accurately describes. I think what makes the book work so well is that the author lets the book be itself. By this, I mean that many of the stories and photos are those related to and given to the author. The research for this book is absolutly top-notch, [as it MUST be], and takes nothing away from the fast-paced, hard-hitting, gritty and spine-tingling stories related by the author.

In my opinion, this is the finest book currently on the market that documents Wildland Firefighting in the western United States, both in scope and depth. It is a fitting tribute to all Wildland Firefighters, Past, Present and Future.

It's been several years since Mike Thoele wrote his fine book, but it's still a valuable primer on the people who fight wildland fire. With catastrophic fires burning across the West this summer of 2000, the worst fire season in half a century, it's worth taking another look at Fire Line. When we venture into the woods, especially to build a home or cabin, we should remember who we put at risk. Thoele's book puts faces on firefighters: they could be neighbors or friends; they could be ourselves. Making a dwelling fire-safe is not the most expensive or difficult job in the world, but it gives firefighters like the ones in Thoele's book a better chance of making it home at the end of a 14 day shift, some of those days 24 hour days. Thoele's book is a colorful, readable and pleasant telling of the story of the wildland firefighter.

Probably one of the best wildland fire books I have ever read. In my 25+ years of firefighting this one captures the scenes of a wildland fire the best. The pictures are great and the narration and stories truly catch you up in the whole fire scene. Buy it for the pictures or the stories--but get a copy, You will enjoy it for years to come.

My interest in wildland firefighting stemmed from a need for adventure and passion for the natural forests of the world. This book was one of my first buys when looking for a way to get the "bonfire" stories of wildland firefighting history and it excites me every time I read it.

As a east coast firefighters, my regular fires consist of dwellings and buildings that require putting the wet stuff on the red stuff. I'll be perpetually intreged by the art of wildland firefighter and I use it regularly as inspiration. This book is able to fulfill my mental fantasies of fire in the west and was an excellent read for a guy who's bredth of knowledge in wildland firefighting stopped at knowing to build a fireline around a fire until we could get a brush truck to it. I realize this book was written in the 1990's which isn't "that long ago" but I definately feel it leaves a gap between what was being "researched" and what is now standard. I suppose the only way I'll be able to fill those voids is get out there on a line and learn first hand.

I'm a retired volunteer firefighter, and the bulk of my firefighting was structural. I married a firefighter, and the bulk of his firefighting is wildland. This book helped me understand much of the wildland side of firefighting. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has a wildland firefighter in their family. You will understand some of the things they talk about, like the difference between a Type I and Type II team. The stories related to Thoele from the firefighters were great, and the pictures are extraordinary.