Customer Reviews

Fire on the Mountain

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

For all those who have read Abbey's famous work Desert Solitaire and other non fiction Fire on the Mountain is a great introduction to his fiction. First published in 1962 it marks Abbey's early attempts to confront some of the environmental and social problems resulting from humanity's alienation from nature and the land. Abbey based his plot around actual events in which a New Mexico rancher named John Prather fought government attempts to confiscate his land to make it part of the White Sands Missle Range. Considering the time when this book was written, following the era of McCarthyism and the onset of the Cold War, Abbey was especially bold in putting forth the philosophical preposition that an individual has a moral and ethical responsibilty to protect the land against its despoilers, whether corporate entities or even the US government.

In detailing one person's struggle against the seemingly invincible forces of power that the government represents, Abbey was attempting to illustrate that, indeed, one person's strugglecan make a difference. Given Abbey's extention of this line of thought and further development in The Monkeywrech Gang the intimate relationship between the two novels seems apparent. The ideas presented in Fire on the Mountain, thus, are central to understanding Abbey's subsequent works, both his fiction and non fiction, which are all bound by his belief that the essential tenent for human society must be respect for the environment and a duty to protect the natural diversity of life. As Abbey often said the land is owned by all and no one.

This was the very first book of Edward Abbey's I ever read, back when I was a seventeen year old college freshman.
And it wasn't the last.
It was my last year of college though, and I have to blame, at least in part, this book's author. Edward Abbey loved the desert. He loved the West, with a jealous, protective, sincere love, a love that spills from every page of his books, and that seeps into his readers. Read one Abbey novel, and the odds are, you'll read more. Read more, and the odds are, you'll start to listen to what he has to say about the desert, and about the outdoors. Somehow I went from going to classes, to reading books like this, to living out of a canoe in southern Utah. It's that kind of a read. Abbey's writing is just good enough to motivate a person to get out into he desert himself--but it can't replace the experience of the desrt itself (like Cormac McCarthy sometimes almost does)--and maybe he was never going for that anyway.
In this book, Abbey's terse, playful, anarchistic style and philosophy is still emerging, not yet crystalized into the clearer sentiments of "Desert Solitaire," but--on the positive side--not yet twisted into the cranky diatribes and caricatures of "Hayduke Lives."
The book is the story of a boy visiting his grandfather in New Mexico, at the same time that his grandfather is about to be evicted from his property so that the government can turn the family ranch into additional acreage for White Sands Missile Range. The characters are convincing, the natural descriptions are minimal yet evocative, and the gentle desert tone--with the exception of a few rough spots where Abbey's strident rants overwhelm the voice of the story's supposedly innocent, supposedly naive, child narrator--is spot on.
This is a book I would be proud to have written. It's a chance to see Edward Abbey's voice and style in its earliest stages, and a lovely portrayal of west Texas and southern New Mexico. At times, it's also very funny.
Read this. Take it with you camping. If you like the desert and distrust the government, you'll probably like this book. If you only read one Abbey novel in your life, read...something else. But if you love Abbey's writing, or would like to, then really, pick up this one. Give it a shot.

This is another of Abbey's great works which mixes fiction with reality. Although I don't know if the main character and his fight to save the land he lives on is based in fact I do know that it represents the same struggle that many have gone through when the government comes to tell you they need your land. It is a very endearing story about a man who has lived and worked on his land (which is in a relatively hostile geographic area which most people would not live in) only to find that towards the end of his life someone is going to try to take it from him. It is a great story and does not duplicate any of his other writings as far as I could tell.

The book and the movie are as close to the true story as Mr. Abbey and the public could ever get. I am the main character's great grandson, in real life. If a reader wants to get a feel for eminent domain and how your life's work can be taken away, this novel will put things into perspective. A truly fine piece for Mr. Abbey!

Abbey's western tale takes place in "brightest New Mexico" on a ranch where Grandfather John Vogelin has lived and worked for seventy years. He is a tough, old man who abhors progress. Vogelin longs for the day when "civilization will collapse and everything will go back to normal." His "little kingdom" is threatened when the U.S. government's Defense Department files a Declaration of Taking on his land. According to the Deputy Marshall, this land is needed for the expansion of the White Sands Missile Range. With the help of Billy Starr, Vogelin's grandson who spends his summers at the ranch, and Lee Mackie, a long-time friend of Vogelin's, the old man is determined to the retain his property. Vogelin declares war on the United States government, and is forcibly evicted from his land. After being removed from his home, Grandfather Vogelin escapes to his cabin on Thieves Mountain where he passes away. Lee and Billy give Vogelin a Viking burial, creating the "fire on the mountain." Vogelin has made good on his claim to die on his land before it can be taken away. Abbey has emboldened the oft-written about "wild west" with a new spirit. This story of individualism provides the reader with a sense of indignation. Does the government really have the right to take away land that has been in your family for almost a century to strengthen national security or for any other reason? Government officials claim national security takes precedence over private property rights. Abbey seems to disagree by creating a character who will kill the "first man who lays a hand" on his house and is willing to die in the process of saving his land. Abbey then takes the argument further by asking who really owns that land. Is it the man with the currently valid title? Is it the man who stole it last? Vogelin's family took the land from Native Americans a century ago. Is the government just continuing this cycle? Should the land go to the one who wins the fight for possession? Abbey then proposes a very intriguing question: can land really be owned? Vogelin proclaims that this "God forsook baked-out over-grazed non-profit-making parcel of dust and cactus" is not property; rather, it is his home and his life. These arguments are as applicable today as they were in the 1960's when "Fire on the Mountain" was written. Are we stewards of the earth? Do we have a right to fence in our land and change it to suit our needs without consideration for our neighbors, wildlife and plants? Abbey argues what Leopold did in 1949 in "A Sand County Almanac." Both urge the reader to consider his or her place in the land-community as a member not a conqueror. Abbey accomplishes this with a controversial story line and beautiful prose. Just as Billy is enthralled with "the crystal stasis of the long deep desert afternoon", the reader is captivated by Abbey's description of New Mexican wilderness. We, too, must ask: "Is heaven better than this place?" "Fire on the Mountain" is a thoroughly enjoyable and insightful novel. One of its best characteristics is Abbey's breathtaking description of New Mexico's landscapes. As he did in "Desert Solitaire" Abbey allows the reader to see through his written words into the vast wild west. In addition, the story-line encourages the reader to rethink his or her idea of property and land ownership. This thought-provoking novel is a must read for any environmentalist. Edward Abbey is hailed as an underground cult hero of the west and father of the new environmental movement. He was born in Home, Pennsylvania, in 1927, and spent most of his life in the Southwest. An advocate of the preservation of the American wilderness, Abbey has also written "The Monkey Wrench Gang" and the non-fiction "Desert Solitaire." "Fire on the Mountain" was written in 1962 and published by Clarke Abbey.

John Vogelin is an old rancher that lives in New Mexico. His land adjoins the White Sands Missile Range of the U.S. Air Force. When he is told that he has to move from his home, which is now on private government property, he refuses to do so. He is not about to leave his entire life behind so that it can become a site to test missiles. The story shows how easily the government can make someone not exist, and heard them off their land like the cattle that graze there. They say it is a threat to National Security and that his duty as a citizen of the United States of America should be in the best nature of the land he lives on. With the help of his young grandson and a hired farm hand. Vogelin attempts to hold of the governments legal and military power. Edward Abbey beautifully describes the landscape of the mountains of new Mexico. It seems as if the reader were there in that fierce heat along with them. "In that vivid light each rock and tree and cloud and mountain existed with a kind of force and clarity that seemed not natural but supernatural." This story does not read like typical western. It seems to have more of a present day tense to it. There is the introduction of many of the government agents and military officers that give the story a more complex plot. The book is a good experience for those who are not familiar with the southwestern part of this country, and how people live their days. And it makes this a great book for anyone that is a western fan.

Author Edward Abbey carries the baggage of being an environmental activist in addition to his career as a writer. This book, first published in 1962, is considered a forerunner to The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975), although I'm not certain Abbey would agree. I look at it more as a book in which Abbey demonstrates his understanding of the natural world, and the various attitudes of people toward Nature.

It's not that long of a story. Rancher John Vogelin's ranch in New Mexico is being seized by the federal government to expand a missile test range. Vogelin disagrees, and the various law enforcement agencies team up to get Vogelin off the ranch. This story is told through the eyes of Billy, Vogelin's grandson. In the meantime, Vogelin and his friend Lee educate Billy about what today we call environmental ethics. The land is more than space and area. It is processes, history, and life. There are coyotes and magpies and vultures and mountain lions. There are cattle to be found and gates to be closed. There are horses to find and coffee to be drunk. What will Vogelin, and Lee, and Billy do? When it is one rancher versus the US Government, who will win?

The answer will surprise you.

This book covers a lot of topics, and you have to read it today with an understanding of the happenings in the late 50s and early 60s. The Cold War was a major event in the world. This is before the major environment-related Congressional Acts; before the Endangered Species Act, the stronger Clean Water and Air Acts, and the National Environmental Protection Act. It is before the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Rachel Carson didn't "launch" the environmental movement until her book, Silent Spring, came out also in 1962. There is a real "biodiversity is good" element in the book, as well as a western-style, cowboy independence.

Other issues raised in this book are the meaning of friendship, the influence on children of adults, the sense and spirit of place, and the role of each citizen to maintain their well-being as well as the well-being of society.

My two favorite passages:

[Grandfather to Billy] "Did you wash your face and brush your teeth?"
[Billy] "Yes."
"When?"
"This morning on the train."
Grandfather thought for a moment. "Fine - well, good night, Billy."
"Goodnight, sir." [p. 20]

and

[Billy asking Grandfather and Lee a question] "Will a lion attack a man?" I asked.
"What for?" Grandfather said.
"The meat."
Lee grinned at me. "A lion will never attack a man unless the lion is too old or too sick to catch decent game. Or unless the lion is cornered, or angry, or wounded, or bored, or curious, or very hungry, or just plain mean."
"Thank you," I said. "That answers my question." [p. 35]

An intriguing book. Recommended.

In the fictional "Fire on the Mountain," published in 1962, it's pretty clear that Edward Abbey's ideas about individual liberty and wilderness preservation are pretty well developed, but not yet completely evolved. That philosophical evolution comes to it's glorious apex in "The Monkeywrench Gang," a dozen or so years down the road, but nevertheless, "Fire on the Mountain," is vintage Abbey of his "Desert Solitaire" period and well worth reading.

The way I read Abbey, it's clear he inserts himself into his fictional characters. Fire on the Mountain is no exception and you can see Abbey in all three of the heroes of the book. The book itself is about an aging, but very spirited and independent small rancher, John Vogelin, who's ranch property in New Mexico unfortunately butts up against the White Sands Missile Range, which for purposes of "national security," is being expanded in area. Vogelin's ranch will become part of the WSMR and Vogelin won't have a choice in the matter. Vogelin then fights back.

The other heroes are Vogelin's junior-high age grandson, Billy Starr (Billy's from the East and he's on summer vacation -- he visits his grandpa every summer) and his onetime ranch hand-turned-real estate entrepeneur (and idol of young Billy), Lee Mackie.

The story is about Vogelin's bitter struggle with the US government and the bureaucrats working for the "G" in charge of getting Vogelin to accept the government's terms (generous for those days) and get Vogelin "resettled." Vogelin won't leave his ranch and indicates he'll shoot and kill "the first man that touches my ranch house" and that he'll have to be killed by the US Marshals in order to leave. Billy loves the land as much as his grandpa and would stay to the death with him if he could. Mackie is torn between sticking with the old man and persuading him to accept the reality -- and inevitability -- of the situation and leave peacefully with his life and a fattened bank account. Vogelin won't take the government's money and he refuses to leave.

Abbey's utter contempt for a governmental institution that would take away our personal liberty while destroying wilderness is expressed in the resolute John Vogelin as he struggles against all odds to keep his ranch and his land. The impersonal, yet slick bureaucrats in charge of trying to get him off his land and their less-than-bright operatives providing the muscle are both treated with equal disdain by Abbey in the book.

Vogelin's ranch land is part of a wild, rugged, spectacular high desert landscape and with Abbey describing Vogelin's, Billy's and Lee's various sojourns into the surrounding land and mountains, it's clear he's traveled those roads and trails on horseback as did his heroes. In my opinion, Abbey is almost peerless in his ability to describe the often overlooked subtleties in a wilderness landscape -- especially of a desert wilderness. Sometimes, it's those little points of observation by Abbey that helps us to see even more in what is already stunning beyond imagination. I digress, but the fun part is to walk those same trails, ride those same rivers and trails and put one's own powers of observation to work....

There are a number of twists and turns in the plot, but in general, it's a pretty straightforward and credible story. I'm not going to give away the ending, but it's a good one and one I think an Abbey reader would like. I think Ed saw himself in all three of his main characters at that point (and throughout the book -- even in the conflicted Lee Mackie) and in some way, it was a bit prophetic too, as he faced his own mortality in the late 80s.

I'll give it 5 stars, with the caveat that while it's probably not his best work -- it's still really good.

This book is an early example of Abbey's writings about fierce individualism. This book, along with "Desert Solitaire" and "Fool's Progress" depict a desire to return to days when people were much more independent. This book, while being 30 years old, is still relevant. Where should we draw the line between governement and citizens? Abbey did an excellent job with this book.

An interesting book for all ages. It was a book club choice; that was my reason for reading it....but I enjoyed the relationships between characters ~ especially the grandfather & grandson. For that reason, I thought that this book would be a good read for younger readers! This author's choice of descriptive words makes the reader feel as if he's right there & enjoying the countryside.