Customer Reviews

Ghosts of the Fireground: Echoes of the Great Peshtigo Fire and the Calling of a Wildland Firefighter

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mr. Leschak writes quite well, I think. But, as was stated in other reviews, unless you have a real interest in wildfire fighting from a "line boss" point of view, this effort is less about Peshtigo and firefighting than it is about Mr. Leschak's personal spiritual journey and his finding personal fulfillment leading a fire crew. He is quite unapologetic about his disavowal of all things religious, having become quite immersed in his own revelation as it relates to the natural world.

What he does share about Peshtigo is enlightening and very absorbing. It is not as wanting as some might think, and the author ties in his own personal spiritual turmoil with the Catholic priest's encounter with the fury of nature (or is it an act of judgment?). Unfortunately, what one does read about the Peshtigo fire is about what you'd expect in a magazine story; just enough to whet your appetite for more.

I intended to write a review halfway through this book, but I kept reading expecting it would actually talk about Peshtigo, but as other reviewers have said, it's mostly about Mr. Leschak. I finished it months ago, and just ran across it again lurking in my book pile, and yet I'm compelled to write a review.

I grew up in Wisconsin in the 60-70's well aware of the lore of the Peshtigo fire. I was excited when I heard of this book, as I would love to read an historical account of the fire, ala the genre of real life accounts of trial and survival (Shackleton's "South", Albanov's "In the Land of White Death", Lundy's" Godforsaken Sea", Krakauer's "Into Thin Air", Simpson's "Touching the Void"...). This book was not what I had expected, and not what I would call a riveting book. I think the subtitle describes the book's treatment of the fire somewhat appropriately as "Echoes of the Great Peshtigo Fire...".

That said, if someone wants to read about Mr. Leschak and the life of a firefighter, you may enjoy this book, but even then, it was a bit self absorbed, and brooding. If you want to learn about Peshtigo, look elsewhere. I'm personally looking forward to reading Lutz's "Firestorm at Peshtigo".

I was VERY disappointed with this book because it was recommended as a good account of the Peshtigo fire; yet, what the author actually had to say about this event could have fit into less than one chapter. I could not, however, justify giving it only one star as what he did say about the fire was interesting. This book would probably be read with great interest by those excited by helicopters and/or fighting wildfires as these are the real focuses of this book. Time after time, when I expected the author to really get into the Peshtigo fire, I was dismayed once again to find he once again goes into a long litany about himself which seems to be his true obsession. I got very tired of his self-praise and importance, his use of "big words" - as though to impress when plain language would have suited better, his over-emphasis on descriptive phrasing, and incomplete sentences! If you want to read about the Peshtigo fire, don't bother with this book.

I am a career firefighter who spent the better part of the 1980's fighting wildland fires. The topic of this book was inviting and it did not disappoint. Having read the book I decided to take a look at the reviews here on Amazon. The critical reviews strike me as odd. The book is criticized for being too descriptive and for using big words. In reference to this book this is like criticizing a car for having wheels and an engine. The other points of criticism is that the book is not a synopsis of the Peshtigo fire the reader was looking for and that Mr. Leschak devotes too much text to writing about himself. This book is exactly what the title implies. It is about Mr. Leschak's calling as a firefighter and he does echo events of the Peshtigo fire. Mr. Leschak wildland career came about mostly by chance. What he thought would be a temporary job became his calling. This is especially illustrated by contrast to his previous decision to pursue the ministry, a calling he later felt was not the right one.

Mr. Leschak finds in history an interesting character in the person of Father Pernin. Father Pernin was a man of the cloth who lived through the Peshtigo fire and wrote of his experiences. Leschak relates to Father Pernin no doubt in part because of the similarities in their callings. He uses his own experiences as a firefighter to echo and attempt understanding of the extraordinary events Father Pernin experienced. The author talks about his own experiences and progress by placing them in this larger environment. His use of descriptiveness is excellent.

The book will best be appreciated by a reader with a wildland background but I believe it is accessible and worthwhile to other readers as well. Mr. Leschak loves language and his use here is always appropriate. "Big" words are not that big and technical jargon is avoided. He simply writes with a literary approach. All semantics are implied by context but all good readers know that reading is about expanding one's horizons and a good dictionary should always be close at hand while reading any good book. I did write a few words down so I may later explore their broader application and I feel I am the better for it. Mr. Leschak is humble and never brags on himself. This is an excellent idea for a book and he executes it wonderfully. It is not a how to book and Waldo is not hiding anywhere here. This is literature, and good literature at that. I came to like Mr. Leschak from these pages and I am thankful for the stories he told me.

I think that this book was wonderfully written, full of insight to the dangers of fighting fire and the passion and love that firefighters have for this dangerous profession. The spiritual points hit home and provide some explanations as to why any type of emergency responder will in a sense become "obsessed" with their job. It also provided me with quite a few notes that I will use when teaching younger firefighters. While it does not provide a full fledged history of the Peshtigo fire, it does touch on what I thought to be the most important aspects in relation to the authors in depth look at firefighting and those who choose to do it.

If you loved Norman Maclean's classic Young Men and Fire, you will most certainly enjoy Ghosts of the Fireground. Peter Leschak takes us right into the heart of what it means to be a firefighter. As one of the oldest active wildland firefighters and a remarkable and gifted writer, he captures the story of the Great Peshtigo Fire in absolutely spellbinding and breathtaking prose. We are brought face to face with the awesome, mysterious pull of the fireground and are left enlightened and entertained.

This is the first book I read about wildland firefighting. An employee of mine found this book and gave it to me. I got my red card earlier this year and she thought I would like the book. She was right. Since then I have read Fire on the Mountain and Young Men and Fire. So far this one is my favorite.

Leschak tries to make two books out of this one. Part of the book is about the Peshtigo Fire and part of the book is about his exciting experiences in wildland firefighting. It goes chapter by chapter switching from being about the first topic and then back to the other. I read this a couple of months after my red card training and it was a good supliment to what I had just learned. Leschak does a good job of teaching about wildland firefighting. I wasn't too interested in the historical perspective of the Peshtigo Fire, and it's a good thing because there is less emphasis on this in the book.

His stories are also exciting. I did not know what Helitack was before this book. Now that I know about it, that would be my dream job. Getting paid to ride around in a helicopter, hike in the woods, fight fire, cut down trees, build line. Now I have a goal to shoot for. Thanks.

I want to read about the Great Peshtigo Fire and was draw to this book by reccommendations of others... Thanks. Mr. Leschak does a great job of capturing the spirit and feel of the northwoods and transfering this to the reader with the words, images and overall story. I will be searching for other Leschak books and now I a avid fan... Thanks..

I guess I've seen too many crazy things on the fireline to appreciate this book much at all.

As a wild land fire fighter I look for books that will help me learn anything and everything that I can about fire behavior, supervisory roles, and how people react under stressful conditions. And when those lessons can be learned with an added touch of a gripping story, they are more easily absorbed and better remembered. Leschak is a beautiful writer and has some very interesting views on life and relates his own experiences to the memoirs of the Peshtigo Fire, brilliantly. This is a great read foreveryone in the fire business or those who are not.