A Great Day to Fight Fire: Mann Gulch, 1949 [Paperback]

Mark Matthews (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 20, 2009

Mann Gulch, Montana, 1949. Sixteen men ventured into hell to fight a raging wildfire; only three came out alive. Searing the fire into the nation’s consciousness, Norman Maclean chronicled the Mann Gulch tragedy in his award-winning book Young Men and Fire. Still, the silence of the victims’ families robbed Maclean’s account of an essential personal dimension. Shifting the focus from the fire to the men who fought it, Mark Matthews now provides that perspective.

Not until 1999—the fiftieth anniversary of the fire—did people begin to talk openly about Mann Gulch. Matthews has garnered those thoughts to reveal how devastating the fire was to the firefighters’ family members, coworkers, and friends. In retelling the story of Mann Gulch, he draws on the testimony of the three survivors—including never-before-published insights from the last living member of the team—and interviews with former smoke jumpers of that era. The result is a moment-by-moment, heart-stopping re-creation of events.

The Mann Gulch tragedy provoked the Forest Service to develop safety equipment and training programs, but fighting wildfires is still a perilous job.

Matthews’ stirring account renews our respect for one of nature’s primal forces. A heartbreakingly human story, it still haunts a firefighting community—and keeps today’s firefighters forever on guard.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his retelling of how a slowly escalating fire ravaged 5,000 acres, killed 13 firefighters and left indelible scars on its survivors, Matthews (Smoke Jumping on the Western Fire Line: Conscientious Objectors During World War II) relies on interviews and testimony from the three surviving smoke jumpers who parachuted into Mann Gulch to combat the 1949 blaze. Trapped within the confines of the narrow landscape, several of the men were consumed by the fire; some perished immediately, others were rescued but later died. The book's first half can be slow-going, with Matthews introducing firefighters and their families. Things pick up dramatically in the harrowing second half, which covers the growth and devastation of the fire, the search-and-rescue mission and the aftermath. A poignant subplot involves Julie Reba, who eventually committed suicide after her husband perished in Mann Gulch. Reader interest will likely be regional, though outdoors and survival buffs may want to give it a look.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Readers of stories about fires and firefighters might feel there's something a bit familiar about this one. That's because Norman Maclean wrote about the same fire in his 1992 book Young Men and Fire, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. But Matthews approaches the Mann Gulch wildfire (in which 16 firefighters went in and only 3 came out alive) from a different perspective: where Maclean concentrated on the fire itself, Matthews focuses on the people involved and their families. Armed with information Maclean didn't have, mostly in the form of recent reminiscences by the families of the 13 who died, Matthews is able, in this self-described "nonfiction novel," to give voices to the men who perished nearly 60 years ago. The writing is a bit choppy in places, but the stories are real, the people are real, and the sense of looming tragedy is almost palpable. A very welcome addition to the literature of firefighting and an excellent companion piece to Maclean's more famous (and more stylishly written) book. Pitt, David --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (March 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806140348
• ISBN-13: 978-0806140346
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #983,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why this book matters, April 7, 2009

By 

Jon Montgomery (New York City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Great Day to Fight Fire: Mann Gulch, 1949 (Paperback)

I first learned of Norman Maclean's "Young Men and Fire" in the New York Times book review when it was first published and subsequently read his beautifully written book, and re-read it several more times since then. The Mann Gulch fire is a compelling story that for some reason has affected me deeply, though I am neither a firefighter nor an outdoorsman.

John Maclean, in particular, adds to the depth of that event in his "Fire and Ashes" as well as the "Thirtymile Fire," written in the last several years and both teriffic reads.

Now comes along Mark Matthews' "A Great Day to Fight Fire," a book I bought because I continue to be drawn to the Mann Gulch story. You're probably thinking, like I did, how much more can be written on the subject? Well, I'll tell you, a lot. Mr. Matthews not only adds additional factual nuances to what happened that day, he retells the story from the eyes of everyone involved. By personalizing the event, he literally brings it to life.

This is a magnificent book. Mark Matthews, wherever you are, keep it coming: The end of the last chapter, "Julie Reba," is a stunning piece of writing.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential piece of information key to any collection strong in firefighting literature, November 3, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Great Day to Fight Fire: Mann Gulch, 1949 (Hardcover)

Mark Matthews has written about the Mann Gulch fire before, and avid readers of firefighting literature may readily recognize both his style and the events. But what makes A GREAT DAY TO FIGHT FIRE memorable is its different focus on the people who fought the fire, rather than just strategies and events. Chapters in A GREAT DAY TO FIGHT FIRE focuses on the victim's families and the personal impact of the fire upon firefighters, family members, survivors, and community members: as such it's an essential piece of information key to any collection strong in firefighting literature - and any general-interest library interested in true-life heroism.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A minute by minute personal accout, November 30, 2007

By 

Charles M. Nobles (Tulsa, OK United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Great Day to Fight Fire: Mann Gulch, 1949 (Hardcover)

The Mann Gulch,MT. fire of 1949 was a seminal point in modern wildfires firefighting for the U.S. Forest Service. The deaths of 13 firefighters caused the Forest Service to implement training programs and develop safety equipment and protocols still being refined today.
Not since Norman MacLean's award winning book Young Men and Fire, published in 1992,has there been a real effort to revisit the fire and never has there been such an authoritative treatment of the personal dimensions of the tragedy as provided by the victim's families, close friends, and coworkers.
This is a heart stopping, minute-by-minute personal account of the men who fought, and died, in a wildfire that has forever remained in the nation's consciousness. The reader that has read both Young Men and Fire and this book will have as complete account of the tragedy as we are ever likely to get.