Go Tell It on the Mountain [Hardcover]

Jackie Johnson Maughan (Compiler, Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As the Western wilderness has shrunk, so has the number of fire watchers: Maughan, who teaches English at Idaho State, reports that they numbered 6000 in the 1950s and are now down to 600. In this collection of 29 essays and stories by 19 authors, it becomes clear that fire watching is not a job for the gregarious, because it can impose weeks of isolation and demands constant vigilance. While bears and rattlesnakes are possible sources of trouble, the greatest threat comes from lightning, which causes 90% of all forest fires. There are several fascinating accounts here of watchers riding out storms in their metal cabins placed at high elevations?making them perfect targets for lightning bolts. No one would take such a post who did not love nature, but it may come as a surprise that women constitute a large percentage of the watchers. Thoreauvian types should love this.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1st edition (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811707385
• ISBN-13: 978-0811707381
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #93 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Plants > Trees

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What it's like to be a lookout, and why we do it, January 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Go Tell It on the Mountain (Hardcover)

As an experienced fire lookout I can vouch for the authenticity of these stories. This book is the real thing. It was a joy for me to read the accounts of my brothers and sisters on the mountaintops. These stories bring it all back: the lonely splendors, the hair raising lightning strikes, the columns of smoke on the horizon. being a lookout, like being a lighthouse keeper, is one of the last occupations performed in total solitude. For those of us that could hack it, it was a religious experience. Alas like the lighthouses, the lookouts are going the way of the dodo. Here's a chance, readers, to see what its like to spend a summer on the mountaintop.

4.0 out of 5 stars Let's just say I've read it many times...in my Lookout., December 21, 2007

By 

Kathleen Hauber "Al" (Idaho) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Go Tell It on the Mountain (Hardcover)

As a woman in my early 20's, I felt that I needed to plop myself deep in the mountains near where I was raised for as long as I could get away with it. I sought and found a Lookout position in northern Idaho, and the week before I left, I was given this book. To this day (years later), I treasure it so much that it doesn't sit out on my bookshelf. Being a lookout is an indescribable experience that only increases over the years, and the various stories and thoughts put forth in this book are truly worth reading. A real treasure to me as a Lookout, and good insight to those who might be curious.