Rating: 
Summary: Fire on the Mountain
Review: Not only does this obviously well-researched book make fascinating reading, but it highlights valuable lessons for students and observers of and participants in any organizational bureaucracies. Many times in different fields of government endeavor we have seen inter-agency rivalries and ill informed management decisions cause serious problems in the functioning of public services, but seldom with such tragic and fatal results. I would suggest that professors of Public Administration courses make this work required reading, particularly in the area of supervision of public safety agencies. All this aside, anyone who enjoys non-fiction will find this book impossible to put down.
Rating: 
Summary: Great 1/2 of a book
Review: OK, so John McLean can't write as well as his father. Making the comparison is kinda' unfair. However, that's no excuse for the ponderous, lethargic writing in the first 7 chapters. This book sucks up until page 105, when it all of a sudden takes off into some brilliant story telling about the blow up and the investigation. My guess is that most people who gave it four or five stars did so for the material in the last half of the book. I wouldn't buy this book, but it definitely is worth a trip to the library to check out
Rating:
Summary: Fire on the Mountain
Review: This is a detailed, accurate and captivating narrative. Fire on the Mountain is truly a service to the fire fighting community because it dispels many of the inevitable myths and rumors about the South Canyon Fire. In 1996, I jumped a fire with Eric Hipke who was one of the most fortunate survivors on South Canyon. He said he was impressed by the efforts John Maclean was making to write this book. In April of 1995, Maclean quit a long-time career at the Chicago Tribune where he had been an editor, correspondent and reporter. He spent the next 4 1/2 years researching and editing material for Fire On the Mountain. The bookÕs thoroughness and accuracy reflect his professional experience and talent. John tirelessly researched every aspect of the story. Of the 49 firefighters at South Canyon, 35 lived. John interviewed 30 survivors. He gathered photos, dispatch logs and copies of anything that was written during or after the fire. Firefighters on the fire reviewed every chapter. This is the most authoritative work done on the fire. Much more detailed than the official report which took 45 days to complete. Maclean's account is very readable.
Rating: 
Summary: Wild Fire Forgives No One
Review: This is an important, memorable book. It makes the point that the public doesn't often understand: forces of nature are not compassionate or forgiving and they do not care about human politics. While some may criticize MaClean for faulting so many parties, including the deceased, the fact is that a cumulative string of errors took place and after so many contributions to those errors, tragedy became inevitable. I visited Storm King Mountain while the fight was still going on and heard in interviews with members of the command staff many of the same errors that took place in the Oakland Hills fire of 1991. I think MaClean offered a compassionate and sympathetic view of human nature as he analyzed the problems leading up to July 6. MaClean has performed a service for the firefighting community in that his dissection of the chain of events can become the basis for improved training and command doctrine, thereby, I hope, preventing another tragedy in our annual wildfire cycle.
Rating:
Summary: A great read and tribute to the fallen.
Review: This is every bit the read as any of the top selling non fiction "adventure" books such as The Perfect Storm, Into Thin Air, The Endurance, etc. If you liked these books, you'll not be able to put this one down. Much better than the author's fathers account of the Mann Gluch tragedy. I thought it was extremely well researched, and written with the objectivity of a seasoned journalist. I wish Mr. MacLean many months of success at the top of the New York Times Best Seller's List!
Rating:
Summary: A tribute and a warning.
Review: This is one of those books that not only tells a riveting story of the courage of those who have to do dangerous work, but also the price that they have to pay when there is incompetence in those who direct them. The incorrectly named South Canyon fire on Storm King Mountain ultimately cost the lives of 14 wildland firefighters and their story is well worth the time spent reading this book. The lives of the smokejumpers, the hot shots, and helitacks who died fighting the fire need no finer memorial than this book. It was obviously done by a man who respected them, their work and their courage. The brotherhood of those who share dangerous work is vividly portrayed and makes the loss seem all the greater. This is a very, very fine book. I would like to see it filmed, but I doubt even Hollywood could do it justice.
Rating:
Summary: A truly remarkable book...
Review: This is such a remarkable book. It satisfies on several fronts, creating a visual world that stays with the reader long after the last sentence is finished. Maclean's research was complete and meticulous. He compiles his work into an astounding, captivating narrative that draws the reader along as the tragic events unfold on Storm King. I felt as if I were there on the west flank line with the Prineville hotshots and the smoke jumpers. As I read this compelling book, I felt as if I'd known each of the victims for many, many years. I could actually feel the superheated air and smell the toxic gases coming off the blowup. Along with a gripping narrative, Maclean incorporates analysis of events and decisions made prior to, during, and after the tragedy. This, again, is based on hours of interviews and meticulous research. His reconstruction of the final moments of each of the victims was very benifical as well. I've never been to Storm King Mountain, but after reading this truly exceptional book, I plan to go. I didn't know any of the victims or people involved either, but after reading John Maclean's exceptional book I feel as if I were there. Buy this book, read it, cherish it, be moved by it. It is a lasting memorial to those who died on the mountain.
Rating:
Summary: Good book! Worth reading if you're interested in this story
Review: This is the first book I have read since college. It is the only book I have had an interest in reading and it was well worth it. I have had a deep interest in finding out what happened on Storm King ever since it happened. It is appalling to me to learn that the red flag warnings and weather forecast were never given to, nor asked for by the firefighters themselves. MacLean did a thorough job of investigating and presenting his findings. Could he have gone further? Of course! Would we have learned more? About certain individuals, perhaps. Would MacLean's account of what happened be any better than it is? Nope! It would have simply prolonged the reading time and made my arms more tired from not being able to put the book down.
Rating:
Summary: I Couldn't Put This Book Down...
Review: This truly outstanding volume is a great read, as well as an example of investigative journalism at its absolute best.
Maclean's research was exhaustive and he interviewed almost everyone connected with the Storm King Mountain tragedy. He then combines all this background material into one of the most compelling nonfictional narratives that I have ever read. This fine book would be an excellent book for journalists in training to study. Additionally, it is a lasting tribute to the smokejumpers and the Prineville hotshots who died.
Rating:
Summary: One of a kind of an American firefighter that have courage
Review: When I first bought the cassettes I didn't know of what I was getting myself into at that point of time. Well, I did cause I knew what a hot shot was, smokejumper (which I plan to be), and of all the effort that takes on being place. The reading from John N. Maclean is humbled but up healing to those who live this exciting energy every summer. I listened to this on the way to work and on the way home, not to stay awake but stay focused on my career goal, smokejumping. This book emphazies on how team spirit is one of two hearted souls of the American firefighter. They give courage and are always with a heart of many. This book deserves the best of the awards that the people (us) give out.
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