Rating: 
Summary: Thought for myself, and enjoyed it.
Review: These campaigns to discredit an author often have an unintended side effect - What does this person have to say that so many people are afraid I might hear? I had to find out.Mr. Gantenbein's Slate editorial challenged the popular perception of firefighters as unconditional heroes. One predictable result was a stream of vitriolic responses from firefighters who have had their post-September 11th meteoric elevation in the public conscience questioned. Despite numerous counterfeit reviews intended only to "strike back" at the author, as urged in discussion forums related to the controversial editorial, this book remains a fascinating and engrossing look at forest fires and how they're fought. Read and decide for yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Negative read of wildfires
Review: This book gives an unfair view of wildland firefighting. There is an obvious contempt for firefighters.
Rating:
Summary: Great read!
Review: This book is an entertaining read as well as being quite informative. It grabs your attention in its personal detail about various forest fires in the West, putting it in a different perspective than the sound bites of television news. You feel like you're really there, and what the firefighters may have been feeling. The explanation of the logistics and costs of firefighting were eye-opening. It also gives a good discussion about policy and how we got where we are today, with bigger and hotter fires. I highly recommend this book to anyone who lives in the West, in particular, to discover how our forests have evolved with human intervention and how different they are from area to area, which requires different firefighting efforts. A must-read!
Rating:
Summary: Poorly written and biased.
Review: This book is not only poorly written and organized, but its author insults and mocks the profession of firefighting. While the author may have some valid points about the hyping up of firefighters following 9-11; the way he insults and attacks the profession is shameful. As a firefighter and paramedic, I sincerely hope that people realize that this author is certainly doing a disservice to the thousands and thousands of professional and volunteer (which far outnumber professionals) firefighters worldwide.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: This book was written by Douglas Gantenbein. Mr. Gatenbein lacks any background to qualify him to write this book. The content in the book is a joke! I might give it to my dog to chew on!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book - ignore these dishonest 1-star reviews!
Review: This is a fascinating, well-researched book that provides a wealth of (clearly explained) information on the science and politics of firefighting. It's too bad that some previous "reviewers" who have clearly not read this book are attempting to lower its overall rating because they were offended by a Nov. 2003 Slate.com editorial Gantenbein wrote. These "reviewers" are rating the editorial, not the book. Rather petty and dishonest. Write to Slate to express your unhappiness with the editorial, don't do it here!
Rating: 
Summary: Warning! Smear campaign underway
Review: Watch these one-star reviews and note they all came in at about the same time. Part of a calculated effort by firefighters to smear Gantenbein and his book because they took offense at a commentary he wrote on Slate.com. Few, if any, of these "reviewers" have read the book.
Rating:
Summary: Burning with insults
Review: While the author recites events and history which are little fact, much fiction and speculation, he also degrades and insults the women and men who save thousands of lives every day in this country. Mr. Gantenbein even pokes fun at the way firefighters are honored when layed to rest. This author says "Firefighting isn't that dangerous", citing that "about 100 firefighter die each year". Many more firefighters die each year, not just in the immediate line of duty, also of heart attacks, smoke inhalation, and other complications directly related to this career. Mr. Gantenbein says "Firefighters play the hero card to it's limit." I disagree. In my experience, the majority of firefighters play down the "heroics" title and are just glad to have saved yet another life. This author's opinion is that firefighters have a "cushy" job. He states that as fact. As the wife of a Fire Chief, I speak from experience when I tell you that not much could be further from the truth. These men and women have dedicated their lives, literally, to saving the lives of your loved ones. They don't work an eight day shift with nights and weekends free; many times, holidays, family events & church are interrupted while the firefighters are called away to risk their lives to save another......to save a burning building with or without occupants; to stabilize a patient and transport them to the hospital.....the list goes on. If Mr. Gantenbein should need any of these services, who's he going to call? Ghostbusters?
Rating:
Summary: Beyond Comedy
Review: With 20+ years of wildland fire experience: District Crew, Hot Shot, Helitack, Smokejumper & lots of respect for my Structual Cousins, I can only comment on the obvious lack of consideration of facts, clumsy process of experience,& negativistic attitude about people whose life's work are offered to the passionate undertaking of saving lives, property, & revenues of untold value in our natural settings.
The only possible excuse I can offer for this "literature", if not for the culpability of the author, then an editorial staff, or publisher who stiffed us all!
Rating:
Summary: Full of error - revised
Review: With a fairly extensive reading history I have to say I do not think I have ever found a book so full of factual errors. These recurrent inaccuracies make this book a difficult read. Certainly there are better picks in this genre. Pyne's "The year of the fires" and Taylor's "Jumping fire" come to mind. Don't waste your money on this!!!
At the request of the author I am revising this review. Mr. Gantenbein has asked me to cite examples of error to wit:
I-84 runs east-west and does not travel through MT or WA and is 245 miles from Bozeman
MSU has no fire science program
Jane Swift was never governor of MT
A Pulaski is a combination hoe(mattock) and axe
Missoula is home to R1 headquarters not R6
I leave it to others to discuss the Storm King tragedy.
Having reread the book I still feel that there are better picks in the genre.
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