Return to my Book Review pages
Go to my home page
Book Review, © Copyright 2000, Jim Loy
This book tells the story of the Mann Gulch forest fire, near Helena Montana, in 1949. On August 5, fifteen young Smokejumpers jumped from a C-47 into the forest. Less than an hour later, twelve of them were dead or dying, the victims of a blowup (the near explosion of a fire that gets new oxygen). Two survivors outran the fire; a third survivor lay flat on the ground and let the fire burn over him. This is a good but sad story. The author is Norman Maclean, who is famous for having written A River Runs Through It. This book (Young Men and Fire) was left unfinished at Mr. Maclean's death. The University of Chicago Press finished the book. The book begins with The Black Ghost, a short account of Maclean's near-disaster at another fire, and his visit to the Mann Gulch fire after it was under control.
To order this book, click Amazon.com (goes directly to this book).