When It All Burns

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALISTFINALIST FOR THE LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE AND THE CALIFORNIA BOOK AWARDONE OF PUBLISHERS WEEKLYS TOP BOOKS OF NAMED A BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR BY KIRKUS AND A GOLD WINNER BY THE NAUTILUS BOOK AWARDSExceptional. . . . When It All Burns is one of those books that immerses the reader in the nuances of a world most of us know only through the lens of tragedy and destruction. Thomas visceral, crystalline prose only adds fuel to the fire. Los Angeles TimesA gripping firsthand account of a record-setting fire season, from a cultural anthropologist who spent a year working as a hotshot firefighter, exploring the history and future of fire in AmericaEighteen of Californias largest wildfires on record have burned in the past two decades. Scientists recently invented the term megafire to describe wildfires that behave in ways that would have been nearly impossible just a generation ago, burning through winter, exploding in the night, and devastating landscapes historically impervious to incendiary destruction.In When It All Burns, wildland firefighter and anthropologist Jordan Thomas recounts a single, brutal six-month fire season with the Los Padres Hotshotsthe special forces of Americas firefighters. Being a hotshot is among the most difficult jobs on earth. Thomas viscerally renders his crews attempts to battle flames that are often too destructive to contain. He uncovers the hidden cultural history of megafires, revealing how humanitys symbiotic relationship with wildfire became a warand what can be done to change it back. Thomas weaves ecology and the history of Indigenous peoples oppression, federal forestry, and the growth of the fire industrial complex into a riveting narrative about a new phase in the climate crisis. Its an immersive story of community in the most perilous of circumstances, told with humor, humility, and affection.