I found the The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan to be a fascinating book about a defining moment in America.
It discussed the founding of the U.S. Forest Service, and how it became the institution it is today and how the fire changed it's original mission.
We follow Teddy Roosevelt and the first Chief of the United States Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot, and their fight to protect what was left of America's forest for future generations to enjoy against the railroad and timber barons and the hordes of settlers flowing into former Indian lands for scrupulous and unscrupulous purposes.
Egan's profiles not only of national figures, but also of settlers, timber barons, gold miners, black soldiers, and rangers really brought about a well-rounded story showing just how diverse a people were living in the American West at the turn of the century.
The first half of the book deals primarily with Roosevelt and Pinchot's relationship and the setting up of the U.S. Forest Service, but the second half really kept the pages turning with the first sparks of the big fire and the stories of heroism, bravery, and death. Egan's descriptions put me right on the hills with the men protecting the towns and each other.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in American history.
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