Book cover of Between Two Fires

Book description


From a fire policy of prevention at all costs to today's restored burning, Between Two Fires is America's history channeled through the story of wildland fire management. Stephen J. Pyne tells of a fire revolution that began in the 1960s as a reaction to simple suppression and single-agency hegemony, and…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Between Two Fires as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

There cannot be any book list on wildfire without one from the esteemed Stephen Pyne, who is a historian by training with a long, personal track record with fire that lets him bring richness and reality to his analysis and prose.

Sure, there are shorter and more compact books in his collection from his career (massive textbooks to short booklets), but this one spans a pivotal time for land management and wildfire suppression policies, coupled with human expansion and climate change, that embodies our emerging wildfire crisis–hence the ‘bookends’ of two fires.

I love Dr. Pyne’s poignant writing style from…

If you love Between Two Fires...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like Between Two Fires?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 44 books like Between Two Fires.

Browse books like Between Two Fires

Book cover of Fire Weather: A True Story From a Hotter World
Book cover of The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America
Book cover of Fire Monks: Zen Mind Meets Wildfire

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,395

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Between Two Fires, you might also like...

Book cover of Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence

Need to Know by Nicholas Reynolds,

The authoritative but accessible history of the birth of modern American intelligence in World War II that treats not just one but all of the various disciplines: spies, codebreakers, saboteurs.

Told in a relatable style that focuses on actual people, it was a New Yorker "Best of 2022" selection and…

Book cover of Tsunami

Tsunami by LeeAnn Pickrell,

On the morning of December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. The resulting tsunami killed an estimated 230,000 people across fourteen countries, from Indonesia to Sri Lanka to Thailand to the Maldives to India and all the way to East Africa.…

5 book lists we think you will like!