Book description
In October 1871, a massive forest fire incinerated the town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin. It was the deadliest fire in North American history, an event so intense that its release of energy was not approximated until the advent of thermo-nuclear weapons. At least 1,200 people perished-some in bizarre and disturbing ways-and…
Why read it?
1 author picked Ghosts of the Fireground as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I read this to get an authentic perspective on wildland firefighting for my novel, but I got so much more out of it than that. The book interweaves the author’s firsthand account of his crew’s battles during a hellacious fire season with the history of a priest saving townspeople from an infamous 1871 inferno. Those echoes of the past do a good job of supporting Leschak’s story, which is the real meat of the book.
Leschak is a legit badass as the commander of a helitack crew battling fires across a large region—but what I related to, deeply, was…
From Anthony's list on The best books for heart-pounding thrills.
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