About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

For 2009, truth was stronger than fiction. There were a few great novels this year, but none as compelling or thrilling as The Big Burn. National Book Award Winner Timothy Egan follows up The Worst Hard Time with the stories surrounding The Great Fire, the largest wildfire in American history. Eyes will be left burning trying to finish this one before day is charred to night.

Pros

• Egan found a collection of stories here that crackles with suspense and foreboding.

• The writing has the gravitas and style necessary to consume any reader's attention.
• How Roosevelt & Pinchot founded the National Forest Service is as tense & involved as the fire fight
• Egan's compassionate eye gives weight to everyone involved in fighting the fire, not just Roosevelt

Cons

• No con here. Even for these leery of historical fiction, Egan has the skill to fascinate.

Description

• 'The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America' by Timothy Egan was released in October 2009.
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• 336 pages

Guide Review - 'The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America' by Timothy Egan

The Big Burn's climax is heated by a fire that burned 3 million acres in 1 weekend. Egan stated in an interview that this would be like the state of Connecticut being destroyed by flames in 3 days. The Great Fire also killed nearly 100 people.

And yet, the strongest flame here is the passion of the people who not only fought the fire but changed the American perspective in favor of the Forest Service and conservation.

Immigrants, forest rangers and Buffalo Soldiers, all outcasts in 1910, banded together to fight the fire of the century along with Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot, Roosevelt's hand-picked leader of the Forest Service and as unique a character as you will find in any piece of literature. Egan helps the reader connect with these characters and relive these times through the personal accounts and eery descriptions of how the fire burned its way through the Pacific Northwest.

If there are more stories in American history left to be told, I hope Egan tells them. When a historical journalist can masterfully spin a factual yarn with vivid detail and strong affection, they come out like The Big Burn. You can tell Egan loves the story, and yet, his excitement is honed by his dedication to revere the facts and let the story speak for itself.