Smokejumpers, '49: Brothers in the Sky Review

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(More customer reviews)Starr Jenkins does a comprehensive job of integrating the early history, glory and tragedies of the Forest Service's Missoula, Montana Smokejumpers with photographs and good writing. This is a collectors book as well as good reading for anyone interested in Forest Service history and conservation.

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The Last Track: A Mike Brody Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)Based on a strong buyer review here, I gave The Last Track a chance, and I'm glad I did. Hilliard is new on the mystery/thriller scene but he writes like a well-practiced pro. The plot has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing right to the end.
His characters, including Mike Brody, are believable and well thought out. In fact, Hilliard gives you just enough background to suck you in, but not quite enough to completely slack your thirst for Brody. (NOTE: I am a major Robert Parker fan and love Spenser.) This book demands a sequel.
The dialogue throughout keeps the story moving and the "24" style time breaks that the author used in place of chapter breaks adds to the suspense. This is made for book groups (I'm recommending it to mine), plane trips, beach reading, or anytime you just want to curl up with a great read.


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Imagine if being late meant a child disappeared forever. That is the fear that drives Mike Brody--the man you want, when the one you love is missing. Mike is more than just a master tracker. An ex-Special Forces operative, smoke jumper, and now extreme adventure tour guide, he also possesses a unique ability to tap into the memory and emotional state of those he pursues. In The Last Track, a police detective recruits Mike to help find an asthmatic boy lost in the dense woods surrounding a dude ranch in Montana. An unwitting murder witness, the boy burrows ever deeper into the rugged terrain, fearful of being found. As Mike and a local officer search for the boy, the killer follows them. While the investigation expands, Mike's ex-wife, a well-connected journalist, uses her contacts to unravel the truth behind the murder. Her discoveries threaten to snare them all in a treacherous conspiracy . . .

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Smoke Eaters: A Thriller Review

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(More customer reviews)The Justice Peak, Montana fire is raging out of control. In charge of putting out the conflagration out is Mattie McCullogh, the first female firefighter commanding a Forest service team. Already struggling with her male peers who demand the brass fire her and a hostile media expecting impossible miracles to occur, Mattie also worries about her son being in the front lines in the war with the inferno.

When her son's team dies in what is obviously arson, her superiors sacrifice Mattie to the public howling and fire her. To her surprise, her son's body is not recovered. Unable to sit back and accept being a scapegoat, Mattie begins her own inquires into finding a serial arsonist. She also plans to find out exactly what has happened to her son. Along the way she finds some help, but is unaware that her foe is watching and waiting.

SMOKE EATERS is a non-stop action filled plot that takes the readers on a wild ride from page one to the climax. The characters are fully developed and their reaction to the environment feels genuine to the point that the audience will swear they can smell, see, and hear the inferno. The taut story line will receive much acclaim from critics and fans as Christine Andreae has written one of the years top thrillers.

Harriet Klausner

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Smoke Wars (pb): Anaconda Copper, Montana Air Pollution, and the Courts, 1890-1924 Review

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(More customer reviews)Smoke Wars: Anaconda Copper, Montana Air Pollution, And The Courts, 1890-1920 was originally Montana Historian Donald MacMillan's Ph.D. dissertation. When MacMillan died in 1996, his dissertation was published posthumously with the addition of an introduction by William L. Lang (Director, Center for Columbia River History, Washington State Historical Society, Washington State University-Vancouver. Now brought back into print by the Montana Historical Society Press, Smoke Wars begins in the 1880s when copper companies in Butte processed ore by roasting it in open-air heaps and created dense clouds of low-lying, noxious smoke. MacMillan vividly depicts the history and effects of this technology upon the surrounding community and includes a narrative of a visit to butte in 1885 by Granville Stuart, one of Montana's early pioneers and a visiting dignitary from England, who gave an eye-witness account of what he saw. This is also the story of citizens banding together to fight the polluting activities of the Amalgamated Copper Company, and the legal and publicity battles that ensued for years. This 304 page history is enhanced with three maps and six illustrations and is a highly recommended contribution to American History and Environmental Studies supplemental reading lists and reference collections. Smoke Wars is also available in a hardcover edition (091729862-4, ...).

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Smoke Jumping on the Western Fire Line: Conscientious Objectors During World War II Review

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(More customer reviews)This book will be of use to those interested in the history of conscientious objectors in the U.S., and those interested in the history of fire fighting in the forests of the western U.S. It is written by a journalist, not a historian, and tells an interesting story that should have some new information even for those already familiar with one of the two topics. I bought it because my first cousin was a smoke jumper, and I found his name in the index and some quotes and information about him that was new to me.

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During the Vietnam era, conscientious objectors received both sympathy and admiration from many Americans. It was not so during World War II. The pacifists who chose to sit out that war-some 72,000 men-were publicly derided as "yellowbellies" or extreme cowards. After all, why would anyone refuse to fight against fascism in "the good war"?

This book tells the story of one important group of World War II conscientious objectors: the men who volunteered for Civilian Public Service as U.S. Forest Service smoke jumpers. Based in Missoula, Montana, the experimental smoke-jumping program began in 1939, but before the project could expand, the war effort drained available manpower. In 1942, the Civilian Public Service volunteers stepped in. Smoke jumping soon became the Forest Service's first line of defense against wildfires in the West.

Drawing on extensive interviews with World War II conscientious objectors and original documents from the period, Matthews vividly recreates the individual stories of Civilian Public Service smoke jumpers. He also assesses their collective contribution to the development of western wildfire management. By revealing an unknown dimension of American pacifism, Smoke Jumping on the Western Fire Line fills a gap in World War II history and restores the reputation of the brave men who, even in the face of public ostracism, held true to their beliefs and served their country with honor.

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The Smoke Jumper Review

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(More customer reviews)Nicholas Evans' first two books were unique in their drama. His third book The Smoke Jumper has all but established him as one of the best storytellers around. The spine tingling path of three people in this new episode will leave you wanting more. Evans has a wonderful way of painting pictures with his words and places you in the middle. The Smoke Jumper is a must-read for its story of those who dream of more and don't always get it. It's a beautiful rendition of a love story gone awry...

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