Exceptional ... A first-person account would be compelling enough, especially given Thomas’ gift for terse, layered expository writing. But Thomas has more on his mind here. He alternates sequences of harrowing action and macho team-building with deep dives into the ecology, science, economics and, most important, Indigenous cultural practices related to fire. In Thomas’ hands these subjects are interconnected, and his writing brings new heat to an ubiquitous subject ... Every time When It All Burns threatens to get dry, like a combustible piece of brush, Thomas brings it back to his own firefighting travails, and the cast of Hotshot characters who showed him the ropes, berated him and bailed him out ... When It All Burns is one of those books that immerses the reader in the nuances of a world most of us know only through the lens of tragedy and destruction. Thomas’ visceral, crystalline prose only adds fuel to the fire.
Jordan Thomas’ When It All Burns is a tremendous book that deepened my understanding and appreciation not just of the men and women who serve as wildland firefighters but also of the long, tragic history of land mismanagement in the American West ... [Thomas] shares his vivid reflections of the arduous and terrifying work. He delineates the interconnections between not just the climate crisis and the ever-increasing megafires that now destroy more in a season than have burned previously in decades or centuries, but also the history of fire as landscape control and the (spoiler alert!) tawdry and tragic legacy of white supremacy, climate change and corporate greed ... This book is powerful, instructive and well written. Thomas shows the reader the vast beauty of the land, the fascinating and destructive power of fire and the legacy of our rapacious westward expansion ... He details the deep, complicated bonds of the hotshots, forged in extreme toil and dangerous conditions as well as in the idle hours, waiting or performing tedious labor. He gives us a vivid portrait of those who put themselves between the roaring monster and whatever remains unburned ... Entertains and educates without being preachy or despairing. I found it excellent.
Thinking about fire has never been more essential—Thomas charts a map toward the future ... The writing is powerful enough that the book does not sacrifice the more embodied intensity of the front lines for its meticulous research and intellectual analysis, instead managing to hold multiple realities taut. Perhaps the strongest segment of the book comes in its explosive analysis of the firefighting industry that reads as an exposé ... Thomas doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of the fire economy, maintaining the thriller-like momentum, but there’s hope to be found here, too. With prescribed burn sites, community organizing, and sequoias wrapped in fire blankets, the future is something to fight for. This book raises up that fight.
An essential meditation on fire’s role on a warming planet ... Thomas provides captivating background on how colonial-era bans on Indigenous controlled burns set the stage for today’s inadequate fire suppression practices ... Writing with exceptional verve, Thomas captures the furious intensity of working on the fire line ... Narrative nonfiction doesn’t get better than this.
