Fire : a brief history / Stephen J. Pyne ; foreword by William Cronon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pyne, Stephen J., 1949-

Contributor:

Cronon, William.

Series:

Pyne, Stephen J., 1949- Cycle of fire.

Cycle of fire

Weyerhaeuser environmental books

Weyerhaeuser environmental book.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fire--History.

Fire.

Physical Description:

xvii, 204 p. : ill., map.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Seattle : University of Washington Press, c2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"The fate of humanity, like the fate of the earth, is tied to the fires that have made the world as we know itthe fires whose history is told as well in this book as it has ever been told before. If one wants to understand just how completely the story of the human past is also the story of fire on earth, there is no better place to start than this small book."William Cronon Here, in one concise book, is the essential story of fire. Noted environmental historian Stephen J. Pyne describes the evolution of fire through prehistoric and historic times down to the present, examining contemporary attitudes from a long-range, informed perspective. Fire: A Brief History surveys the principles behind aboriginal and agricultural fire practices, the characteristics of urban fire, and the relationship between controlled combustion and technology. Pyne describes how fires role in cities, suburbs, exurbs, and wildlands has been shaped by an industrialized, urban way of thinking. Fire: A Brief History will be of value to readers interested in the environment from the standpoint of anthropology, geography, forestry, science and technology, history, or the humanities.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword: Small Book, Big Story by William Cronon

Introduction: Kindling

1. Fire and Earth: Creating Combustion

2. Frontiers of Fire (Part 1): Fire Colonizing by Hominids

3. Aboriginal Fire: Controlling the Spark

4. Agricultural Fire: Cultivating Fuel

5. Frontiers of Fire (Part 2): Fire Colonizing by Agriculture

6. Urban Fire: Building Habits for Fire

7. Pyrotechnics: Fire and Technology

8. Frontiers of Fire(Part 3): Fire Colonizing by Europe

9. Industrial Fire: Stoking the Big Burn

10. The Future of Fire: Burning Beyond the Millennium

Selected Sources and Further Reading

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780295803272

0295803274

OCLC:

757509384