Scott Graham

To start I’ll address he buffalo in the room, and admit that this book would only appeal to a cohort of readers either already of the belief that Native Americans were, and continue to be, better stewards of the land of North America than the European colonizers, or are willing to approach that thesis with an open mind. Anthropologist Jordan Thomas weaves a history of the suppression of the practice of proscribed burns in America’s forests, grasslands, and prairies by its indigenous peoples, with the travesty of a policy of fire suppression at all costs on the environment, and the valiant efforts of understaffed, undersupplied, and underpaid front line firefighters of California. By regaling the reader with a selection of tales from his season as a Los Padres Hotshot with the history and politics of fire suppression in the American West (mostly), he provides a strong argument for adopting the traditional practice of proscribed burns. Thomas argues that they act as a prophylactic against the ever increasing number of megafires ocurring due to rising global temperatures and more frequent and longer lasting droughts. A very interesting peek behind the curtain on the practices of the frontline firefighters on the ground, their stressors, and their lifestyle for more than half of the year.

A vampire mind manipulating tale of being able to identify the greater of two evils in time to make a difference. Imagine Let The Right One In on steroids, dialed up to 11, then cross it with the Godfather and go to the mattresses. I am going to ruminate over this novel for several days before I can finally set it aside.