A Great Day to Fight Fire

by Matthews

Mann Gulch, Montana, 1949. Sixteen men ventured into hell to fight a raging wildfire; only three came out alive. Searing the fire into the nation’s consciousness, Norman Maclean chronicled the Mann Gulch tragedy in his award-winning book Young Men and Fire . Still, the silence of the victims’ families robbed Maclean’s account of an essential personal dimension. Shifting the focus from the fire to the men who fought it, Mark Matthews now provides that perspective. Not until 1999—the fiftieth anniversary of the fire—did people begin to talk openly about Mann Gulch. Matthews has garnered those thoughts to reveal how devastating the fire was to the firefighters’ family members, coworkers, and friends. In retelling the story of Mann Gulch, he draws on the testimony of the three survivors—including never-before-published insights from the last living member of the team—and interviews with former smoke jumpers of that era. The result is a moment-by-moment, heart-stopping re-creation of events. The Mann Gulch tragedy provoked the Forest Service to develop safety equipment and training programs, but fighting wildfires is still a perilous job. Matthews’ stirring account renews our respect for one of nature’s primal forces. A heartbreakingly human story, it still haunts a firefighting community—and keeps today’s firefighters forever on guard.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

284 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2007

Reviews

[Mike Gibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the tragic story of 13 smoke jumpers fighting a fire in Montana over 60 years ago. Matthews does a great job of not only telling the story of the the day in August when these men died, but also telling the story of their lives through extensive interviews with their friends and loved ones. Over the course of the book, you get to know the personalities and individuals of the men through short chapters that focus on their day-to-day life leading up to their deaths.

For me personally, the background information that the author provides about these men added to the story and the respect that I have for them immensely. Several of the smoke jumpers first experienced parachuting by serving with Airborne units in World War II a few years earlier. It was an incredible reminder of the type of people who volunteer for this kind of work that after parachuting into combat in World War II they would come back to the US and instead of settling into a routine job, they would volunteer to parachute into national forests to fight remote forest fires. These are truly the kind of people whose stories deserve to be remembered and retold.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sense of pending doom in this book is palpable as Mark Matthews pieces together details and events leading up to the Mann Gulch disaster. Though the book was well researched, Matthews did take a fair amount of liberty in constructing what various people might have thought, felt, or seen at key points leading up to and during the Mann Gulch fire. I think he took the greatest liberty when dealing with Julie Reba, the long-grieving wife of one of the deceased smoke jumpers. Though the liberties may have undermined some of the non-fiction credibility of this book, doing so made for a more personable, compelling read.

My only real complaint about this book is Matthews handling of the relocation of the Salish Indians to the Flathead Indian Reservation in the 1800s. He stated that they "abandoned their ancestral home" to move to the reservation when in reality they were forced to move there under conditions of the Hellgate Treaty of 1855.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was familiar with the fire from MaClean's book. This was heartbreaking but so good to know more about the men and their families.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure if this Is the one I read in High School English Class. But till this day I was trying to find the name of the boo we red. All I knew was that it had to do with red, fire, and gulch. I totally had forgotten about this book until one day, I just up and remembered it. When I can't remember something I won't stop until I find out what it exactly is. But Anyways, I personally don't like documentaries. The one about Mann Gulch stuck with me through out adulthood. The message it brought was like any other I had ever experienced in a book. Whether this is the one I read in high school or not I truly enjoyed it. No matter how boring it sounded over the Audio CD.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book recounts the Mann Gulch wildfire that unexpectedly flared and ultimately killed 14 smoke jumpers. I found the book to be well researched and written. However, I was a little put off by the authors inclusion of what some people were thinking, when I doubt there is any actual record of this. Although these moments were a wonderful way of bringing a more personal feeling into the story, I felt that they were out of place in a non-fiction portrayal of events.

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another take on the Mann Gulch disaster of 1949, the first time smokejumpers were killed in the line of duty. This book is better than McLean's Young Men and Fire, as Matthews takes a semi-storytelling tone to his book. Both are highly recommended. I borrowed this from the library, but I'll be acquiring a copy for my personal collection.

[Jeri Burbage · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book moves slow at the beginning when it's introducing the reader to the main characters, but that's what makes the book so emotional later. It's well written, exciting, and sad.

[John Cuevas · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book left me spellbound.lots of good research done here for an important historical event.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A historical account that veers into the realm of fiction at times. Good book.

[Shaza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each chapter is about one specific person and then it all comes together at the end, so it can get a bit confusing especially if you are bad at names - I found myself switching back and forth between chapters to try to remember who specific people were. Overall though, the ending was fantastic and the story itself is just mesmerizing. If you're interested in the Mann Gulch fire, this is a book that should be on your list.