Fire : [nature and culture]

Stephen J. Pyne

"Fire has been an integral feature of our planet for over 400 million years. It has defined human culture from the beginning; it is something without which we cannot survive. For while fire is among the most destructive forces on earth, it has equally tremendous powers of cleansing renewal and controlled energy. In this galvanizing book Stephen J. Pyne delivers a masterclass history of fire and its use by humanity, explaining how fire has always been at the core of how people have made their world habitable, whether hunting, foraging, farming, herding or urbanizing, and of course in managing nature reserves. Fire was deployed in the bast by aboriginal communities, and early agricultural societies began to cornol and contain fire and fuel. But our mastery of the science and art of fire has not given us absolute power: fire disasters have altered the course of history, and unexpected...